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Audio Upgrade in RHD RS (NOT the US version i.e. no factory sub/amp/FENG)

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#1 · (Edited)
Audio Upgrade in RHD RS (NOT the US version)

I finished the subwoofer install a few days ago and now the other audio upgrade parts have arrived. I'm hoping our non-US version RS system is wired similarly to the ST as I've already completed upgrades on that model.

Anyway, I thought I'd start a separate thread for any Aussies considering audio mods since the US version is so different, with the abomination-masquerading-as-a-sub, amp and fake engine noise generator in the boot.

The shallow-mount 12-inch JL Audio sub install was straightforward (see separate thread http://www.focusrs.org/forum/30-foc...ative-option-hidden-custom-sub-enclosure.html):

Vehicle Car Trunk Family car


The new parts are:

Electronics Technology Electronic device Camera Cameras & optics


Amp - JL Audi HD900/5, really compact and one of the first genuinely audiophile quality class D amps. 4x100w rms plus 1x500w rms for sub. Intend to fit under the passenger seat; there is a bright side to our Recaro shell seats being mounted high and with no adjustment! I'll just need to build a small mounting platform above the rear aircon vents. Hopefully the speaker cables are easily accessible behind the panel on the passenger side of the transmission tunnel as they are in the ST. I'll let you know.

Front speakers - Hertz Mille Legend MLK 1650.3 components. 6.5 inch 125w rms woofer. 35mm tweeter. Insanely massive crossovers (see photo). Hope there is lots of room inside the the doors, if not they'll go beneath the driver's seat. Lovely accurate, dynamic speakers, EISA's Speaker system of the year 2016. Just a tiny bit expensive though (I got a good deal)...

Camera accessory Technology Electronic instrument Electronic device Cameras & optics


Rear speakers - Hertz Mille Pro MPK 165P.3 6.5 inch woofer 115w rms. 25mm tweeter. Less bloated crossover.

Apart from the sound, one of the things I really like about Hertz is that each component is laser etched with a QR code which you can scan to confirm that it is a genuine product. I saved about 30% by buying direct from Italy so it's important to know you're not buying counterfeit products.

4 AWG power cable. 12 awg to subwoofer, 14 & 16 to speakers.

Doors will all be lined in dynamat (well, similar but cheaper local version) sound deadening material. The boot is already done of course.

I'll be spreading the install out over several days due other commitments but I'll post anything I think might be useful.

Cheers.

Update 1- Checking Amp Location

First proper look at how the amp will fit under the passenger seat. I knew that the transverse rod of the slider mechanism might be in the way and also that I'd have to mount the amp over the aircon vents. It looks like it should slot straight in (phew).

Fitting under here (the seats have no height adjustment):

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View from front showing slider bar obstruction:

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From rear showing vents and clearer view of slider bar:

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From the rear, just sat on sockets as spacers for rough height check. Clearance increases as the seat is moved towards the rear. No probs:

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The wire connections are towards the front of the car and tucked well back from the passenger's feet.

The amp gains etc are located behind the black fascia facing to the rear of the car. This will be easily accessible for adjustments but the amp is far enough forward that it won't be seen or kicked by a rear passenger.

Good cooling. I won't be blowing hot air out of the vents, even in winter in Adelaide it'd be minimal and wouldn't upset the amp. The cold air blasting out in summer can only help.

Looks like it should be easy to fit, although you wouldn't be able to get a larger unit in that space without cutting and reshaping the slider bar somehow. I'm going to take the seat out for access when I actually install the amp.

Update 2 - Checking Speaker Wiring Access and Colours

Very happy to confirm that the speaker wires are very easily accessible, in the same place as in the Focus ST.

The passenger side (RHD Aus/UK cars) transmission tunnel panel is most easily removed by just pulling outwards on the front bottom edge, below the small pop fastener cover. There is no point in taking the little panel out to get to the pop fastener as the head of the fastener almost fills the cavity and you can't get a panel removal tool behind it anyway.

Once you have pulled the side out by an inch or so to free the pop fastener, simply pull the whole panel towards the front of the car to remove it.


Vehicle Car Automotive exterior Bumper


Here's a close up of the panel so you can see the way the tabs are oriented, requiring you to slide the panel forward to remove and rearward to reinstall.



You can remove the little fastener cover from the panel now, as you'll need access to push the pop fastener back into place when refitting. The cover needs to be levered out from the forward edge first and then pulled towards the front of the car to remove it, due to the tab shapes.

