Adding a resistor for 4 ohm dash speakers=works!

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blackbetty14

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I did a full kicker upgrade on my 14 ram CC with the 5.0 base system. The speakers are a huge improvement with the stock radio and crutchfield made everything plug and play. Something I knew going in was the dash speakers are 8ohm stock, everything aftermarket is 2-4ohm so when u swap them out there is 4ohms less resistance and thus the dash speakers overpower the system and u have to adjust the radio and fade toward the rear speakers. Which lowers the sound out of the front door speakers as they are connected to the dash.

I've been driving around for a few weeks and missing having the balance centered in and getting more sound from the front doors. So I purchased some 4ohm 10w ceramic resistors and just spliced them in the harness adapters. So I didn't mess with the stock wiring at all and just spliced into the metra speaker adapters. 15min of Removing the speakers and cutting the positive wire and soldering in the resistor and walla! She's back to normal and I balanced out. I paid $4 shipped for 3 resistors and can't believe the difference they made. This is a must to balance the system out after a full speaker upgrade. The system is 100%, now if I can only finish my subwoofer install :)

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blackbetty14

blackbetty14

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Other side to show resistor markings.
 

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novelmike

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I don't understand what you did and how it works. But I'm happy to hear that you improved your sound with your smarts instead of your wallet doing all the work!
 

bucks130

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Good call on the resistors! Glad to hear it worked out.
 

liftedgm1982

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Good thinking man! I thought I read somewhere that the dash were 8ohm while researching replacements and was wondering how this would effect the system.


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BadHabit2Break

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Are you running an amp on these as well?

I have my RF set to install but know that it will overpower the door speakers.
 

charonblk07

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Just make sure those resistors are away from any wires or plastic, they will get hot and melt stuff under the dash.
 
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blackbetty14

blackbetty14

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I don't understand what you did and how it works. But I'm happy to hear that you improved your sound with your smarts instead of your wallet doing all the work!

I'll try to break it down for you. The stock dash speakers are 8 ohm, this means the speaker driver/coil is 8ohms worth of resistance. The front door speakers are "tied" into the dash speakers which basically "splits" the high levels to the dash speakers. Think of it as the dash speakers get high level only and no lows. Front doors get full range. Rear doors are separate but only receive low and mids. Since the front doors are connected to the dash speakers when you put 4 ohm (aftermarket) speakers in place of the stock 8ohm dash speakers your basically reducing the "resistance" to half of what it was... that means the speakers are seeing double the power they were in stock form. So the 4 ohm speakers will be LOUDER than the stock speakers. Since they are on the dash the sound reflects off the windshield and hits you right in the face/ears and you "notice" the sound increase so much that you have to fade the radio controls to favor the rear speakers. By fading to he rear you decrease the volume from the dash speakers (bringing them back to there original loudness) but since the front door speakers are connected as well your reducing the volume in the front doors as well. Basically killing your sound since your limiting power to the front half of the system.

By increasing the resistance of the 4ohm dash speaker to 8ohm (like stock) you can bring the system back into balance and thus allow full power to the front half of the system. The front speakers are 8ohm and 15w I believe so a 4ohm 10w resistor will bring it to 8ohm and make everything happy. Thus you can center the fade/balance and enjoy better more fuller sound from the front door speakers and not being "overpowering" in the dash area.

The wallet still does the work! Still had to spend $170 in speaker upgrades and then $4 on these resistors but the system is light years better than the stock systems speakers and its $175 well spent.
 
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blackbetty14

blackbetty14

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Good thinking man! I thought I read somewhere that the dash were 8ohm while researching replacements and was wondering how this would effect the system.


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Yup! 8ohm and 15w printed on the back. They are very noticeably louder when swapped out with a 4 ohm speaker. I had to fade to the rear almost half way to balance it out. The resistor is a great little fix.
 
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blackbetty14

blackbetty14

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Are you running an amp on these as well?

I have my RF set to install but know that it will overpower the door speakers.

No Amp. Stock system with speaker upgrades. Got a single 12" shallow sub on the way and and single 12" sub box going in. Ran 4gauge off the battery and in the process of wiring it all up with a 1 farad capacitor thats old as dirt while waiting on the sub. Going to be pushing 240w RMS with my old amp but looking at a 300w RMS mono amp to replace it next month.

If your Amp is set to 4 ohm operation then you dont need to change anything I believe. The issue is the stocker is 8ohm so at 4ohm the system isn't designed for 1/2 the resistance and it doesnt compensate for it.
 
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blackbetty14

blackbetty14

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Just make sure those resistors are away from any wires or plastic, they will get hot and melt stuff under the dash.

