[partnumber187]

Excellent. Thanks very much for that, really appreciate it. I won't be using the Bose amp at all. It will be bypassed. The input of the amp can be driven with either line or speaker level, but the speaker output was overdriving the amp with the volume at about 60% on the (~20w/ch) aftermarket headunit.

So according to that diagram I should look for blue/green at driver kick panel and tan/white at passenger. This is extremely helpful because I was able to locate the Y2k Bose diagram which shows different colors. More I think about this I should take a DMM with me to the junkyard and verify on a '98 parts car I can indiscriminately cut wires and meter.

 

[bobby735]

Oh, man I screwed up... It's A is ground and H is 12v.. Don't know if your going to use it or not, but don't want you connecting anything backwards

 

[wallyo]

gt

Existing wiring in the truck in fine. I'm installing an amp and new door speakers and will be bypassing the stock Bose amp.

I'm using an aftermarket headunit with Bose amp as are many, veteran. Enjoy your evening.

187 what exactly are you doing? Your 2 statements seem to conflict. I am only asking, so others in the future have a good handle, not to give you a hard time.

Are you replacing just the amp and speakers or are you doing a whole replacement amp, speakers and head unit?

If it is the whole system, I would just use RCA cable from the head unit to new amp location then wire from new amp to old gutted amp and use that to connect into existing speaker wires. The main advantage with gutting the old amp is it is easy to remove and all the wiring can be done on the bench instead of in the car while your on you back.

 

[partnumber187]

Sorry if detours from the main query have made things confusing.

I currently have an aftermarket headunit connected to the factory Bose amp and speakers as well as an amp and sub in the back. I will soon be installing an aftermarket amp and speakers in the front of the truck, and at that point the factory Bose amp will be completely bypassed. Would prefer to run wires directly from the amp to the door speakers, but that appears to not be worth the effort and will most likely just end up tapping into the factory wiring for that.

I would still like to hear from anyone who's wired through the Molex connector.

Please try to ignore the mess in the progress pic, that's the only photo I have of the sub back there. Will eventually build a custom enclosure, but the pre-fab is doing fine for the time being.

 

[wallyo]

Sorry if detours from the main query have made things confusing.

No way that sub is going to fit under the front seat! LOL

 

[partnumber187]

LOL. I'm going to remove the sub under the driver seat and mount a 4-channel JBL amp same series as the sub amp. Have Dynaudio MW162GT woofers going in front door and Image Dynamics XS-28 tweeters going in the a-pillars being run active by Dayton DSP 408.

 

[wallyo]

If you use the existing amp as a splice box do you need the pins Identified?

In the 04 we may install a new head, but ditch the fiber optic amp and go backwards to an 01 amp. In starting this we mapped out all the pins on an 01 amp, which I think is the same as an 99. I know the plastic change from blue to grey on the connector, not sure on the pin order, I think it is the same.

As to the molex at the door, if you want to run new wire all the way, why not do it the old fashion way? Drill 2 holes, piller and door, wire garment them and a bit of plastic split tube with tape.

 

[amgdvl]

I did this :

and then make sure the matching molex connector lines up ... very tricky... if you are interested in going this route.. i think i have a spare molex connecter you can practice with.

 

[wallyo]

I did this :

Did you drill through or melt through with a solder iron?

 

[amgdvl]

Did you drill through or melt through with a solder iron?

I drilled through carefully... i used a dremel bit for better control / grinding... and then finished off using a thin file (can pick up at Home Depot for example) by hand.....

I did consider connecting the smaller gauge (larger diameter) wires to the existing speaker terminals... but that connection and the subsequent connections would have degraded the sound quality - of course... maybe not... but... if i am going through the trouble of doing a direct-wire to the speakers, new speakers, with crossovers... it makes no sense NOT TO go this route. All OEM wires were left in-tact... so... if there was some need to go back to OEM... actually, all i would need to do is put the OEM speaker in the door (and reconnect at head unit)

 

[partnumber187]

If you use the existing amp as a splice box do you need the pins Identified?

In the 04 we may install a new head, but ditch the fiber optic amp and go backwards to an 01 amp. In starting this we mapped out all the pins on an 01 amp, which I think is the same as an 99. I know the plastic change from blue to grey on the connector, not sure on the pin order, I think it is the same.