The wiring is now very easy to get at. You need the largest vertical loom:

Vehicle Auto part Automotive wheel system Automotive tire Automotive exterior


Electrical wiring Wire Auto part Technology Electronic component


When it's time to cut/splice, the wires you need are coloured:

LEFT FRONT + WHITE
LEFT FRONT - WHITE WITH BROWN STRIPE

RIGHT FRONT + WHITE WITH PURPLE STRIPE
RIGHT FRONT - WHITE WITH ORANGE STRIPE

LEFT REAR + BROWN WITH GREEN STRIPE (becomes White with Green stripe later in the loom & at spkr)
LEFT REAR - BROWN WITH YELLOW STRIPE

RIGHT REAR + BROWN WITH WHITE STRIPE
RIGHT REAR - BROWN WITH BLUE STRIPE

You can probably see some of those colours already, below the loom wrap. Each pair is twisted together so it's all pretty obvious. You'll need to unwrap the loom to expose more wire length to work with, of course.

I'll be cutting the wires an inch or two above the connector and soldering my wires for connection to the amp onto the end of the wire above the cut.

If you plan to use the original speaker wiring to run from your amp to the speakers, just connect the correct amp channel outputs to the appropriate wires below the cut in the loom.

If you need larger gauge wiring from the amp to the speakers (for higher powered systems) you'll just run new wires from your amp through the molex connectors at the doors directly to the speakers. In that case the wires in the loom below your cut will not be used. Edit: see Update 5 on page 6 of this thread ref connections from amp to front speakers - much easier solution available ;)

In either case, any new wires spliced into the loom can be run under the edge of the carpet at the bottom of the panel opening.

I'll update when I actually do this to make it clearer.

Update 3 - Stupid #*%×@%€ Molex !

(Edit: most people will not have to wire through the molex as the factory wire to the front speakers turns out to be 14 AWG and can handle 300wrms!).

Like most modern cars, the RS has a Molex connecter where the speaker wires exit the car body to go to the door. This is an efficient system to use from a manufacturing point of view as, on the assembly line, the door internal wiring can be completed separately before fitting to the car body by simply plugging the two parts of the molex together.

It's a pain for subsequent audio mods though.

I intended to pull the molex from the car and drill through both halves to allow 16 awg speaker wires to pass through. I've done this on previous cars. The connecter to the front door looks like this (the rubber boot has been pulled back slightly to reveal the molex clips):

Lock Door handle Wetsuit Door


Remove the block by pressing on two black lock tabs on top and one at the bottom. Pull and twist the block out of the hole it's mounted in (gently). You'll find 2 or 3 inches of slack in the loom so you can pull the block out that far:

Auto part Pipe


Unfortunately, the molex block is deeper than I expected and more difficult to dismantle and drill in situ. In this photo I have unplugged the speaker wire input connecter from the back of the molex:



My revised plan is to cut the two factory speaker wires going into this molex plug (white and white+brown) and connect my new wires from the amp at that point.

Update: wire cutting not required (see Update 5 on page 6)

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On the exit side of the molex I'll cut and replace the original wires going to the speaker. I think that's the black & black+purple stripe pair but I'll confirm the colours and polarity when I remove the mid-woofer from the door (turns out that the wires are both black but the positive is marked with a purple dab of paint at the speaker connection - check before you cut it off).

Wire Technology Vehicle Auto part Car


The short length of smaller gauge wire passing through the molex won't degrade the signal to the speakers significantly, even with the extra soldered connections.

Update 4 - Fitting Amp and Wiring

Took the seat out to fit the amp. Just one captive bolt to disconnect the electrics, then the 4 rail bolts. I discovered that, if I folded the seat fully, I could just lift it up onto the rear seat out of the way. This avoids the possibility of scraping trim or paint when taking it out of the car. This only took 10 minutes.

Trunk Vehicle Auto part Car Automotive exterior


The front of the amp is fastened to the top of the rear aircon vents with extra strong velcro, the rear is mounted on a fabricated metal frame which allows unrestricted airflow. It's very securely fixed but can be quickly removed without taking the seat out if ever required. All connections and controls are easily accessible.

