How to Install Dash Speakers: Dodge Ram Three Way Front Stage Part 3!

In this video I take the upper dash off of my 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 and install midrange speakers and surface mount tweeters for my front stage build.
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[@wrathcustoms9566]

Great video. I searched for months on how to remove those speakers. Your video was the first I found. Thank you.

[@DIYAudioGuy]

Glad to help. What are you going to put in the dash?

[@JasonThomas-cp9mm]

First. A suggestion for bulk connectors. Fastenal has replacement interior clips, body clips, and connectors in 25,50, and100 piece boxes on the shelf. And I hate to plug harbor freight tools. But they have a comparable set of squid beak type crimper/cutters. They're cheap and do the same job a 80$ pair on the snap on truck do. After all, look at the job duty they go through. Just throwing these suggestions out there

[@elfuego4341]

A great and informative series. I appreciate your dispersal of audio knowledge.

[@DIYAudioGuy]

Thanks for watching.

[@matthewcritt2662]

You can't go wrong with Klein Tools when it comes to electrical work

[@a1racer441]

Yep Kline (Klein) I’m never sure of the spelling is one of the best crimpers out there same for the snap on crimper I own and use both.

[@TheoneDragon51]

Looking good! If it doesn't fit force it if it breaks it needs replacing anyway!

[@DIYAudioGuy]

👍

[@HifiVega]

Very cool! Waiting on that tuning video now lol

[@DIYAudioGuy]

Working on it.

[@jonathan-dallasgutierrez3632]

Great video, thank you so much for sharing this with us! You now have another subscriber, from Washington.

[@DIYAudioGuy]

Welcome to the adventure!

[@davidreid2092]

Man this looks like more work then im willing to do. Wanna come over and do my truck next?

[@DIYAudioGuy]

It is a lot of work, but if I can do it anybody can do it.

[@dunnbizzy79]

Excellent video series 👏

[@DIYAudioGuy]

Thanks!

[@a1racer441]

Old video but there’s only 2 crimpers I’ll ever use or recommend and that’s. 1. Snap on 2. Kline That’s it nothing else is worth using as far as hand held crimpers go. Personally Kline is for most costing maybe 20-30 bucks while snap on is for a pro who crimps a lot at around 75 bucks.

[@DIYAudioGuy]

If you find a brand you like then you should stick with it. No reason to change if it's working.

[@schwartzmatthewe]

Awesome video. Thanks for all of this detail man.

[@DIYAudioGuy]

Glad it was helpful!

[@anthonykounce5340]

Thank you so much wish I had you around lol

[@dripbigmule6035]

DIY audio guy I have a question for you regarding the Dayton DSP. When connecting the blue remote wire can I jump the wire from each amp and send it to the power source? For the power and ground, can they be ran to the fuse distribution boxes that are mounted to your amp board? I’m not sure about where the yellow wire with the fuse goes. I’m doing this installation in a Ford truck with a aftermarket wire harness. I have the speedwire, power, and ground wires ran to the back ready to go. The instructions for the DSP are not that helpful. Thanks a lot for taking the time to do these videos. I have learned several great ideas already.

[@DIYAudioGuy]

The yellow wire is power, hook it up to a 12v power source. The red wire turns the DSP on. The blue wire turns on your amplifiers. Yes you can jump it to multiple amplifiers.

[@marcuss0918]

Great video! I have an 08 megacab and have learned the hard way at times with the panels lol. Good job and keep it up!

[@DIYAudioGuy]

That's a nice truck, plenty of room for subwoofers!

[@marcuss0918]

@@DIYAudioGuy it is great. Now to learn to tune better

[@DIYAudioGuy]

@@marcuss0918 I have already started tuning this build and plan to do a tuning video. Do you have a DSP?

