Help please: changing front and rear speakers.

[minidaz123]

Been thinking of changing the speakers, so thought i'd start with the back. Took the covers off ... well they kind of fell off as i gently touched them, to find the speakers had fallen into the cavity, both white plastic bits covered in sellotape, and the wiring to be a bit basic , so thought it best to take them out, even though they still actually worked :





I'm expecting to use some sort of mdf base when i fit new speakers, and i think the wiring will need a bit of an update

Due to what i found in the back, i want to have a look at the fronts. Are the speaker covers held on with screws or do they just pop off with a bit of help ? Wanted to check first before i try something and end up damaging the cover ?

[jaylee]

Looks like someone removed the speker connector on the rear loom..? If you type a search ln "pimp my Bongo" section, you will find endless ideas & info on this subject.

[minidaz123]

I wasn't sure which section ( Teccy or Pimp ) was best, so i'll go and have a look in there, thanks.

Any chance a Mod could move this post in to the Pimp section please

[jaylee]

I'm sure a mod will in due course... But do feel free to ask if anything seems unclear!

[minidaz123]

Thanks for moving it over

[Simon Jones]

They're definitely aftermarket speakers and quite badly fitted by the look of it. The front grills won't pop off as they're plastic-welded on the door card. If you remove the whole panel you will be able to see where the mounting lugs are which you can melt the tops off using a soldering iron.

[minidaz123]

I wasn't sure if they were standard fitment or not, so that answers that one.
Should the white plastic surround be there or is that again, an aftermarket part ?

Those rear speakers will be going, and replaced with some nice shiny new ones. The original speaker grills probably won't be going back on, but i'm not too worried about that.

Was hoping to get a set of the JBL GT0628s but Halfords don't seem to have any, either in hand, or in a warehouse somewhere, so might have to go down a different route.

I've also got a nice Infinity sub / amp combo sitting in the garage doing nothing ..... and the Bongo does have plenty of space available

[Simon Jones]

The original speakers are 5 x 7 and are fitted to metal brackets. Probably not too tricky to knock something up out of MDF fitted to a right angled bracket.

[jaylee]

Should the white plastic surround be there or is that again, an aftermarket part ?

The white part looks a little like a converted pick-nick/camping dinner plate..?

There are a few options for rear speaker mounting.. I fitted my old cheapys i had hanging about in the garage straight to the back of the panel in an MDF plate initially when i got the van 5 years back..



I cut the rivets to the back of the original grill as it came through the back of the panel trim with a sharp chisel blade, so it just snapped back over the top with no glue.. The screw heads for the MDF plate sit in the grove round the edge of the original grill... The grill can still be removed with a thin screwdriver to lever out if need be..!



I adopted a similar style when up grading a couple of weeks back, but using the speaker surround with the centre grill removed to the back of the panel...






It's worth noting when choosing new speakers that maybe not all after-market 5 x 7's with their grills will fit that neatly straight into the panel hole due to the profile & recess in the panel design...

Hope this helps!?

[minidaz123]

Very helpful stuff thanks
The white bits have clips on, but because they had broken, sellotape was used to hold them in place

I was actaully looking at Fli 5x7s ...... and then the Fli 6x9s caught my eye
Might be a bit fiddly to get to fit ( bit of cutting, mdf, carpet etc etc should be fine ) but should hopefully sound good.

I went a bit over the top in one of my previous cars ... speakers,subs, amp, led lighting inside, remote led lighting outside, screen and PS2 .... so hopefully, fitting a pair of 6x9s in a Bongo should be easy

[jaylee]

You haven't seen the the rest of the pimp section then...?!! Some of the mods done to Bongos at the meets looks like Area 51...

The FLI component speakers i fitted in the back sort of came about by accident... Read on from the bottom of page 3 http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... 6&start=30

I think the FLI's are actually a good speaker.
Indecently they are made by the people who do the Vibe ones..

[minidaz123]

Might have to dig some of my old lights out as well then

I've killed a few speakers over the years, but not to the point that they've actually split ..... was that Machine Head turned up to 11
And i noticed on the grill surround it says designed by Vibe.

Old speaker on left, new on right. I'm thinking the sound quality might improve a little



So Sunday i'll be in the back of the Bongo, probably swearing a bit, and hopefully getting them to fit

[jaylee]

I look forward to seeing the result..

[minidaz123]

Didn't get round to doing anything Sunday as, at short notice, had a classic car show to go to, so as today was my day off, i thought i'd try and finish off.

So this post should have a couple of pics of my nice new speakers, in place and sounding great, however things never go to plan
Wired in one speaker, and it was fine. Kept cutting out in places but that was down to the wire connections, and would be all fixed when the speaker is screwed in to place.

Tried the next speaker ... nothing
Checked the original wiring as best as i could, but just couldn't get it to work. Both old speakers worked, but i'm thinking the speaker wire that's there doesn't look best quality, so it might just be easier to replace it all from the head unit end. I'm guessing this might be a bit fiddly, but looks a lot easier than trying to chase the original wire back.

We're off to get a Catflap at the weekend, so hoping to have it all sorted by then ... hopefully

[minidaz123]

Quick update : Turns out the old looking, probably original Bongo wiring is 100% fine. The new connector at the end of the new wire that goes to the speaker wasn't making enough contact, whch explained why, even when i went to the effort of taking out the stereo, chopping a few bits, and running the speaker wire straight to the speaker feed from the stereo, nothing was working.

So for those that are fitting new speakers and cables in, if something doesn't work, it might just be worth checking the new stuff you've just bought first