The 4-gauge power cable runs through the large rubber grommet where the main loom goes into the engine bay. I took the glove box out (5 torx bolts) to access this and also because I wanted to feed the new speaker cables through to the door molex from this area. However, the grommet can be reached without removing the glove box. It's to the right of the fuse box It helps if you are a contortionist. I used an old soldering iron to melt a small hole in the grommet from the engine bay side and then opened it out with a stanley knife (very carefully) before feeding the cable through.

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For the amp remote power trigger wire, I used a piggyback fuse holder (aka add-a-fuse) from F85 in the passenger compartment fuse box (used for aircon, moonroof, heated seats etc).

I cut the factory speaker wires in the location described above.

Vehicle


I soldered the new wires on and fed them behind the carpet down to a slit I cut below the passenger side right seat rail location before connecting them to the amp inputs:

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Speaker wire connection to factory loom tidied up:

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The power and speaker input wires connected up:

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Intend to fit speakers and finish wiring tomorrow.

See later post on page 6 for final update
 
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#44 ·
Excellent thread.
 
#45 ·
This is a brilliant thread - thank you. I am so glad that getting the speaker wires is easy from the bottom of the dash/transmission tunnel. I have purchased one of these https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VVYL46/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 to make it as easy as possible to add some extra oomph to the factory speakers. The speaker wires you labelled for us was marvellous.

Is there also an access to power / accessary power within that thick wiring loom? Or do I need to pull it from the fuse box under the glove box? I will probably end up installing the amp behind the glove box area so should be okay. Apparently it's a small amp designed to run off from the power from the headunit wiring without getting it through the firewall and from the battery.

Would very much appreciate your advice!
 
#47 · (Edited)
This is a brilliant thread - thank you. I am so glad that getting the speaker wires is easy from the bottom of the dash/transmission tunnel. I have purchased one of these https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VVYL46/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 to make it as easy as possible to add some extra oomph to the factory speakers. The speaker wires you labelled for us was marvellous.

Is there also an access to power / accessary power within that thick wiring loom? Or do I need to pull it from the fuse box under the glove box? I will probably end up installing the amp behind the glove box area so should be okay. Apparently it's a small amp designed to run off from the power from the headunit wiring without getting it through the firewall and from the battery.

Would very much appreciate your advice!
Hi. I've never fitted one of these little booster amps but it seems like a good bang-for-buck solution. The front speakers in the RS have an impedance rating of 2 ohms (to get higher volume) but, luckily, that isn't a problem as this amp can drive 4 ohm or 2 ohm speakers at 45w rms. However, the front speakers are marked as 50 watts maximum, which I assume is peak power rather than average/rms. You'd have to be careful not to turn the volume up too far or you could over extend the speakers and physically damage them and/or they could overheat. You'd hear distortion well before that happens but some people just keep cranking up the volume anyway.

The factory rear speakers are 4 ohm but only rated for 25w max. Again, you'd have to keep the volume down to avoid damage.

I don't suppose the little Alpine amp has output gain controls built in. If it does you could calculate the max output voltage settings required for each channel, where voltage to be set = the square root of the speakers rms power in watts times their impedance rating in ohms. Setting these voltages would limit the output of each amp channel to match the speakers and prevent damage. If there are no output gain control settings on the amp (I'm pretty sure there aren't) you would protect the speakers by fading most of the power to the front pair and making sure you aren't turning the volume up above the point at which you start to hear distortion.

At some point, if you want to use the full power of the new amp safely while also improving the sound quality, you might want to consider replacing both front and rear speakers with minimum 40 wrms component speakers (2 or 4 ohm). Most aftermarket speakers are rated for at least that power level anyway. They needn't be expensive to improve on the factory ones. You wouldn't need to upgrade the factory wiring at those power levels, so it'd be a simple job to pop the door panels off and swap them over.

I'd use a piggy back fuse to tap power from the fusebox in the passenger footwell, as you already suggested. This add-a-fuse type of connecter will allow you to fit a separate fuse to suit the amp's requirements. They're available from Supercheap Auto, Jaycar etc:

http://www.jaycar.com.au/double-mini-blade-fuse-socket-wire-tap/p/SF5125

Just make sure you don't choose a fuse that's permanently live, or you'll flatten the battery. Let us know how this mod turns out ;)
 
#49 ·
Hi Bill, couple of questions if you don't mind? I will probably upgrade my speakers and add a small amp, probably not sub for awhile. I reckon I'm happy to spend about $1000 for the speakers front/rear, what do you recommend, I'm a bit worried about mounting depth etc.

