Plug BLOCKING wires? No problem! How to run speaker wire through door plugs!

So you need to run larger speaker wire into your doors for your aftermarket speakers, but there is a problem, there is a plug in the way! How do we bypass the plug and get our large wire ran through the boot and connected to the speaker? Here is how! THIS MODIFICATION IS AT YOUR OWN RISK!

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Car Audio Fabrication – Master Car Audio – Design, Build, Install

[speedee]

I've only watched a few videos on this topic but yours was, by far, the most professional and helpful. Your videos tend to be great and this one was not exception. thanks

[JM-ndps]

Having installed/fabricated for over 20 years...I've done this exact technique that Mark shows quite a few times. One tip I have...is for pulling the new wires through the rubber door boot as sometimes they are especially tight and you have to fight with them in that tight space between the body and the door shell. When you have large hands...this becomes increasingly difficult and frustrating. Make sure to tape the new wires to the fish/ziptie as tight and as flush to the ziptie as possible to keep the lowest/thinnest profile!!! Also be aware of the orientation/direction of how you're taping the new wires to the ziptie! I have found that using cheap/no-name Harbor Freight electrical tape tends to NOT have the stick that is sometimes needed in tight door boots...and you'll have to make multiple attempts at pulling through....so just go with a high quality electrical tape...I prefer 3M.


Now to the tip...The wire insulation likes to grab and drag on the inside of the rubber boot sometimes...so to rectify that issue I use a little spritz of dry silicone spray over the area where you've taped the new wires to the ziptie BEFORE attempting to pull them through the stock rubber boot. The last thing you want to is to damage the factory wiring/pins while pulling the new wires through...or just as bad...pull the pins out of the factory molex plug! It lubricates the ziptie, tape, AND the inside of the rubber boot along with the stock wiring inside so that everything slides through quickly and smoothly! You CAN use something like WD40...however it's more of a liquid than a spray so it tends to drip/run and it doesn't dry nearly as fast as dry silicone spray dries.

[UdiIsReal]

Hey Mark, i wanted to leave this here for others to see what i do as an option - which i consider decent in most applications.
What i usually do to rout thicker wire for door speakers is to actually cut the existing speaker wire realy close to the molex plug (leaving space to solder) and then solder the thicker wire to both ends (interior of the car and interior of the door).
The total added resistance of 10cm tops of thin wire is neglijable - thus performance loss is neglinjable as well, and no speaker wire is actualy even close to fusible (or max current thermal handling either) to the power we put into them (60-100 maybe even 150w/speaker).
I find this very elegant solution as you get the benefit of thick wire over most of the run, and you totally retain the factory plug.
Thanks alot for all the content, i really like your elegant style and was greatly inspired by it. Keep it up my man!

[edwardsoares]

Glad to finally see someone doing it right and avoiding water leaks. Took me close to 8 hours doing four doors my first.

[FU-Utube]

I came across this issue when I was 16, 10 years ago. I thought it would be so simple to just pop off the boot and run the wires. Same damn connector. I used the drill method, although I had a better angle and left the plug in the door. Seeing this video now all this time later, makes me realize that it was a clever idea and not completely stupid lol.

[RS-fccq]

I’m going to apply this to my friends ‘17 chevy cruze. You always have the cleanest, most professional “car audio fabrication” how-to’s, Do’s n Dont’s and DIY info. Awesome content Mark! I always look forward to your videos!
~if I can’t use it now, I know I will at some point!~

[itsjustjonnoh]

Man.. you literally cover everything that I am questioning.. crazy.. I have a 2017 Patriot and I have this kind of plug so thank you a bunch! Watching literally all of your videos before all my stuff arrives by Friday.

[gwill]

This made my rewiring very simple on my 2011 Cadillac Cts! I found that if I compressed the boot, it was easier to pull the wire through. GREAT VIDEO 👍🏾👍🏾

[michaelrodriguez]

Crutchfield sponsorship? Very nice. Thanks for sharing invaluable information that you had to work to learn.

[mupory]

What's considered a "substantial amount of power"? At what wattage would you NOT use the stock wiring and upgrade to 14g or bigger if applicable?

[bbfoto]

@CarAudioFabrication

Quick tip for others watching. ALWAYS check the driver's side door Molex connector first! It will typically have the most amount of wires, and the connector may be fully loaded with no available space for your aftermarket wires.

If you start with the passenger door, you may get an unpleasant surprise once you try to complete the same installation on the driver's side.

And even for high powered midbass door speakers, 14 gauge is the largest speaker wire you would ever need to run. And in 90% of installs, 16 gauge will be more than adequate.

So in a lot of instances, this process is completely unnecessary, unless you need extra wires in the door for actively crossed-over component set tweeters, or a 3-way set, for example,

One caveat is that some of the late model Toyotas are now using aluminum speaker wiring, so it's the same issue as CCA power wiring compared to good OFC.

[rollingtones]

8:51 I use forceps w/rounded jaws, and by using silicone spray I can slide the forceps gently through the grommet and grab speaker wires without hurting anything. These surgical forceps are designed to not hurt surrounding tissue due to being rounded off.

[rolfbach]

You are the man mark. Im sitting there staring at the harnes like hmmm how maby caf has a answer and as always you come through. THANK YOU MARK !!!!

[angelcantero]

Thank you so much for uploading this way of routing the cables to the doors. I'm gonna go back to my car and do it properly now (dont ask how I did it before LOL). Loving the series on this car

[RSXB]

I typically add a additional connector in the door to disconnect if necessary. I have 8 speakers in each of my doors. 4 horns and 4 8" midbass

[DGGuaglianone]

I love those CarAudioFabrication amplifier mounting racks 😍

[aantonio]

I know this is an old video but very educational nonetheless. What I have found to help fish wire through the rubber boot for either speaker or power wire. Is to put some oil on them or wd40. It will make it slide right through.

[MRDJR-rohj]

I have been blown away by crutchfields service, products and support. By far the best in Canada

[sethshelton]

Doing a "hobby" restoration on my '05 Mustang and could only find GT door panels with the Shaker 500 door subs ... and of course my car doesn't have the wiring to make it a "simple" plug & play.

This video not only confirmed what I figured I'd have to do but most likely saved me a ton of money had I taken it to a shop to have done. The only hurdle (and not in any way CAF's fault) is even fully open Mustang doors leave little space to maneuver: like getting your hand in there to disconnect/connect the tabs.

no worries: challenges make hobbies even more satisfying

[andrethib]

Enjoyed the video as usual, very clear and informative.

with regards to crutchfield - i am no installation expert by any means, but i've installed a few stereos for myself and for friends and i've always enjoyed the process. the first installation i ever did was around 1978 or 1979, i helped my older brother's best friend install a pioneer cassette deck and jensen 6x9 speakers into his 1976 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. we ordered everything from crutchfield, they were great to work with even back then.