As to the molex at the door, if you want to run new wire all the way, why not do it the old fashion way? Drill 2 holes, piller and door, wire garment them and a bit of plastic split tube with tape.

**Saw your reply in an email update earlier. I'll respond as I thought to before seeing amgdvl's post and pretend it doesn't exist for the moment.

I believe Bobby has supplied the correct diagram. According to the list it's applicable up to 11/99 build. The '00 diagram I dug up has different colors, so unless by coincidence it's pretty safe to assume '01 is different than '98-99 also. We'll see what I find when I get to digging in some parts cars.

As far as drilling, I prefer to have a straight wire run from speaker to amp but no so much that I'd drill through the door. I'm not that scared of the few watts lost to the resistance of an additional couple connections, but it is not ideal. This was more of a concern when I wanted to mount the tweeters in the sail panels which would have required two runs of wires. I have since scrapped that idea and plan to put them in the a-pillars for a few reasons. Drilling through Molex connectors for speaker cable runs is fairly common and was hoping there was at least one person who could share a success story with good results because after quite a bit of searching I'd seen none.

I did this :

and then make sure the matching molex connector lines up ... very tricky... if you are interested in going this route.. i think i have a spare molex connecter you can practice with.

This is the shit I'm talmbout. That is a generous offer and thanks for the excellent pics. I would take you up on the offer, but as you're not local to me I will just grab some from the junkyard to practice on.

 

[amgdvl]

This is the shit I'm talmbout. That is a generous offer and thanks for the excellent pics. I would take you up on the offer, but as you're not local to me I will just grab some from the junkyard to practice on.

if you do this : I would not go bigger than 12 gauge (AWG) ... I think that is the max that can go through the molex connectors ... (14 gauge would be extremely easy to do!) ...be very mindful / careful how the wire bends in going thru the first connector to the 2nd (molex) connector... takes a bit of patience....pull slack..bring connectors closer together...pull more slack... bring the connectors even closer until snapping together (dont forget to screw the connector back to the door....

included a diagram to help you and others...

 

[partnumber187]

if you do this : I would not go bigger than 12 gauge (AWG) ... I think that is the max that can go through the molex connectors ... (14 gauge would be extremely easy to do!) ...be very mindful / careful how the wire bends in going thru the first connector to the 2nd (molex) connector... takes a bit of patience....pull slack..bring connectors closer together...pull more slack... bring the connectors even closer until snapping together (dont forget to screw the connector back to the door....

included a diagram to help you and others...

My early W163 will probably have a connector like in the link from the first post. Far less free space. It doesn't have that full row of unpopulated pins. But I only need one run of 16awg to go through. It will be a couple weeks until I can get to it. I will update when I do.

 

[partnumber187]

I pulled the door Molex yesterday when washing the truck and was lucky to find there are four large vacant pins in the harness on both sides. Running 16awg through this connector will not be a problem at all.

 

[wallyo]

I pulled the door Molex yesterday when washing the truck and was lucky to find there are four large vacant pins in the harness on both sides. Running 16awg through this connector will not be a problem at all.

Looks good to go and the larger pins at that.

 

[amgdvl]

I pulled the door Molex yesterday when washing the truck and was lucky to find there are four large vacant pins in the harness on both sides. Running 16awg through this connector will not be a problem at all.

16 Gauge should be a cake walk !!....

 

[partnumber187]

After the initial encouragement from seeing your pics my enthusiasm was damped a bit when I looked back at the other guy's pics and assumed my Molex was completely populated as his are. It has since been rejuvenated.

Perhaps I should have checked first.

 

[partnumber187]

Finally got around to doing this. Not a fun job. First door took a good bit of time going very slow, other one quite a bit quicker. amgdvl's post was a huge help, so big ups for the help and encouragement. Hopefully this will be the last time I have to run wires through Molex connectors. None of my other cars have them. Hope to keep it that way.

So wiring's done, still need to install amp. Tweeters painted to match pillars, and the Dyn woofers fit great in stock baffles. Those all still need to go in too. Look forward to wrapping up the install and tuning the system.

 

[wallyo]

Keep the photos coming!
Hard to tell did you pull the fabric off the A pillars?

 

[WE47B1ME]

Keep the photos coming!
Hard to tell did you pull the fabric off the A pillars?

Think those are the D pillar's in the trunk

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