Thanks, Jamie
 
#52 · (Edited)
Hi Jamie, that's really hard to answer. As I mentioned above, I like a really natural, 'as-it-was-recorded' type of sound but many people prefer very warm, mellow tones, or harsher, more in your face systems. I've mentioned Hertz (Italian) and Focal (aka JMlab - French) and they are both multi-award winning companies producing high fidelity but often high priced systems. I would still recommend you audition them; their lower range systems are still better than most other company's highest range ones imo. Autobarn in Elizabeth have a good range of Focal speakers on demo, along with Alpine, Sony, Pioneer, Kenwood, Clarion, Kicker etc. Alpine are good if you like the more strident/metal/screamo etc sound. Their amps are very good. Hertz are a bit harder to find but you can audition their range at Tonkins at Mile End. They also have the JL Audio kit that I have fitted. If you do like Focal you get the best prices at ryda.com.au and Hertz best prices are on Ebay hertz items - Get great deals on ALTOPARLANTI, AMPLIFICATORI items on eBay Stores! Tonkins gave me good discount on some bigger items as well, actually.

You can get a great sounding system (amp and speakers) within your budget. I'd probably aim to spend $200 - $250 on front speakers, $80 - $150 on rears (from the same company's range) and the rest on a class-D amp (4 channel, or 5 if you can afford it, in case you do decide to add a sub later). You may find you like some of the less expensive manufacturer's products best, the higher cost of many systems is just brand snobbery and if you can't hear the difference, why waste money? As I said earlier, only you can decide what sound you prefer, so you need to listen to them first. Autobarn Elizabeth is good because you can listen to several systems back-to-back and compare them directly. You can get the items for 20-50% less at Ryda though.

Mounting depth will not be an issue unless you plan on putting 12 inch subs in the doors! The doors are nice and deep if you use mounting rings, or reuse the factory speaker housings as I did. PM me if you need specific advice after you've auditioned a few systems. I'm happy to help with fitting, specialist tools etc if needed (no charge :)).
 
#53 ·
Thanks Bill for the the advice and taking the time to reply.

Regards
Jamie.
 
#54 ·
I just want to thank you Bill for sharing and helping others this is one of my favorite threads to follow,,,,too cool,,,,peace,,,:)
 
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#57 · (Edited)
Update 5 - Speakers and Final Setup

I noticed when checking the front door molex that the black wires leading from it into the doors were unusually large gauge. In this photo the factory speaker wire is on the left, compared to the true gauge aftermarket wires I was using for this install. The top right is 14 gauge, bottom right is 16. The factory wiring in the front door is 14 gauge! Then I check back at the molex photos and the speaker wires leading into the molex are the same size.

Wire Cable Metal


Sure enough, when I check back to the connector in the transmission tunnel where I cut the loom for amp inputs, the front speaker cables below the connector are 14 awg. No need to run new wiring for the fronts (unless your crossovers don't fit in the doors...see below). This gauge will handle 300 wrms. Thanks Ford! I don't remember this being the case in the ST.

For ease of access I actually connected the amp 'speaker-out' cables back into the loom further to the rear in the tunnel. In this photo you can see that it's about 6 inches back from the input connection point. You can see where I cut into the large gauge white, white+brown, white+orange and white+purple front speaker cables at the right side of this photo (the incoming signal connections I made earlier are on the left):

Auto part Vehicle Bumper Technology Car


I usually make MDF rings to mount the new speakers but, as we plan to keep this car for a good while and won't be refitting the originals, I chose to re-use the factory mounts this time. Just cut the frame away at the rear and the rubber around the cone at the front. Note that the speaker here is from one of the front doors and it's 2 ohm, so if you are just planning to swap the front speakers (no amp) you will probably lose volume if you replace them with 4 ohm ones. The rear speakers are 4 ohm, 25 watt.

Audio equipment Loudspeaker Subwoofer Product Electronics


After tidying the mounting ring and drilling the original cable connectors from the little tunnel on the side, so I can feed the new wires in, it looks like this:

Subwoofer Loudspeaker Audio equipment Car subwoofer Vehicle audio


Unfortunately, the front speakers I chose have massive crossovers. I thought the doors would accommodate them, but no, the interior panels are different from the ST and there is no room. The solution was to mount the crossovers side by side under the drivers seat, as I did with the amp on the passenger side. No need to take the seat out. This did mean that I had to feed an extra 16 gauge cable (for the tweeters) through the molex after all. The easiest way was to extend (dremel) the existing channel at the top of the molex and lay the new cable into that recess. A quick spray with IPA lubricated the cable well enough to then pull it through the rubber boot into the door.

