Anyone separated the dash and kick panel speaker channels?

[Brian_B]

I was going to order a wiring kit on Amazon that has 16 awg wire. Is that sufficient? Also, will buying better speaker wire actually make a difference? There’s a ton of kits around the $20-50 dollar range, although that seems like it would work I really want to do this right one more time. I wasn’t very happy with the kicker key 200.4 so here we are lol

16GA is probably fine up to about 50W, I'd recommend just running 14GA (it's very common and shouldn't be much more expensive) if you are running new wire though, 12GA wouldn't be unheard of, but probably overkill for your situation. Speaker wire / ampacity is a bit different than just regular power wiring - if you are wiring a light or a winch or something and the wiring causes a voltage drop of 0.1 V, it's not a big deal. On a speaker, it's a huge deal.

I do think @Area51BS is correct in staying away from CCA (Copper Clad Aluminum) - go 100% copper stranded (not solid - you often see solid for home wiring) and you'll do ok. I wouldn't pay more for oxygen free (which is OFC) or any brand name or anything - 100% copper and thicker gauge is what you really want. Stranded, thicker wire will give you cleaner signal - bar none. You don't need anything special for automotive vs home audio either - any generic speaker wire will do ok

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[RagnarKon]

@The Compensator was headed down the right path imo.

The factory wiring at the kick panel connector is as follows:

• Pin 1 is the positive coming from the Audio Control Module
• Pin 2 is the positive that goes the dash speakers.
• Pin 3 is the negative that goes to the dash speakers.
• Pin 4 is the negative that coming from the audio control module

The kick panel speaker is connected via pins 1 & 4.

So, if you want to power the dash speakers independently, you'll want to cut the loops on the Metra harness and wire pin two and pin three directly to the amplifier output. Or said another way... you'll need to run four new wires from the amp to the kick panels (two on each side), and those wires should be spliced into the Metra harness at pins 2 and 3.

As @Brian_B said, 16 gauge copper stranded will be fine for the dash speakers. Heck the runs are so short you could probably do 18 gauge, but if you get 16 gauge you can use it other upgrades later. OFC is overkill, as is 12/14 gauge wire.

The kick panels and the rear pods will continued to be fed from the factory wiring via the PnP harness.

 

[The Compensator]

@The Compensator was headed down the right path imo.

The factory wiring at the kick panel connector is as follows:

• Pin 1 is the positive coming from the Audio Control Module
• Pin 2 is the positive that goes the dash speakers.
• Pin 3 is the negative that goes to the dash speakers.
• Pin 4 is the negative that coming from the audio control module

The kick panel speaker is connected via pins 1 & 4.

So, if you want to power the dash speakers independently, you'll want to cut the loops on the Metra harness and wire pin two and pin three directly to the amplifier output. Or said another way... you'll need to run four new wires from the amp to the kick panels (two on each side), and those wires should be spliced into the Metra harness at pins 2 and 3.

As @Brian_B said, 16 gauge copper stranded will be fine for the dash speakers. Heck the runs are so short you could probably do 18 gauge, but if you get 16 gauge you can use it other upgrades later. OFC is overkill, as is 12/14 gauge wire.

The kick panels and the rear pods will continued to be fed from the factory wiring via the PnP harness.

RagnarKon is pretty much an expert, and I read all his threads, and watched all his videos before trying to tackle my forscan and stereo changes. Thanks for all the help RagnarKon!

 

[mvilla]

@The Compensator was headed down the right path imo.

The factory wiring at the kick panel connector is as follows:

• Pin 1 is the positive coming from the Audio Control Module
• Pin 2 is the positive that goes the dash speakers.
• Pin 3 is the negative that goes to the dash speakers.
• Pin 4 is the negative that coming from the audio control module

The kick panel speaker is connected via pins 1 & 4.

