Ford Crown Victoria / Mercury Grand Marquis:
Instructions for making a wiring adapter for aftermarket speakers

Introduction...

The following instructions show how to make a Ford speaker wiring adapters for installing aftermarket speakers. Our example vehicle was a 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis (same as the Ford Crown Victoria) but the instructions should be valid for a number of different model years and model types of Ford vehicles. We know, for example, that our 1994 Ford E-150 van uses the same type of speaker connectors. In short, look at your speakers and speaker connectors and compare them to the pictures below. If they match then these instructions apply.

The procedure uses the connector from the old factory speakers and speaker wire (with spade connectors) that are typically included with new, aftermarket speakers. Please note that the old, factory speakers will be essentially destroyed in the process and will be religated to the trash can. If you want to keep your old speakers you'll need to find another solution for wiring up your new speakers. Several car audio companies sell speaker wiring adapters; Crutchfield is one example. That's an alternative if you want keep your old speakers intact and functioning. Of course, you can always just start cutting off old connectors and splicing wires together as well. We opted for a solution that keeps the car's wiring harness intact, allows for easy installtion (and removal) of the speakers and provides a solid, reliable electrical connection as well.

If you do decide to take on this procedure yourself please drop us a line and give us some feedback on the content of this site. We're always trying to improve our content and we love getting feedback from fellow Do-It-Yourselfers

Tools & Supplies

This is one of the simplest procedures on Autoclinix but you will need some specific tools to do it right. Although the list is short, if you have the necessary tools at your side when you need them it will save you some time.

Instructions
(steps 1-6 of 6)

1. Carefully remove the connectors from the factory speakers (see picture below). These connectors are "clipped" onto the speaker frame/basket. You can remove them by using a small screwdriver to release the clip and sliding the connector off of the speaker frame. If you happen to break the clip tab that's OK. It's won't be needed for the completed wiring adapter.

2. Cut the wire leads connecting the speaker drivers to the connector. NOTE: This renders the old factory speakers usesless and pretty much consigns them to the trash bin (which is no great loss).
3. Trim the metal tabs of the removed speaker connector by cutting off the "right-angle" portion tab and then bending the remaining portion of the tab back towards the rear of the connector (see picture below).

3. The aftermarket speakers should have come with speaker wire with (female) spade type connections on one end and bare wire on the other. Starting from the connector end, cut a length of speaker wire approximately 8-10" long.
4. Using solder and a soldering iron (NOT electrical tape) solder the bare ends of the speaker wire to the respective connector tabs (the tabs have a notch in them which helps to hold the wire in place. Heat the tabs and the wire with the soldering iron; do NOT place the solder directly on the iron. It will melt but it won't form a good connection between the tab and the wire (a cold solder joint will form and it won't be a reliable connection). Also, be careful not to melt the connector body. You should end up with something that looks like the picture below.

5. NEATLY wrap the exposed end of the connector with high quality electrical tape (see picture below). Be sure and "pinch" the tape together between the leads to insure the two connections are safely seperated.

6. Repeat steps 1-5 for the other speaker connector and you're ready to continue installing your new speakers.