Modified molex:

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Installing the crossovers (each the size of a paperback):

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A few ST audio threads have stated that only max 25mm tweeters will fit in the original front mountings. Here you can see the size difference between the factory version and the 53mm overall diameter Hertz design:

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I simply cut away the various plastic arms and clips that held the original tweeter and enlarged the mounting hole to accept the replacement unit. I mounted the Hertz tweeter to the rear of the bracket using strips of the same self-adhesive sound deadening material that I used inside the doors etc. Many people use a hot glue gun for this (I did for the rear doors) but I was worried about damaging the delicate tweeter membrane in these expensive units. The sound deadener forms a very strong and vibration free bond. There is plenty of depth behind this trim piece for even larger tweeters.


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It all clips back together as normal:

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Installing the mid woofers was simple since I'd used the original rings and didn't have to drill new screw holes etc. These speakers are much deeper than the originals but there is still about an inch more room behind them for even bigger units.

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The factory cable to the rear speakers was not 14 gauge, unfortunately. Possibly 18? Anyway, as the crossovers for the rears were a more normal size, I only had to run one new cable directly from the amp outputs to the door. I cut the original cable behind the trim near the bottom seatbelt mounting point and attached the new cable there. This avoided having to route through another molex.

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New 16 gauge cable ran to the crossover and then out to the mid and tweets.

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All panels back on and seat replaced. The only visual differences in the car are the flush sub grill in the boot floor and the rear Hertz tweeters:

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I added a fuse tap to F85 (air con, moonroof, heated seat switches and passenger airbag deactivation switch) in the passenger compartment fuse box to provide the power trigger signal for the amp. This source will only allow the amp to receive power when the ignition circuit is live. This is to prevent the battery going flat, which could happen if the amp was being powered up with the ignition off.

I set the output voltages on the amp before putting the seat back in but then adjusted them with the seat in situ. Plenty of access.

The system sounds fantastic; extreme volume and bass for my antisocial daughter's tastes, but still capable of really nice SQ for me. Thankfully, I had the foresight to mount a remote subwoofer channel level control on the dash to the right of the steering wheel.

Hope your own audio mods go well and that some of this info has been helpful. If you need more details just post questions here, or feel free to PM.

Slainte mhath!
 
#58 ·
Very nice! I was lucky with my Morel's, the crossover fit right at the top of the door right by the door handle, it was a tight fit but they were small enough luckily that I snuck them in there. I was also extremely lucky with my tweeters. I removed the stock tweeters, cut the two upright posts that aligned the stock tweeter while keeping the little clips, and then just snapped the Morel's into the stock location. They fit beautifully and are nice and snug in the stock location with the clips. The Morel's are a 28mm as well, just had to remove the covers and not use the supplied housing.
 
#59 · (Edited)
Hi again. I'm glad you mentioned the tweeter size, I've modified the post above as it was misleading. When I said 28mm I was referring to the voice coil only (a techie comparison due to my background); the diaphragm is actually 35mm and the overall diameter of the Hertz tweeter is 53.4mm without any mount/housing (see photo)!

Most companies quote diaphragm size for comparison to other products, so the factory ones are 25mm, Morel 28mm and these Hertz are 35mm. The large overall diameter is due to the frame structure and rear load chamber being cnc machined from a solid aluminium block, to keep it mechanically inert and reduce resonance.

The factory tweeter has a 25mm diaphragm and is still in the factory housing in the photo, it's 36mm overall without that. That size difference explains why I had to cut most of the clips away. I was careful to retain the top and bottom clips that actually hold the cover in place though, so it all looks completely standard and clips into the car just as it always has. I'm glad I took the gamble re fitting though, these are the best tweeters I've heard in a car.