So, if you want to power the dash speakers independently, you'll want to cut the loops on the Metra harness and wire pin two and pin three directly to the amplifier output. Or said another way... you'll need to run four new wires from the amp to the kick panels (two on each side), and those wires should be spliced into the Metra harness at pins 2 and 3.

As @Brian_B said, 16 gauge copper stranded will be fine for the dash speakers. Heck the runs are so short you could probably do 18 gauge, but if you get 16 gauge you can use it other upgrades later. OFC is overkill, as is 12/14 gauge wire.

The kick panels and the rear pods will continued to be fed from the factory wiring via the PnP harness.

Thanks Ragnarkon, this is exactly what I needed.

 

[mblur05]

I'm debating doing the same as the OP when it comes to wiring.

I'm running the Kicker Key with PlugNPlay harness and I'm still not 100% happy with it. I have 4" Kenwoods (21w RMS) in dash with 300hz bass blockers, & 4" Infinity Ref in Rear Pods. (FYI the kenwoods were an early cheap purchase before I got my Bronco in 2022 & everyone got on the kicker speaker craze). It still sounds muddled sometimes and high-pitched w/FM radio & DSP ON. The OEM Kick speakers do pump some bass now but its more like knocking on a door... LOL!

Kicker Key Settings:
-Fader: ON
-Compression: On
-High-Pass Filter: OFF
-Kicker EQ: Enabled
-Time Delay: Enabled
-Both Gains Turned Up very little*
*Forscan Changes Before DSP: Rear EQ – 00
*Rear Speakers set: Speaker+Tweeter (I changed this many times from factory Tweeter only, to Speaker only etc.) Still not sure which is best.

Like the OP I'm thinking of adding new wiring or re-think the Kicker Key all together!

Option 1: Use the Key "Bi-Amp" Mode on the Key by Rewiring the Kicks separate from the Dash speakers. Then have Rear Pods just run off radio. Kicks will be the new Rear Channel like the Key directions show. I guess I would either need to cut into the PlugnPlay harness, or create a DIY wire harness w/same molex connectors to jump in between the harness. *Also I'm not sure how or if I need to rewire the Rear Speakers from the PNP harness to go back to the ACM or how that works? Is that needed to loop it back or does it pass thru the Key Amp? This would be the cheap route using what I already have but changing the wiring & make a DIY wire harness.


Option 2: Add Component 6.5" in the Kicks w/Tweeters in the Dash, that means ditch the 4" dash Speakers. If the Components have crossovers I would run new wire up to the dash tweeter. Cut the loops on Metra 4 pin connector like @RagnarKon said to hook it all up.
The Key amp would run all 4 channels but the front stage would be component/tweeter. This seems the next best route with minimal added cost.

Option 2-A: Add new Component 6.5" in the Kicks & keep the 4" Kenwoods in the Dash --**Use the Key Amp "BI-AMP" mode to only run the 4" Dash & Components wired separately.


Option 3: **Buy Bigger AMP -Ditch the Kicker Key** & No more speaker upgrades using what I have already. I would get an Amp with close to 100 RMS x4 per channel like @RagnarKon mentioned on another thread. This would be the most cost ontop of what I already spent.


These are the Components I'm debating over, they are in my price range:
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_20651KSS67/Kicker-KSS670.html?tp=106
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_130TSD65C/Pioneer-TS-D65C.html


Considering Higher Powered Amp- these are within the price range I'm willing to go with:
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_130GMDX874/Pioneer-GM-DX874.html
https://audison.com/product/sr-4-300/
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_13698361/JL-Audio-JD400-4.html?tp=35782

**If I'm ditching the Key Amp & upgrading to a different AMP, would I need to add the load generators (AC LGD) to the wiring or add anything else to clean up the factory signal?
https://amzn.to/4aUde9z

I know this is a long post and this is more of a Kicker Key related which has many other threads, but this thread seemed what I was thinking on rewiring things. Sorry for the long post.

Any info would be helpful.

 

[AZCoyote]

I'm debating doing the same as the OP when it comes to wiring.

