Greyhound

In wiring my audio system in my 2013 FX4 with Sony/Nav theother day, a question came to mind after listening to the components in the doors. The system is composed of MBQuart QM 160 mids and tweeters in the front, kicker 2-way 6x8’s in the rear doors and two pioneer compact subs under the rear seat. The mids and highs are powered by an old school RF 4080 (4x80) and a Kicker 750.1 for the subs. I used an Audio Control LC7i to convert high level inputs to low level outputs. Channel 1 inputs to the LC7i were the tweeter outputs from the factory Sony amp. Channel 2 inputs were from the front mids output of the factory amp. I moved the jumper of the LC7i to sum channel 1&2. All outputs of the RF amp was wired back to the factory wiring at the factory Sony amp. I wired the Quart tweeters into the factory wiring at the a-pillars. I believe the wiring colors were red and green which doesn’t follow the wiring color chart for that truck. My question is…is there a factory capacitor somewhere near the a-pillar to protect the factory tweeters? Reason I ask is the Quart tweeters sound much too harsh and tinny. I’m using the MB Quart crossovers for the tweeters and 6.5’s in the front doors. I’m wondering if the possible existence of a factory capacitor for the tweeters along with the Quart crossovers is causing this harsh and tinny condition? If so, where is the capacitor located and where can I tie the Quart tweeter back into the factory wiring so the capacitor can be bypassed?

Toddman38

iTrader: (5)

Yes the factory sony tweeters have a capacitor in line.

dawaro

IIRC the red/green wiring is just the factory harness from the plug in the dash to the tweeter, at least it was on my 2014.

It sounds like you have something wired incorrectly. Possibly the phase on one of the speakers.

Where are your xovers located? An easy fix would be to run new wire from the xovers to the tweeters and just bypass the factory wiring completely.

On the LCi7 are you only using the outputs for the front speakers from the Sony amp? There is a thread on diymobileaudio.com about the sub output from the Sony amp clipping real bad at 1/3 volume. The shop that made the post put a scope on the outputs and found that the signal got real distorted at anything past that point and that summing the front outputs would give you a full range signal. Sounds like this could be your issue as well.

Wyo11Scab

iTrader: (1)

You pretty much answered your question by yourself. The Sony has its crossovers built into the amp under the console.. There is a tweeter CAP inline with the XLT and lower models. The cap would have been on your factory tweeter when you removed it. It appears like you have the wiring correct. Is there and adjustment on the MB Quart crossover for tweeter? Like a DB + or _ switch

Here is the install manual. Looks like there is a treble adjustment on the amp?

http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/rftec...-chDSM_MAN.pdf

Greyhound

I had this exact same set-up in my Dodge crew cab but the tweeters weren't as bright and harsh as they are in the Ford so that's why I thought there might have been a cap in series with the tweeters. That, and the fact the wiring color changed from the outputs of the Sony amp to the inputs of the tweeter. I'll make the suggested EQ adjustments on the RF amp and see if that helps any...if not, I'll replace the component set. They've got to be 10+ years old. I'm sure there is a components set out there that the tweeter fits in the factory tweeter location while still utilizing the factory tweeter grills. Any suggestions on a component set?

dawaro

Before you change any equipment and settings make sure to check the polarity on the tweeters themselves and look for the capacitors.

The tweeters factory plug is behind the access panels on each end of the dash. Pop the panel off and you will see the green/red wires. IIRC red is the positive and the cap will be wired inline on those models.

If you want to replace the speakers I would recommend the JL Audio C570 components. They can be a little pricey but they are a very nice speaker and since the tweeter is a 3/4" it fits nicely in the stock location.