Speaker wiring on 94 XLT premium sound probelms

[kemuxian]

Hello! A question for those of you who have more experience putting an aftermarket stereo into an explorer with premium sound system. I have a 94 XLT with premium sound. I installed a Pioneer HU (DEH-P860MP) using a standard wiring harness I purchased at Schucks. I also replaced speakers with Blaupunkt, but did not bypass the Ford amp. It worked fine for about three weeks, then a lot of popping from left front speaker. Pulled head unit out, and after a little investigating, I found the interference came from the speaker connection. With the premium sound system, the speaker wires are connected to a square head (electrical stuff is a separate connector). The wires from the HU are then connected to a gray sheath with eight small pins, and the two connect by sliding the sheath from the HU over the speaker wires connection head. I know that this connection is the cause of the interference because when I jiggle it around, lots of static from all of the speakers. I bought another wiring harness , and replaced, but still have static issues. Question: If I cut the head off both the speaker connection and the sheath from the wiring harness, can I solder the wires directly and bypass the plastic connectors? Since the speaker wires are covered in a gray covering of some sort, I can't tell if there are identifiable wires in there or not, and am loath to cut the head off for fear of doing even more damage. Many thanks for any help or assistance.

 

[Tbars4]

...welcome here and good questions...
...i am not a wiz at this at all but some bypass the stock wiring and amp with new speaker wires and amp...it will make your head unit and speakers sound so much better...
...here is a link to answer some of your questions but ford has used diff color wires on the various trucks...this will give you something to read while others chime in...

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=199152