Helmet Personal protective equipment Bicycle part Glasses
 
#61 · (Edited)
You are correct. The amp does provide separate inputs for a sub, although they are not used in my setup. You can see the unused RCAs beside the front and rear channel inputs in this photo:

Electronics Technology Electronic device Audio equipment Electronic component


The JL Audio amp provides a 2, 4 or 6 channel input mode selector switch (see photo below). 2 or 4 front/rear channels and the extra 2 for a sub input signal. Since the RS doesn't provide a sub channel from the head unit you simply select the 4 channel option and the amp sums the 4 front and rear inputs to provide the sub feed. This method also means that front/rear fading of the 4 channels won't affect the sub volume. The sub gain, crossover freq, slopes etc are all still independantly set on the output side of course.

Electronics Audio equipment Technology Electronic device Audio receiver
 
#63 ·
Thanks to wombatp3 for inspiring me to upgrade the audio on my Aus 2017 RS. I plan this in a few steps:
1 Front speakers - woofers
2 Front speakers - tweeters
3 Amplifier for the front speakers
4 Subwoofer connected to the amp.

I'm sharing some detailed info here on how to remove the door panels and replacing the speakers (step 1). That's where I was most concerned about damaging the car. Thankfully only some tiny tiny marks on the plastic ensued.

I’m a cheap-arse, so I’ll be re-using components ripped out of my previous car, and they are not high end. But the info I’m sharing here in pictures and words doesn’t vary much with the components you choose to use. So I’m not using Focal or Hertz or Infinity speakers, rather Response Kevlar coaxial 6.5 inch units with the tweeter removed. I have some old Motorola tweeters that sound so good money can’t buy them - but that’s for step 2.

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The improvement in sound is easily enough to warrant the few hours (maybe 8 if you are slow and steady like me) it will take you. The OEM speakers are 2 ohm, so the 4 ohm speakers resulted in a change of balance front to rear which is easily changed with the audio system sound controls. One slight concern: the central tweeter (in the central meter binnacle) is now slightly more noticeable. That may be an issue for you. Step 3 of my plan will fix that concern by increasing the gain to the door speakers.

First, apart from wombatp3’s great posts, some other info I found useful viewing:

How to Ford Focus Front Door Speaker speakers Removal 2012 - 2015 replace


Replacing stock speakers in a Ford Focus ST 2016


How To: 2012+ Ford Focus Front Door panel removal(SE,ST,Titanium)


Focus RS remove front door panels


Thanks to the creators of those videos.

I did not disconnect the battery, which the workshop manual would probably advise. This means that some DTCs are set due to disconnecting the door panels, but they are all temporary so I expect they will disappear after a few start cycles. No DTC lamp illuminates, so you'll only know this if your are OCD enough to check with a scan tool. They are:

===BdyCM DTC B1287:15-28===
Code: B1287 - Central Lock Switch Illumination

===PDM DTC U2010:15-28===
Code: U2010 - Switch illumination

===DDM DTC U2013:87-28===
Code: U2013 - Switch Pack

===ACM DTC B1A01:15-28===
Code: B1A01 - Speaker 1 Circuit

First we have to get the door panel off. Here are the tools I used:
  • Handle square drive with a 7mm hex bit or a Torx 20 bit.
  • 'Spudger' aka non-marring nylon black stick tool (from a computer maintenance kit sold by iFixit)
  • Interior trim tools (Jaycar sell these)

Cutting tool Metalworking hand tool Tool Burin


These photos and descriptions are for the RHS (drivers) side, so flip any left/right descriptions for the LHS door. Also a reminder this is an Australian version of the RS which is 'right hand drive' (we drive on the left) and has a 9 speaker 'Sony' system, so no sub-woofer or FENG box or Amp in the boot.

To start, remove the tweeter and its sub-panel. Sorry no photos, this is covered in the videos. I used fingers to release the front cover (Sony branded) and then used the plastic tool to prise out the two white clips that hold the tweeter sub-panel to the door frame. Disconnect the electrical connector and set aside.

Prise off the cover behind the door handle. This is different from the round cover on the ST. There is no space to insert a pry tool (thanks Ford). I found if I applied some finger pressure on the right hand side of the cover I could just get a small spudger in as shown. Another tool my window tinter used is a small craft knife blade. Its important that the cover come out straight (not angled too much) as the tangs are easily broken.

Vehicle door Car Vehicle Personal luxury car Mid-size car

Land vehicle Vehicle Car Vehicle door Family car


Then the reflector, which slides sideways. Its clip is just above the tool in the photo -- its tight and needed a firm twist, which worked on the lower corner as shown. It then flew off... Caution - I marked the plastic slightly doing this. Perhaps should have used the larger tool.

