posted 09-07-2009 01:28 AM                  

First of all, if you can’t find the hardware (very small bag of clips and screws), don’t panic like I did; look at the back of both speakers – mine was actually inside the back of a speaker, held firmly in place by the speaker magnet.

Second, do not throw out the box the speakers came in; you will need it (see below).

The kit comes with two kinds of adapters, metal and plastic; you will use the plastic one. (Kappa 63.9i’s are 6” speakers; the OEMs were 6-1/2” so the hole in the door panel is too big to mount the new ones directly.)

I recommend mounting the speakers to the adapters first, because the tiny screws will drive you nuts if you do this on the door. Note: Check the position of the large square tabs on the plastic adapter; hold the speaker in the orientation you want it to be in the door and make sure none of the three tabs points straight down because it will interfere with the bottom of the door panel when you try to re-install it.

The crossover has been redesigned from the way in appears in Pumpkin’s directions; the old one was apparently able to be disconnected at both ends, but the new one is permanently wired to the speaker basket. This makes it a little trickier to install because you have to connect the relatively short wires from the door to it and then mount it securely inside the door while the speaker is closely tied to it with its own wire. (You could cut and later re-splice the wires, but remember every additional splice is a potential bad connection and/or loss of signal.)

New crossover (permanently attached to speaker with 5” long wire)

Here’s how I did it:

First, cut the wires as close as possible behind the OEM connector so you save as much length as possible. Strip them carefully about ¼”. Remember, connection is everything (think about the “monster” cables they always want you to use in new installations compared to these puny things), so I recommend also tinning the ends with solder. The new crossover has screw terminals which simply bottom out against the wires when they are inserted into a barrel. I wasn’t crazy about this arrangement, so I took the extra step of installing crimp terminals that get pinned securely under the screw heads; simply a more reliable connection.

Speaker leads after cutting off OEM connector and stripping

Speaker leads with crimp terminals installed (optional)

Leads connected to crossover; speaker supported on Infinity carton

Now you have to mount the crossover inside the door, complicated by the fact that the (heavy) speaker is already tied to it by a short wire. I looked around for something just the right height to support the weight of the speaker while I was trying to secure the crossover to the brace inside the door; turns out the Infinity box when stood on end is perfect. (The new crossover box has a built-in slot and channel to accommodate a cable tie, which at least makes this part a little easier.)

Crossover strapped to door brace

Once you’ve got the crossover strapped to the door brace, cut the excess strap as close as possible, check to make sure the back of the speaker does not touch the crossover, and install the speaker using the original OEM screws. Now power up and test it. The speaker has a small pushbutton which seems to turn the tweeter and/or midrange on or off; it’s a good idea to determine your preference on this before re-installing the door panel, although as someone said you can probably actually do this by inserting a pin through the speaker grill later.

Done! (Note orientation of adapter – large tab must not point straight down)

Reconnect the window/door lock and mirror connectors to the door panel, hang the panel loosely on the door, and test everything. Finally, have fun trying to line up the plastic clips along the bottom and rear of the door panel with their holes so you can tap them into place (I had to get underneath with a crawler), re-install the two screws at the front of the panel and the one in the finger pocket, slide the door handle bezel back into place (push towards front of car) and you’re done.

Hopefully what I learned will help someone avoid some of the frustrations I had. First side took me about 2-1/2 hours, other side about half that. I’m hoping my write-up will save somebody else the extra time.

posted 03-24-2012 05:01 PM                  

John
Hudson, NH