I need to replace all speaker wire in my '99 996

[tcleaver]

I want to replace all the speaker wire in my 996 before installing new speakers and an amp The previous owner did some real patch work on the audio system and the more I dig into car the more I realize I need to start from scratch.

The car has 6 speakers (some OEM and some Pioneer) all with wires, so can I remove the speakers, attach the new wire to the existing wire, and then pull the old wire out thereby pulling the new wire through? I run a computer company, and this is how we would replace computer cable. I also need to add a new wire for the rear sub so I planned on doing this by attaching the new wire to the existing rear right speaker wire so that it gets pulled through at the same time.

Where do the cables terminate? Is it above the accelerator pedal? I am going to add a 5-channel amp so I plan to attach two speakers to the head unit and four speakers plus the sub to the amp. Which two speakers should I connect to the lower powered head unit?

I'm going to put 4" Infinity in the dash, 5" in the door, using the existing Porsche door bass modules, and hopefully 4x6 in the rear (assuming I can make them fit). The car had a Bazooka in it when I got it and it seems to be a recent high powered unit. The power cable is already in place for this so I'd prefer to leave it if possible. I need to run a new speaker wire though because the previous owner spliced cables from both rear speakers and then spliced them together and connected them to the Bazooka. Somehow I don't think that's the way it's supposed to be done!!!

Appreciate any feedback and advice and also suggestions on which speaker wire to use.

Thanks and have a safe New Years eve.

[JFP in PA]

Because of the war the OEM harness is routed and mounted in the car (wires often combine with other non audio wiring while passing thru the body), I seriously doubt that you are going to be able to simply attach one wire to another and pull them through the car. Realistically, you are going to have to either pull sections of the interior out to trace the existing system, or run all new, by passing and leaving the OEM stuff in place. All depends upon how anal you want to be about wiring.

[sanjeev]

Usually the wiring looms are integrated across various functions throughout the car, so I would not expect that you could pull any single speaker pair through.

Sounds like your easiest path would be to access and do continuity tests across the existing (ends of) speaker wires, to identify them. It is likely that you could then splice in your new speakers' pigtails to these, once identified.

Generally, I've found the modern german cars to use acceptable spkr wiring (twisted copper, 16 and 18-ga). If you are serious about end-to-end quality, I would

suggest running new 14-gauge, high-strand-count (audiophile?) twisted-pair wire for the Front Doors, Subwoofer, Front dash locations (first), powering those

from your outboard amplifier(s). If you want to reuse the HU internal amp, using it to drive the rear speakers over existing spkr wiring is OK (low-level fill) .

Locations - other than the HU in the dash, look for the factory amplifier in the trunk just behind the spare on the "firewall". All the existing in-car speaker wiring

shold terminate in one or the other of these locations.

Hope this helps.

[PAULSPEED]

I came across this picture with 11 or 12 speakers. Hope

this helps you.

Paul

[Gator]

In a former life, I was an RCDD. I know what you are hoping to do but using the old wire as pull new wire won't work.

Because you have the base speakers in the doors, I'll guess your car has either the M490 or M680 sound options (both are wired the same). In this senario, the speaker wires all go up to the trunk where the amp was (just behind the spare) and then a number of (different) wires connected the amp to the head unit.

To get to the amp, all 12 wires pass through a rubber boot in the firewall. Inside that boot the wires are all glued together. The door speaker wires pass through the door harness connectors (open a door and look in the jamb and you'll see the rubber covering over the connector. Rear speaker wires pass through the front/rear harness connector that is at the bottom of the drivers side B pillar (under the rug).

In short, If you want new wire, you'll need to pull new cable and by-pass the connectors and that firewall boot. I've not tried to by-pass the door connectors (to pull wire), but I've done a lot of electrical work on my 996 and I'm pretty sure it will be hard to make it look good and water tight. If you still have the original door speakers, I'd trust the door harnesses. You might take a good look at your harness. It could be that it is just the wiring from the head unit to the amp is that is messed up and that your speaker wires are, in fact, ok and that with new connectors for your speakers, the speaker wire will be fine.

As a prior writer suggested, the trunk is the best place for an amp. There is not much room under the dash for anything new. In fact, it is downright tight and I usually pull the dash when I am doing wiring work. If you need to pass wires from the head unit to the amp location, there are other plugs/boots in the firewall you can punch a hole in to pull cables.

I've attached the schematic for the various radio options as it might help you test your wiring.

Good luck.

996_Group_9_Circuit_Diagrams_Part_1 Radio.pdf

[combackid]

I just bought a 2006 996 with the NAV/BOSE combo, and I just realized that the driver dash speaker is out. I swapped with the Passenger side speaker and it is the location, not the speaker that seems to be the problem. I looked at the wiring that fed to the speaker, and it is not factory (which can't be good). I was thinking of back tracing the wiring to the stereo, but not sure how much that might entail (I'm pretty handy but don't have much experience with my Porsche yet and don't want to screw it up)

Any suggestions? Is it likely to be the amp? How screwed am I?

Thanks

[roadsession]

I just bought a 2006 996 with the NAV/BOSE combo, and I just realized that the driver dash speaker is out. I swapped with the Passenger side speaker and it is the location, not the speaker that seems to be the problem. I looked at the wiring that fed to the speaker, and it is not factory (which can't be good). I was thinking of back tracing the wiring to the stereo, but not sure how much that might entail (I'm pretty handy but don't have much experience with my Porsche yet and don't want to screw it up)

Any suggestions? Is it likely to be the amp? How screwed am I?

Thanks

If it's a 2006 I doubt you have a 996. A 997 perhaps