Automotive lighting Vehicle Automotive tail & brake light Car Bumper

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Panel on the outer edge top of the door. Easy one - clip is on the top and tongue on the bottom.

Vehicle door Finger Hand Door handle Technology

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Door handle cover has a series of clips left to right and tongue on the right, so start from the left as shown. Slide the tool along left to right and pull straight out, then hinge at the RH end and remove.

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Door switch panel has clips on the right and a tongue on the left, so pull up from the right and hinge out the LHS/top. Remove the single connector under the switch panel.

Vehicle door Automotive exterior Personal luxury car Vehicle Car


The next steps are covered well in the videos above. Remove all the Torx screws (4 zinc, one black). Then starting on the right get your fingers behind the grey door panel and release the clips, working across the lower edge of the panel right to left. This required some force. Then angle the panel away from the door and wiggle/lift off. Unclip the door handle cable from the back of the handle (see the videos). Disconnect the two (drivers) or one (passenger) electrical connectors. And set the door panel aside somewhere safe.

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Here's the inside of the door.

Vehicle door Auto part Vehicle Engine Car


I was surprised that the OEM speaker was a plastic cone - was expecting paper. Here's the speakers side by side (OEM on the right). I tested the speaker for polarity (because there are two black wires and no marking on the speaker - thanks Ford) and found that the RHS pins on the connector as you look at it from the front are the positive side (cone moves forward).

Audio equipment Car subwoofer Loudspeaker Auto part Subwoofer


I bought some off-the-shelf 6.5" speaker spacers for this job but they are not the right shape to clear the door panel when fitted. I decided to use the OEM mounting bracket. This meant destroying the OEM speakers. So I had a cup of tea and thought about it...

The speaker and integrated bracket is held to the door with 3 7mm hex head screws. A 4-way electrical connector has two black wires which are the signal 'in' to the woofer, and two coloured wires that go up to the tweeter. This is different from the ST wiring diagrams I've seen. The tweeter has a small cross-over on its back. There is no signal to the tweeter if the woofer is unplugged (I tested this). So a crossover could be mounted on the woofer, except that the 4-way connector connects the incoming to outgoing signal internally i.e there are only two wires on the back of the connector. Oh well.

Anyway, to proceed on the irreversible use of the OEM speaker to make a bracket for the new speaker. I carefully removed the foam rubber from the front of the speaker (I re-used this).

The next steps destroy the OEM speaker - you aren't going back from here.

Turning the speaker over, I used a keyhole style hacksaw to cut the support ribs close to the edge. I also desoldered the wires on the 4-way (really 2-way) connector to the speaker.

Audio equipment Subwoofer Loudspeaker Product Technology


Then used a craft knife to cut the rubber surround, again near the edge.

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The OEM bracket has a raised edge that didn't allow the new speaker to 'drop in' to the bracket, so I had to remove the edge with some careful use of a hacksaw (this may not apply to your speakers). Then after additional cutting, filing and drilling, and some choice words, the resulting bracket was ready for the new speaker with 4 self tapping screws.

Auto part


And the speaker fitted up to the bracket.

Subwoofer Car subwoofer Loudspeaker Audio equipment Sound box


And soldered to the connector. (I don't like crimp connectors in this application).

Car subwoofer Audio equipment Loudspeaker Product Subwoofer


And installed in the door.

Auto part Vehicle Audio equipment Subwoofer Car


Tested the operation at this point - all ok.

Replacing the door panel is a reversal of the steps above. First check all the white clips are on the panel. There are also 2 large pins to locate the panel to the door.

Reconnect the electrics and latch cable, then sit the top edge of the panel on the door and wiggle it against the inside of the window runner. I then used the screw holes in the door handle to check alignment. When you are very sure the panel is aligned to the door, press around around the edge of the panel so that the clips click home (actually, I used the side of my fist to thump the panel onto the door). Reconnect and replace the tweeter - check the two white clips are lined up with the door and press the tweeter panel home.

Done for now. I have no schedule for Step 2 onward...
 
#64 ·
Plastic cone speakers?
No wonder it sounds like rubbish.
Thnx for the info @Alpha Dog
:thumbsup:
 
#65 · (Edited)
Stage 2 - Tweeter replacement

Thanks to wombatp3 again for inspiration. This weekend I upgraded the tweeters in the front of my RS. Wombatp3 covered this earlier but I can provide a few more details. I used some old favourite Motorola tweeters.

