Which is + or which is -?

I bought some aftermarket speakers for the rear deck on my sedan. I need to know if the blue is negative or the brown is negative ect... (I don't have HK.)

Brown and black is always negative
Blue is positive

Originally Posted by tko200

Brown and black is always negative
Blue is positive

I put them in like you said but they don't seem all that loud they just put out base lines is that normal? Here is the speaker that I bought http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...%3Den%26sa%3DN

Originally Posted by tko200

Brown and black is always negative
Blue is positive

maybe in this case and in most bmw's but not always. i just don't want anyone to get confused for othe cars. but yes brown is negative on the e46.

It you are installing aftermarket speakers with factory amp it will not sound good , the factory speakers are 3ohms and the aftermarket are 4ohms

Originally Posted by RockLee

I put them in like you said but they don't seem all that loud they just put out base lines is that normal? Here is the speaker that I bought http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...%3Den%26sa%3DN

your stock speakers were 2 or 3 ohms (can't remember) and those sony's are 4 ohms i believe so you will get less output from the amp. you need to either get 2 ohm aftermarket speakers or an aftermarket amp.

infinity and a few others sell 2 ohm aftermarket speakers.

I just put them in. They sound like stock. And when I crank up the volume they shake ALOT.
But I can't put the factory protective net because the speaker is too tall.

Here's a trick for figuring out a speaker's polarity: Get a 9V battery and momentarily touch the + and - battery terminals to the speaker terminals. You will see the speaker cone move out or in. Typically positive polarity corresponds to speaker cone moving out.

The speaker coil can handle the DC current fine if it's just a second, but anything longer is not advised.

brown is ground(-) in bmw wiring. there shouldn't be any need for the 9v test if its risky. your problem sounds like it could be a few things.

"I put them in like you said but they don't seem all that loud they just put out base lines is that normal?"
- this could be because of the factory crossover settings on its amp. you will not get a full range signal if you are tapping into the speaker level out to the woofer.

the shaking could be because of the speakers not being well matched with the relatively poor stock amp. unless you want to add your own amp, you should get speakers that will run on the low power output of the factory amp, and make sure that the speakers resistance matches the amp. i've read that the factory speakers are something like 2.6ohms. this is why the bavarian audio packages are so attractive. no need to replace the amp...
- also the shaking could be because the woofers are mounted improperly. on my setup, the screws on my speakers/mounting plate made the whole unit not flush with the door hole. i used some rubber foam weatherstripping to create an air tight seal. this helped improve bass response and accuracy significantly.

lastly, if your speakers are too tall, then you should put the aftermarket grill on, or find a way to modify the stock grille, but if its vibrating on the grill, that will be bad for your speaker and sound.

Originally Posted by shagone

your stock speakers were 2 or 3 ohms (can't remember) and those sony's are 4 ohms i believe so you will get less output from the amp. you need to either get 2 ohm aftermarket speakers or an aftermarket amp.

infinity and a few others sell 2 ohm aftermarket speakers.

If you put on the 2 ohms, it will not be stable. Frequencies will be coming out like crazy, meaning that you will have empty spots, or two speakers playing the same frequencies at the same time. Also, there will be a lot of distortion. It will be the same as changing the amp, but not the speakers. That is not recommended.

Originally Posted by RockLee

I just put them in. They sound like stock. And when I crank up the volume they shake ALOT.
But I can't put the factory protective net because the speaker is too tall.

What kind of shaking are you talking about? The whole speaker shakes or is it rattling? I have tall CDT's in the rear. 3" depth and they are fine. Just modify a little the rear deck, but cutting unecessary parts and you will be just fine.
Regarding about the cable color, check this site, also keep it for further references:
http://www.e46fanatics.com/faq/stereosaga.html

Originally Posted by tko200

Brown and black is always negative
Blue is positive

Careful because BMW doesn't always follow that rule

ON aftermarket systems that is normally true.

Originally Posted by dkangman

What kind of shaking are you talking about? The whole speaker shakes or is it rattling? I have tall CDT's in the rear. 3" depth and they are fine. Just modify a little the rear deck, but cutting unecessary parts and you will be just fine.
Regarding about the cable color, check this site, also keep it for further references:
http://www.e46fanatics.com/faq/stereosaga.html

The mounting frame does not shake. Only the speaker with the base lines
if you turn up the volume with full base.
Here are some pics of the speakers in the car.

a couple things come to mind..

cranking the bass level on the head unit never sounds good, especially with bad speakers or underpowered speakers.
when you put the bass on the HU down to the norma level, do you get the vibrating?
what amp do you have running them, how many watts?? speakers tend to distort more when they are underpowered, not when they are overpowered.
also, those speakers don't seem all that great, i wouldn't expect much bass from them. if you want nice bass and don't want a sub, then look into getting something better.
lastly, is there a tight seal between the moutning plate and the hole? you don't want air to get through there. i used adhesive rubbery foam weatherstripping to seal mine up.

Where is the amp?

Originally Posted by RockLee

Where is the amp?

if you don't know where the amp is i'll assume that your using the stock amp.

its in the trunk on the drivers side. just peel back the carpeted panel and its right there.

the BMW stock amp isn't well suited for running aftermarket speakers. it is lower resistance (ohms) than normal amps, and it has built in crossover settings that are specifically designed for stock speakers. if you want aftermarket speakers in your car you have to use some specifically designed to run off the factory amp. (BSW is the only makes of these that i know of, but i haven't looked much) or you need to power them using an aftermarket amplifier.

Update: I found the problem (I just didn't really pay much attention to it until now)
So I took out the passengers side speaker and The wires were crossed.
So I fixed that. And now they scream!!! They sound GREAT even better then stock.
So I put
and

on the CD Player. And they were so loud that I might need to put some terry towels under the rear deck to keep it from vibrating.
I do recommend this type of speaker because It sounds good and its cheap.
http://www.xplodsony.com/xplod/speakers/XS-GT1625A
Thanks for the info guys.

Trick question?

Originally Posted by E46sportwagon03

Trick question?

?

my fronts just blew so I will change them later.