[@MauroBrisola]

I'm doing a similar front stage project in a Dodge Caravan. Same dashboard spots for midrange speakers assembly. My doubt is: in the first video you swowed the midrange speaker. Low RMS. Ok? How did you wired the midranges? To the amplifier? My doubt is because the low RMS of the midranges. Amplifier output power will not ruin the midranges??? Tks.

[@DIYAudioGuy]

Fully active front stage with 50 watts going to each of the mid-range speakers in the dash. What causes a speaker to blow? Heat, clipping, and over excursion. Clipping is easy just set the amp gain so that it doesn't clip. Excursion is easy, just cross them over high enough so that they aren't getting the low frequencies that need high excursion. I played around with the crossover settings in the DSP and have found that anything between 500 and 1500 hz works just fine. The last enemy is heat. The good news is there's just not that much physical energy in the music that the mid-ranges are getting, so the coils are very unlikely to get hot. I'm not really worried about cooking the voice coils. The high energy notes and tones are all going to the mid bass and the subwoofers. tl;dr Speaker power ratings are meaningless, the crossover setting is the most important thing.

[@MauroBrisola]

@@DIYAudioGuy Thanks! Well explained.

[@russsmith9042]

I’m doing a similar set up in my truck but I don’t have any place to put the mods or tweets in the dash so I have to do an a pillar pod of some sort? How did you pick or match up the three components together? or is that why using the DSP so you can adjust everything from there? But you can’t just put any speakers together and use a DSP to make them sound good because The speakers might sound like ass from the get-go. Great video though thank you very much.

[@thebomberThebomber-yy2th]

I found out my 07 ram 1500 doesnt have the tweeters on the dash i was wondering how can i wire them up ?

[@DIYAudioGuy]

It is very easy to hook up. You can just run the wire from under the dash. In mine if look under the dash you can see out the windshield when the speakers are removed. The most straightforward thing to do is to just grab some component speakers. Mount the crossovers any place you like.

[@rw2king]

Great job

[@DIYAudioGuy]

Thanks!

[@TheSpaceBorn]

How was it running the speaker wire for the dash comers? Any tips or tricks? I'm about to do the same thing on my truck.

[@DIYAudioGuy]

Very easy. Just a matter of either fishing them down or up.

[@olveramelinda]

If my truck only has 4 can I do these too

[@DIYAudioGuy]

I would need more information to answer that question. Every Dodge Ram since the 3rd gen came out has dash openings for a 3 1/2-in speaker. If you're just trying to throw two speakers in the dash and connect to the factory head unit that will not work.

[@Drunken_Hamster]

You: _Working on a Patriot Blue 3rd gen Dodge Ram_ Me: _Smiling because I once had basically the same truck and hope to get another one soon_ Do you think I could ask a couple of audio consultation-type questions? I'm trying to set up a simplistic loud SQ system in whatever truck I get in the coming month or two. My most recent idea was to use the kicker key 200.4 for my front stage due to the built in auto DSP. I'm really kinda a lazy dude AND too much of a perfectionist. If I have to mess with settings it'll almost never be right and I'll keep screwing with it and possibly messing it up. My main thing is I want serious clarity and accuracy, but I want to be overall louder than my brother's truck. He's running a 6.5" component set in each door amped to 100W apiece, a 5 channel Hifonix Zeus, and his subs are 2 shallow mount 400W 12's in an underseat box (I think it's sealed) running bridged mono and getting about 375 watts RMS each. I think at 2ohm. I've done a crapload of research, but all of my knowledge is book smarts whereas he has book AND street smarts and he's been doing car audio since the late 80's early 90's. MY research shows that six 5.25s would have the same surface area as four 6.5s, but due to the smaller cones, can hit the upper mids better and allow the tweeters to crossover later. Now with the kicker key, I'd be limited to four 5.25's and half the wattage to each, but in a single cab (vs his crew cab) that shouldn't be too much of a difference. (I read that wattage to volume is logarithmic like DB is; IE 10x wattage for 2x volume with the same load, resistance, speaker area, etc. which would point to "adding more speakers is a better way to get volume") However, if my goal is loud (2x4 to the chest/how it feels to chew 5 gum) and hearing it live in person clear, shouldn't I, instead, use those four channels for say, a 6.5, 6.75, 8, 10, or 6x9 paired with a 3, 3.5, 4, or 5.25 in each door? Or would the total surface area of those be less than the four 5.25's? Lastly, on the sub side, should I pair the kicker key 200.4 with the 500.1 or is a sub amp with the auto DSP unnecessary and I should just go with something else that can run more subs harder and a slightly higher ohm level? Speaking of which, behind the seat in a single cab ram with a wedge-shaped box I should have 3-4 cubic feet max. What do you think would be the best combo of sub or subs and port tuning and all of that for a basshead that still likes to listen to more musical stuff as well as metal every now and then? Lastly, overall goal for the vehicle would be to stay with a single battery and single alternator and get a nice balance between SQ and SPL. I'll do all of the labor, so my parts and materials budget together is going to be between $2500 and $3500 maybe stretch to $4k. Not sure I can justify spending more, and if I can spend way less, that's even better. Oh, and YES, I DO want to do high level sound deadening with CLD, CCF, and MLV as well as all the bits and bobs in the doors to make that mid bass bitchin. Might even fab an "enclosure" to go "behind" the door panels for the 5.25's or whatever you recommend. Sorry for the wall of text and going off like a know it all. I have a bit of a mental condition and it kinda drives me crazy.