I'm running the Kicker Key with PlugNPlay harness and I'm still not 100% happy with it. I have 4" Kenwoods (21w RMS) in dash with 300hz bass blockers, & 4" Infinity Ref in Rear Pods. (FYI the kenwoods were an early cheap purchase before I got my Bronco in 2022 & everyone got on the kicker speaker craze). It still sounds muddled sometimes and high-pitched w/FM radio & DSP ON. The OEM Kick speakers do pump some bass now but its more like knocking on a door... LOL!

Kicker Key Settings:
-Fader: ON
-Compression: On
-High-Pass Filter: OFF
-Kicker EQ: Enabled
-Time Delay: Enabled
-Both Gains Turned Up very little*
*Forscan Changes Before DSP: Rear EQ – 00
*Rear Speakers set: Speaker+Tweeter (I changed this many times from factory Tweeter only, to Speaker only etc.) Still not sure which is best.

Like the OP I'm thinking of adding new wiring or re-think the Kicker Key all together!

Option 1: Use the Key "Bi-Amp" Mode on the Key by Rewiring the Kicks separate from the Dash speakers. Then have Rear Pods just run off radio. Kicks will be the new Rear Channel like the Key directions show. I guess I would either need to cut into the PlugnPlay harness, or create a DIY wire harness w/same molex connectors to jump in between the harness. *Also I'm not sure how or if I need to rewire the Rear Speakers from the PNP harness to go back to the ACM or how that works? Is that needed to loop it back or does it pass thru the Key Amp? This would be the cheap route using what I already have but changing the wiring & make a DIY wire harness.


Option 2: Add Component 6.5" in the Kicks w/Tweeters in the Dash, that means ditch the 4" dash Speakers. If the Components have crossovers I would run new wire up to the dash tweeter. Cut the loops on Metra 4 pin connector like @RagnarKon said to hook it all up.
The Key amp would run all 4 channels but the front stage would be component/tweeter. This seems the next best route with minimal added cost.

Option 2-A: Add new Component 6.5" in the Kicks & keep the 4" Kenwoods in the Dash --**Use the Key Amp "BI-AMP" mode to only run the 4" Dash & Components wired separately.


Option 3: **Buy Bigger AMP -Ditch the Kicker Key** & No more speaker upgrades using what I have already. I would get an Amp with close to 100 RMS x4 per channel like @RagnarKon mentioned on another thread. This would be the most cost ontop of what I already spent.


These are the Components I'm debating over, they are in my price range:
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_20651KSS67/Kicker-KSS670.html?tp=106
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_130TSD65C/Pioneer-TS-D65C.html


Considering Higher Powered Amp- these are within the price range I'm willing to go with:
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_130GMDX874/Pioneer-GM-DX874.html
https://audison.com/product/sr-4-300/
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_13698361/JL-Audio-JD400-4.html?tp=35782

**If I'm ditching the Key Amp & upgrading to a different AMP, would I need to add the load generators (AC LGD) to the wiring or add anything else to clean up the factory signal?
https://amzn.to/4aUde9z

I know this is a long post and this is more of a Kicker Key related which has many other threads, but this thread seemed what I was thinking on rewiring things. Sorry for the long post.

Any info would be helpful.

What was your final configuration after all the deliberation? Thx

 

[mblur05]

What was your final configuration after all the deliberation? Thx

Wow this was over a year ago when I posted this. I eventually went with Option 3! I upgraded to a much bigger DSP amp.

See my post below showing everything I did. However, last week I unhooked the Kicker Key amp and took it out, so the rear pods are going off the factory setup.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/bronco-musway-dsp-amp-install-speaker-upgrade.110136/

 

[AZCoyote]

lol. Yes, I resurrected that one but you left us hanging! I’m going through similar deliberations and decided something that does 5 channels with 125-150 watts for the front stage is my jam. That’s always where I’ve hit the sweet spot in other installs. I’ll do the rear pods off radio just for fill. Thanks for the link!

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