darom

iTrader: (2)

I've gone through a few threads here dealing with stock Monsoon speaker wiring etc. My 98 doesn't seem to have a Monsoon setup (I couldn't find the amp)

I installed the Alpine coaxials today in the doors and ran into an interesting problem.

RH - speaker has 4 connectors (orange, light green, dark green, purple). I saw dark/light green at the stereo console, ran the Alpine off these 2 wires. The wiring diagram confirmed it.

LH - blue, black, light blue and yellow. WTF?! The diagram shows tan/brown going to the driver's door. OK, I tied into blue/dark blue, matched the cables with the stereo plug. I got the buzzing noise out of the speaker. After messing around for an hour, I ran a separate wire from deck to the door.

Question: I saw the tan/brown going to the door lock mechanism. Did the previous owner mess with the wiring? Why if I run the voltmeter in the continuity check mode, I can't see the loop? Are the speaker wires switched and only activitaed with the ignition key in?

Thanks for your help!

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

Just goes to show you should never make an assumption like not having a Monsoon just because you didn't find the amp. Look on your door for the UZ7 option code. The fact that you have four speakers wires in each door means you must have a Monsoon so the code will be there.

The Monsoon has component speakers in the doors - 4-ohm tweeters and 2-ohm mids. None of them use a tan or brown wire. Besides, why would you think that a speaker signal wire could possibly be used for another electrical circuit (or vice versa)?

So, the answer is no - the previous owner apparently didn't do any messing with the wires. However, you've cross connected the tweeter positive with the mid negative in the right door and I'm not quite sure what you've done in the left door.

My recommendation would be to go back and start over using the wiring diagrams in the Monsoon FAQ.

darom

iTrader: (2)

Thanks, I found a digram showing all the wires in the Mansoon system for 200 watt Camaro coupe. Yes, my 98 shows that code. I guess I do have or had this sound system at one time.

Ok, let me rephrase the question:

On the passenger side the 4-wire plug shows:
Right front Tweeter (-) Purple
Right front Tweeter (+) Light Green
Right front Midrange (+) Orange
Right front Midrange (-) Dark Green

I installed Alpine SPS-170A in the front. On the passenger side, I reused the dark green/light green wires in the door, because I noticed the same colors were on the stock radio plug (front RH). The previous owner had a Kenwood deck with its own connector attached to the Mansoon one (dark green/light green going to the Kenwood's front RH speaker). The speaker sounds fine.

Do I need to re-run a separate wire or leave it the way it is? The Mansoon FAQ mentions that the stock head unit powered only tweeters. Does my Alpine speaker connect to both, amp and head-unit? I am so confused now. Why does it even work at all?

I don't mind to re-run the wire, it is the freaking door disassembly that is time consuming.

Thanks for your input.

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

Chances are that the previous owner didn't rewire the system - especially since you still see all four original wires in each door. So, it's probably safe to assume that the wires still have their original function.

In that case, first change the right front door so that it uses either the orange/dark green pair or the light green/purple pair. Otherwise you are crossing two separate channels of the amp (mid and tweeter) which could cause all kind of problems.

Next, use either the dark blue/light blue pair or the black/yellow pair in the left door to connect that speaker.

You will find that in both cases one pair will give better sound than the other. However, it seems to be a matter of what brand of replacement speakers and personal preference which pair sounds better (I've heard arguments for each). Just be sure if you use the tweeter wires on one side that you do the same on the other side (likewise if you use the mid's wires).

Another option that might really improve your sound but takes more work is to split your replacement coax speakers to run as components. If you cut the little connecting wires on the speakers that go from the connecting tabs to the tweeter, you can connect the tweeters to the tweeter wires and the woofer to the mid wires just like the factory wiring. You would need experience soldering small wires in tight spaces but it can be done and the sound is much better.

BTW, the tweeters are powered (and wired) directly to the head unit only in Firebird coupes. Firebird convertibles and all Camaros power all their speakers from the amp.

darom

iTrader: (2)

WhiteBird00, thanks for sticking around to help me out.

Here is the problem: I tried using dark blue/light blue combo in the driver's door with buzzing noise results. At this point I gave up and ran a separate wire from the deck to the coax speaker in that door.

I think the Mansoon amp is gone (I had all the panels off and couldn't find it).

I am just suprised that the passenger door speaker works at all. I guess I will have to run another set of wires for the passenger door to avoid any problems in the future.

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

The Monsoon amp is not easy to find unless you know exactly where to look. It is mounted on the back side of a metal bracket in the right quarter panel area in front of the spare tire. Because it's on the back side of the bracket it's not easy to see.

I would reconnect the right door speaker first using the proper combination of wires because the buzzing might be feedback from the cross-connection of channels. The wire colors you see at the head unit aren't the same as those you see at the speakers because the amp is in between and has different output wire colors. So the dark green/light green combination is definitely wrong - I'm surprised it works at all.

An option for the left door would be to use the black/yellow pair instead of the dark blue/light blue pair but I think the blue wires will work once you correct the other problem. I'm assuming that your connection at the head unit was tapped into the existing wiring (i.e. you didn't cut the wires, you just spliced into them) so the factory wires would still work.

At the moment you have the left door running off the unamplified HU output and the right side running off a mismatched pair from the amplifier. At the very least this will sound odd. I think once you get the wiring straightened out you will like the results. I doubt there's anything wrong with the system other than the miswired speakers.

darom

iTrader: (2)

I installed ED subs in sail panels with their own wiring going to the back Lanzar amp. The far rear speakers are disconnected. There is nothing left of the Mansoon stereo (or at least I thought so) :-)

For the piece of mind, I will re-run the RH speaker with its own wire. I am not an audiophile, non-amped front speakers don't bother me.

Again, thanks for your help. I think I spent more time studying the diagrams and rewiring crap, than actually installing the amp and two ED subs!