technically it does matter.

It will cause no harm if you get them wrong though.
check out nearlynormaljimmys' homepage for a wiring diagram.

 

it seems to me that every car i have owned, the wires were all diferent colors. In addition, the two wires for each speaker had different size connectors so you couldnt mix em up.

 

I buy my electronic gear from Crutchfield.com
They send speakers out with specfic adaptors ... no spliceing
is necessary. ( I DO NOT WORK FOR CRUTCHFIELD.CO)
I have NOT updated my Jeep yet..... I assume they have their adaptor kits
for them.
Another thought is to splice the wire with the strip to the wire with the
strip & the solid to the solid.. just a thought.....
keep us posted

 

Generally, the reason for the different colors is for the wiring harness behind the receiver, not the speakers. One color set (like solid orange and white w/ orange stripe) will go to one speaker location, and so on.

As for which is which, well, I've got nothing for you.

 

Thanks, Ive installed them and they sound great. It would have made the job easier if the stock speakers i removed had the positive and neg marked on them or at least a small and large terminal on them. With the cost of aftermarket speakers now its just not worth booking your car in with the dealer to have poor quality speakers replaced with another set of crap speakers. Cheers All.

 

Right on, I'm glad it all worked out for ya. Changing the speakers makes a huge differance. Everyone should do it I think.

 

it doesn't matter which way you put the wires on a speaker. It a good rule of thumb, but really makes no difference.

 

Actually, the "polarity" of speaker wires is important--if you're in a concert hall/home theatre, but in an automobile, not enough to worry about. It has something to do with the way the voice coil moves first, either in or out, and with large speakers in a quiet room, you might be able to hear the "push-pull effect" but I doubt it!

Good luck!

 

There is actually a big difference if you reverse polarity on the speakers. From physics, you will create one wave and the reverse polarity will create the opposite wave thus canceling it out. You only really need to worry about the bass notes since they are non-directional, (meaning the left and right should be putting out the same sound wave) the reason you only need one speaker for a subwoofer. The higher notes are directional, so there is usally a differing wave from each speaker.

You might not notice it at the lower volumes, but there will be a difference from have the polarity correct on all speakers. My system at home has a 180 degree button on the subwoofer to make sure I have the same polarity as the main speakers to ensure I get the most "bang" (boom) for the setup.

 

Easy way to phase speakers is with a nine volt battery......................Simply take out the old speaker and observe the connection in respect to the wire color code. Next is to apply the positive side of the battery to the speaker terminal that will make the cone extend inwards,as if to push air towards the occupant or listener. Finally doe te same to the new speaker and duplicate the same effect. Wallah,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,you now now the phasing and can install the new one with the same polarity. Note, if the old one is suspected to be wrong, simply tune to a am channel with just static and ramp the volume up and down to be sure the cone pushes towards the listener.
hvac59

 

What a great way to work it out, Valuable info!! thanks hvac59 and everyone else that replied. Pity I have sent the old ones to the bin so I will have to do the AM static test and check it that way. I do want to get it right as I do tend to get the volume up sometimes. Cheers all.

 

aussiepaul,
If you want me to check out the polarity on my old ones, let me know..... They are sitting out in the garage waiting to go to the dump hvac59

 

Thanks anyway hvac59, but there would be no advantage in knowing now as the wires have be cut and the speakers and old connectors are gone so even if i knew which were the pos and neg terminal on the old speakers I still wouldnt know which color wire went to which. Hope that makes sense!!! I will just pop the covers off the new installed speakers and do the static test that u recommended. Thanks again.

 

2008 Jeep Patriot Car Stereo Wiring Diagram

Car Radio Battery Constant 12v+ Wire: Red/Light Blue
Car Radio Accessory Switched 12v+ Wire: White/Orange
Car Radio Ground Wire: Black/Yellow
Car Radio Illumination Wire: N/A
Car Stereo Dimmer Wire: N/A
Car Stereo Antenna Trigger Wire: Gray/Red
Car Stereo Amp Trigger Wire: N/A
Car Stereo Amplifier Location: Behind right side trim panel in cargo area.
Car Audio Front Speakers Size: N/A
Car Audio Front Speakers Location: N/A
Left Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Gray/Violet
Left Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Gray/Yellow
Right Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Dark Green/Violet
Right Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Dark Green/Yellow
Car Audio Rear Speakers Size: N/A
Car Audio Rear Speakers Location: N/A
Left Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Dark Green/Dark Blue
Left Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Dark Green/Brown
Right Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Gray/Dark Blue
Right Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Gray/Orange


got this from modifiedlife.com everything seems to match up with the exception of the friggin accessory switch, anyone know which wire would be used as the remote for an amp.

 

Nice! Thank you very much. I have been arguing with my girlfriends Patriot for a couple days now, struggling to figure out which wires were positive and/or negative, and you typing this information on here helped me finish putting in some aftermarket speakers in all of the doors. Thanks again. ✌

 

For anybody reading this and wondering about a "remote" for an amp, just tap into the cig lighter. It's switched so it will turn off when the car is off. And yes, you can simply tap into it using T-taps that way you don't actually cut the wire and no amp will draw enough to trip the fuse. If i'm not mistaken the "Remote" wire on most stereo's is a 5v .1amp line. But that's not to discourage you from using the 12 volts in the cig lighter as a remote. It wont harm the amp.

 

I fixed a speaker phase issue in my Jeep after doing my speaker upgrade and it made a huge difference. I always check my speakers from now on.