1999 Chrysler Concorde Speakers

Now that I have replaced my window clip and door handle. It is time
for some more fun things. I would like to replace the door speakers.
Any suggestions on where to purchase new speakers, what brand of
speakers I should purchase or things I should look out for? I'm tired
of that crackling sound. Do I need to remove the door panel to replace
the speaker or just the speaker cover?

 

Which audio system came in your Concorde - there are 4 (I believe -
base, mid-line, Infinity I, and Infinity II) levels of systems, and what
level you have may affect a good decision on speakers (some are amp
driven, different power levels and ohm ratings). Do you only have the
one speaker per front door (i.e., no "sail" speaker) at the front of the
base of the window opening?

Chrysler has an odd-duck door speaker attachment screw hole pattern, so
make sure the speakers you get are for a Chyrsler or come with an
adapter (which some do), or get the adapters separately.

And no - you do not need to remove the panel to remove the speakers -
use your fingers to work that screen out of the door. You will then
have access to the speaker attachement screws.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

I have the Infinity System - not sure if it is the I or II. I do have
the little sail speakers attached to the door.

 

I also have the AM/FM cassette with the single cd player. I saw in a
previous post your recommendation to buy Pioneer 6 1/2 inch speakers.
What should you look for in these speakers?

 

I am most familiar with the base (meaning lowest level) sytem that came
in my '99 (no amp, probably different ohms rating). I recently acquired
a '98 that has the Infinity I system in which both door speakers are
blown - so I've been looking at that too.

Since you have the sail speakers, if you have speakers in the rear door,
then you have the Infinity II. If no speakers in the rear door, then
you have Infinity I.

The best advice I can give you is to go on the 300M Club forums
(http://300mclub.org/forums/index.php?sid=62bf325fbc678c1c6c07ce791b832d81)
and do a search on speakers. There is an audio sub-forum, so you could
restrict that search to that forum. The subject of what aftermarket
speakers will match the two Infinity systems (ohms- and watts-wise) has
been discussed a lot - doesn't come up much now because it has pretty
much been beat to death in the past - so you should find some good
mature info. there - seems that a lot of the recommended choices are
avaialable at the best prices on ebay.

If you replace all speakers, you will have more flexibility so that the
speakers will be matched. If replacing only those 2, then you might be
more restricted in order to keep the system more balanced.

Is the center dash speaker also crackling? That's usually the first to
go. If so, most people say it adds little to the sound quality any way,
and they disconnect it (I did that on the '98 that I just got - that
speaker was blown). Sail speakers are also prone to failing - very
little choice in aftermarket for size and ohms rating for those, but
they are available - hopefully yours are still OK.

If you were going to upgrade your audio system, you might consider
replacing all the speakers with a matched set
(discussions/recommendations on that on the 300M forums). Anything you
do in that area will be an ungrade with a modest expenditure if you feel
like investing a little in the car.

Consider joining the 300M Club - there are no Concorde forums, and the
300M and Intepids are 95+% the same car mechanically. Also look at
www.dodgeintrepid.net forums - younger, more raucous crwod there, but a
lot of owners hang out on both for info./advice. Both welcome Concorde
owners.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

How can I access the central speaker? Do I have to take the dash off?
I thought it was the right speaker but you might be correct that it is
the central speaker.

Bill

 

The tray that goes all the way across the dash that covers the speaker
would have to be removed to get to the actual speaker. To remove that
tray, you'd have to remove the A-pillar (the posts between the
windshield and the door) covers first. If you just want to disable the
speaker, you don't need to access the speaker itself - you can simply
snip a wire at the amplifier (behind the passenger-side kick panel if it
is the Infinity I system - if Infinity II system, amp is in the trunk -
if no rear door speakers, it is Infinity I). That would be the Pink
wire with red stripe.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

I think it is Infinity I because I don't have any rear door speakers.
Where is the passenger side kick panel? What color is the wire?

Thanks for your help.

Bill

Also, the new speaker that I bought for the door need to be soldered
since they don't have the connections like the factory speaker. Any
suggestions on soldering?

 

That would be correct.

Kick panel - meaning if you're sitting in the passenger seat, it's the
plastic panel that your right foot hits if you move it to the right.
IOW, it's immediately in front of the door, below the dash, extends down
to carpet level. Remove one screw and pull the sill cover back to get
the kick panel out of the way and expose the amp.

There are two connectors - the two wires to the center speaker are on
the connector with the greater number of wires. One wire is pink with
black stripe, the other is pink with red stripe.

Sometimes the colors can be a little ambiguous, so to help give you
confidence that you have the right connector and the right wires on that
connector: There are no wires with any pink on them on the wrong
connector; both wires are on the third position from one end of the
connector - IOW, the connector has two parallel rows - one wire is in
one row, third position from the end of that row, the other wire is
occupying the exact same position in the other row. Cut either one of
them (no need to cut both) and tape the cut end that comes from the
amplifier to ensure that it doesn't short to anything.

You're welcome. (you had another question - see below)

Several ways to handle it. I assume the new speakers came with push-on
connectors compatible with the new speaker's terminals, with pigtails
(wires) attached. If not, go to the parts store and buy push in
connectors to fit the speaker terminals - careful - they come in
different widths. Cut the vehicle harness connectors off and crimp the
push-in terminals you bought onto the factory harness wires.

If the speakers came with terminals and pigtails, you could snip the
connectors that plugged into your factory speakers off of the factory
harness and solder the pigtails of the new speakers' connectors to the
wires that you snipped the vehicle's connectors off of. That would be a
good choice if you're certain you won't ever be switching back to
factory type speakers (to sell the car or something - might want to save
the snipped factory connectors - snipped with a couple of inches of wire
on them - in a zip-lock bag and keep them in the glove compartment just
in case). Or you could keep the factory connectors attached to the
harness and splice (wye) in the pigtails that came with the new speakers
(remove an inch or so of insulation on the factory wires, wrap with ends
of pigtails, solder and wrap with tape) - and let the factory connectors
dangle free inside the door.

Your new speaker terminals are probably marked for negative and
positive. On your vehicle harness, wires are light green/violet -
positive, light green/black - negative on left door; light blue/red -
positive, light blue/black on right door. Be sure to match vehicle wire
positives and negatives up on the new speakers to ensure that they are
in phase with each other for best sound. If speaker terminals are not
marked pos. and neg., arbitrarily pick one to be positive on one
speaker, and use the correspondiong one on the other speaker to be its
positive one.

So what kind of speakers did you end up getting?

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')