Speakers wires : how to identify + and - ?

[hystria]

Looking at those wires for the front door speakers, any idea which one is the + and which is the - :iono:

[Razr]

Simple trick actually..

1. Get a 9V "1N" type battery (the small rectangular general usage ones) and a connector to suit it with flying leads (bare wires). This shouldn't cost more than a few cents at an electronics shop.

2. Unscrew the OEM speaker and disconnect the factory wiring harness from it.

3. Momentarily "tap" the 9V battery leads across the speaker terminals. If the speaker cone moves forward when you do this, the + side of the battery is connected to the + speaker terminal. Likewise of the speaker cone moves backwards, the + of the battery is connected to the - speaker terminal.

4. Use your newfound polarity knowledge to work out which wire on the OEM adaptor is which :)


Note: don't use anything more powerful than the battery suggested, and only hold DC current on the speaker as long as you need to (i.e. < 1 second). An old, partially discharged 9V battery is the best bet - a fully charged one will get the cone hopping pretty hard. Lower voltage batteries will also work, but the cone movement may be too small to be useful.

[slvryaris]

One will probably have a black stripe on it and the other will be a solid color.

[uncleyaris]

check out the factory manual, you can down load it!!

[hystria]

One will probably have a black stripe = ?

on it and the other will be a solid color = ?

thanks :smile:

as for the battery trick, I don't have the connector anymore :redface:

[johnnyfive]

a black stripe would imply a negative...usually, although the in-car wiring isnt always setup like that...could be any number of colors, could even be 2 compleatly different colors going to the same speaker.

what exactly are you trying to figure out?

what terminals are which on the factory speakers, or which wires are which in the factory wiring?

[hystria]

factory speakers have already been replaced last year, now I need to upgrade again but I'm not sure if the actual speakers are well connected and the OEM harness is gone... would be helpful to know which wire/color is what, yes :wink:

[Razr]

what exactly are you trying to figure out?

what terminals are which on the factory speakers, or which wires are which in the factory wiring?

If you know one, you know the other - either way it's the same result :wink:

[cheukli]

it's very easy if you have a multimeter. Connect the wires of the meter to the speakers wires. if the meter display negative voltage, reverse the color of the connection. Therefore, the speaker wire connects to the red (positive) wire of the meter which is a positive output!

[Razr]

That would work for DC cheulki, but not for audio which is AC I'm afraid :(

[hystria]

it's very easy if you have a multimeter. Connect the wires of the meter to the speakers wires. if the meter display negative voltage, reverse the color of the connection. Therefore, the speaker wire connects to the red (positive) wire of the meter which is a positive output!

that's the simplest way thanks :thumbup:

[tetzyamis]

I'm just curious.
If, for any reason, the positive and the negative of the speaker wires are hooked up the wrong way, will the sound play so bad that anyone could tell something is wrong?
I just replaced the speakers this past weekend and just wondering that thinking it's installed incorrectly and I'm just not noticing it.

[Tamago]

I'm just curious.
If, for any reason, the positive and the negative of the speaker wires are hooked up the wrong way, will the sound play so bad that anyone could tell something is wrong?

no :cool:

[talnlnky]

Simple trick actually..

1. Get a 9V "1N" type battery (the small rectangular general usage ones) and a connector to suit it with flying leads (bare wires). This shouldn't cost more than a few cents at an electronics shop.

2. Unscrew the OEM speaker and disconnect the factory wiring harness from it.

3. Momentarily "tap" the 9V battery leads across the speaker terminals. If the speaker cone moves forward when you do this, the + side of the battery is connected to the + speaker terminal. Likewise of the speaker cone moves backwards, the + of the battery is connected to the - speaker terminal.

4. Use your newfound polarity knowledge to work out which wire on the OEM adaptor is which :)


Note: don't use anything more powerful than the battery suggested, and only hold DC current on the speaker as long as you need to (i.e. < 1 second). An old, partially discharged 9V battery is the best bet - a fully charged one will get the cone hopping pretty hard. Lower voltage batteries will also work, but the cone movement may be too small to be useful.

YEAH! 9v battery trick for teh WIN!!!!

[IllusionX]

Actually, talnlnky, shouldn't you already have the wiring diagram for the radio harness??

someone had it posted on another forum, i didn't bother to save it and lazy to look for it right now.....

[tetzyamis]

AudioVisual.pdf of the Yaris repair manual have all information. From the exact color of the wires.

I was just wondering "what happens if positive and negative are hooked up the wrong way".
I did not mean I do not know which is positive and which is negative.

[Revsson]

AudioVisual.pdf of the Yaris repair manual have all information. From the exact color of the wires.

I was just wondering "what happens if positive and negative are hooked up the wrong way".
I did not mean I do not know which is positive and which is negative.

I think that if one speaker is hooked up the wrong way, you would have a
phase difference. One cone would move in while the other cone moved out.
I recall reading something like that years ago. So, I would assume the sound
wouldn't be as clean? :iono:

You could also do a search on the internet for wiring speakers and in phase
or out of phase issues, (I'm too lazy to do it now :redface: )
Of course, I would defer to the audio experts on here. :smile:

[IllusionX]

i did flipped the + and - for one of my speakers.. the sound was weird. kinda like numb.

[battleversiontc]

theres actually a radio wire pinout up top stickied

[mickymouse]

@tetzyamis
you can hear that clearly.
Simple test:
Fader to front
use a standard song with average base and male vocals
use the balance control and shift R to R+L to L.
If in phase the base tone (base and low end of the male vocal) will sound normal al the way, meaning not loosing any substance.
If out of phase you will hear a nice clear low end if R or L, but R+L will sound "hollow"

quick and easy.
You can do that to check phase F to R as well.
For tweeters.. forget it. Mids as well.

Cheers Mike

[The one PR]

the 9v batery is the best way to solve this problem dont search more

[Sodium Duck]

theres actually a radio wire pinout up top stickied

Duh...

LF Speaker: pink-, purple+
RF Speaker: gray-, yellow+
LR Speaker: black-, yellow+
RR Speaker: red-, white+

[dccurrent]

In the 2009 4dr liftback the front right door's positive wire is NOT yellow; it's blue. The gray is correct and so is the front left door's wires. I haven't checked the back doors But I'll let you all know if there's any differences.

[Cartel]

Duh...

LF Speaker: pink-, purple+
RF Speaker: gray-, yellow+
LR Speaker: black-, yellow+
RR Speaker: red-, white+

http://i.imgur.com/UuE9om3.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SosRZCQ52XQ
https://www.installdr.com/harnesses/toyota-wiring.pdf
https://www.yotatech.com/f2/positive-negative-wires-front-speakers-238463/#post51758187