Removing the tweeters is a two step process: unclip the Sony branded cover from the window side as shown. There's no need to fully remove the cover ... just loosened it. (Apologies for the sun glare in these photos).

Vehicle door Technology Electronic device Finger Gadget


Use a pry tool to remove the tweeter sub-panel. There are two fairly tight white clips. In this pic I have fully removed the tweeter cover so you can see the OEM tweeter.

Audio equipment Electronics Technology Auto part Electronic device


This is tweeter sub-panel from the right hand side showing the two clips. Note also the two holes in the flange on the main door panel... there are two guide pins on the tweeter sub-panel to align it when fitting.

Water


The tweeter (left hand side shown here) is clipped into the panel and easily popped out by levering open 2 of the three arms that hold it in. Note the cross-over components attached to the back of the tweeter. The connector releases with a squeeze as usual. The polarity of the connection to the tweeter is: Green is positive for LHS and Violet is positive for the RHS.

Electronics Technology Electronic device Electronic component


As wombatp3 found, its necessary to cut off the clips and some arms that hold the OEM tweeter to get the new tweeter to fit. I used small side cutters and a craft knife to do this. I did not need to enlarge the opening. Here is the bracket (LHS) following the required molestation.

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I used a few drops of super glue on the remnants of the clips to hold the tweeter in. The type of super glue I used can stand a few shocks and high temps.


Audio equipment


I found the OEM connector takes a standard circuit board mount connector which has a 0.1" spacing. So I fashioned a "plug" using a 3 pin section and heat shrink. This connects to the 2nd order filter (aka cross-over) that this tweeter works with. The woofer/mid gets by with no cross-over (same as OEM).

Wire Technology Electronic device Electrical connector Circuit component


I attached the filter to the back of the tweeter as per the OEM design using 3M VHB double sided tape (amazing stuff). The position of the filter is critical to allow it to fit into the door cavity. I also spent some time auditioning the combination and added a damping resistor to bring the tweeter down about 3dB. One trap: the Sony branded cover muffles the tweeter more than I expected, so if you do this tuning make sure to do it with the cover in place. I didn't and had to pull it apart and change the resistor value.

Technology Electronic device


All back together.

Vehicle door Vehicle Automotive exterior Car Auto part


I've used inexpensive and second hand components, but even then the sound is vastly superior to the original components. The door structure is fairly good so the speakers work well and there's not too much rattle or vibration (I'm not listening at high volumes). So using higher end components such as used by wombatp3 would be worthwhile. However, I know even these speakers sound much better with a higher power amp driving them... so to stage 3.
 
#66 ·
Morning all, I'm a newbie to this forum and in the planning stages of a system install in our 2017 ST Focus, This thread by far I have gained the most info out so thanks for removing most of the guess work.

I did have one question, I was just looking at the wiring for the Remote cable (Wiring a Rockford DSR1 DSP unit and my two kicker amps piggyback off the DSP). I'm just after a suggestions of another fuse to tap into. I am assuming that if I was to tap into the sunroof, heated seats fuse etc, the DSP unit and therefore subs would kick in only when the ignition is on or engine running. I would like the system to operate even when the car is switched off but only when you turn the stereo on... Am I asking too much LOL. Any thoughts feel free to let me know.

Regards

Tim
 
#68 ·
Thread revival! :)

I'm considering installing an integrated amp/sub unit. A friend tapped into the rear speaker wires to drive their amp for the sub. However I'm worried that the rear speakers don't get the full bass frequencies? I can easily see why Ford might have applied some filtering to the smaller rear speakers. Can anyone confirm that the rear speakers get the full frequency range? Thanks.
 
#73 ·
I've found this regarding enabling preamp mode in ForScan; however, it's for US vehicles only :( I had a look at that module on my Australian spec model and our modules only have one entry to play with, which looks very different to that tutorial. :(

Has anyone figured this out for Aus spec units?

 
#75 ·
I did however disable FENG through ForScan. I'm installing an aftermarket stereo system soon and wanted the cleanest music signal to feed the DSP and amps. You'll find the option in the ACM module (not as built). See photo attached. :)
View attachment 357304
Thanks for posting the picture mate, I forgot to do this when I documented how I did the FENG disable with FORSCAN so I've pinched it and added it to this post I made. Hope you don't mind!

 
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