Yea I wanted to see if it would work. I pushed it down in there and there is alot of room under them. But I want to upgrade to an aluminum heat sink version and attach them to the speaker base.

I wonder how hot they will get. I have some 50w 6ohm resistors I've used before temporarily and they got HOT AS #$%! but that was 50w... 10w isn't alot.

Maybe I could pull the speaker and run the system and hit the ceramic resistor with a IR temp gun and see how hot its actually getting.
 

BadHabit2Break

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No Amp. Stock system with speaker upgrades. Got a single 12" shallow sub on the way and and single 12" sub box going in. Ran 4gauge off the battery and in the process of wiring it all up with a 1 farad capacitor thats old as dirt while waiting on the sub. Going to be pushing 240w RMS with my old amp but looking at a 300w RMS mono amp to replace it next month.

If your Amp is set to 4 ohm operation then you dont need to change anything I believe. The issue is the stocker is 8ohm so at 4ohm the system isn't designed for 1/2 the resistance and it doesnt compensate for it.

With an amp, it will have the same effect. You will either need to put the resistor in or put the dash speakers on their own channels and control them that way.

Why do you need to run a capacitor for 300w? I dont need one on my setup and I am running 220 watts RMS with no capacitor. But I did do the "Big Three" upgrade for my power wiring.
 
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blackbetty14

blackbetty14

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Waste of time to install the capacitor.

how so? I know they are more of a buffer for the stock electrical system vs the amp. But my old amp is 460w which is low for the 230/240rms Watt rating but the amp I'm looking at is 1500w max or 800w @1ohm, 500w @ 2 ohm and 300w @ 4 ohm. It calls for 4 gauge wire but I figured the capacitor might help buffer the headlights etc.
 

adrianp89

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You can try it either way but space is limited on a truck and I personally do not think you would see any difference with it.
 
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blackbetty14

blackbetty14

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With an amp, it will have the same effect. You will either need to put the resistor in or put the dash speakers on their own channels and control them that way.

Why do you need to run a capacitor for 300w? I dont need one on my setup and I am running 220 watts RMS with no capacitor. But I did do the "Big Three" upgrade for my power wiring.

300w RMS. Thats a 1500w amp... I thought anything over 1000w would require something.

I thought you said Amp for your speakers? I Just assumed you were running new wire to all the speakers. I would DEFINITELY run new wire or its own harness for the speakers that use anything but the factory head unit for power. Stock wiring is a bit small... I would upgrade to 14-16 speaker wire with an amp system. Might want to go twisted/shielded as well.

The "Big Three" lol? Assuming power, ground and something else. The capacitor isn't costing me anything... its left over from my early years with crazy systems lol.
 
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blackbetty14

blackbetty14

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You can try it either way but space is limited on a truck and I personally do not think you would see any difference with it.

Will do! I thought maybe you you experienced something with it on our trucks. Are you running a system? How many watts? Did you notice anything charging wise? The capacitor also has a digital voltage readout on it which is nice so I can see the voltage as the system hits. I made a cover for under the back seat (pass side) that the amp and capacitor will mount to. wiring will be under the cover but it will still allow me to put stuff under it for storage. The driver side will hold the single 12" box and shallow sub. I didn't want to run dual dubs due to lack of space and I have alot of tools/straps and crap I keep in the truck.

When do you feel like capacitors are useful?
 

adrianp89

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Will do! I thought maybe you you experienced something with it on our trucks. Are you running a system? How many watts? Did you notice anything charging wise? The capacitor also has a digital voltage readout on it which is nice so I can see the voltage as the system hits. I made a cover for under the back seat (pass side) that the amp and capacitor will mount to. wiring will be under the cover but it will still allow me to put stuff under it for storage. The driver side will hold the single 12" box and shallow sub. I didn't want to run dual dubs due to lack of space and I have alot of tools/straps and crap I keep in the truck.

When do you feel like capacitors are useful?

Nothing in my truck yet - I have installed several systems in Rams though and have never noticed lights dimming. A good 4 gauge run (not the cheap walmart stuff, and a solid ground are all that should be needed.
 
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blackbetty14

blackbetty14

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Nothing in my truck yet - I have installed several systems in Rams though and have never noticed lights dimming. A good 4 gauge run (not the cheap walmart stuff, and a solid ground are all that should be needed.

Yea I ran 4 gauge welding cable, fine stand cure copper made in the USA stuff! I wired right off the battery with a 100amp re-settable fuse panel. I was looking for grounds in the back... where did you ground the amp cables? I was looking at the rear seat area and its just the seat bolts... but Im running 3/4" wood spacers so I dont trust the ground. Besides drilling into the body where is a good place to ground back there?
 
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