[@DIYAudioGuy]

Yea, I love my old truck. Easy to install, not afraid to break things. As far as your questions. I would head over to the DIY mobile audio forums. Lot's of very smart people, a better place to ask questions than KZbin. I am on those forums as well.

[@darrickhock]

I just want to add dash speakers . My 02 1500 ram radio sounds horrible no bass at all. I wanted to add dash and new door speakers . I thought of adding one 10” sub later, but not at the moment. I wanted to just add didn’t want to do a amp for door speakers. Looking for something that sounds good but easy to install. Also why the adapters? Can they not just screw in the two holes

[@DIYAudioGuy]

In a truck that old there's a good chance that the speakers are blown. Replacing the speakers in the doors will probably do a lot of good. If you want bass you will want to put the biggest door speakers you can fit. I think that model is a second generation truck. Correct me if I'm wrong. So I do not know if the stock door speakers are 6x9s. If they are replace them with 6x9s so that you can get more bass than you would get with a 6 1/2. If you really want the bass you will want to add a subwoofer. The dash and door speakers are too small reproduce low frequencies. There are not many direct fit replacements for the dash so a bracket is required.

[@darrickhock]

DIY Audio Guy my 02-05 ram is the same as your truck . My truck doesn’t have dash speakers but does have the holes for them. Can I add them by splicing wires into front door speak wires, and add bass blockers for to the dash speakers? New door speakers in doors without a amp. Just run them off head unit. An new head unit.

[@DIYAudioGuy]

@@darrickhock Unfortunately if you just splice in an extra set of speakers you will cut the resistance in half which will fry your head unit.

[@darrickhock]

DIY Audio Guy how would you suggest doing it without an amp

[@DIYAudioGuy]

If you don't want to mess with aftermarket amplifiers then be realistic with your expectations. The factory radio just does not have that much power. If you switch to an aftermarket 6.5 in the door you will lose bass output since your factory speaker is bigger. Speakers in the dash will lift the sound stage and bring it forward, giving you better imaging. But they will not increase the bass output. Based on what you are describing I think you should install 6x9 components, 6x9 in the door and tweeter in the dash. Infinity and kicker both make affordable component sets that will fit. The set will come with a passive crossover that you can hide in the dash.

[@bradmegan4877]

What's brand is the black amp on the left hand side of your video in the beginning and how many watts I bought one off line for cheap and didn't know anything about it thanks

[@DIYAudioGuy]

NVX JAD 800.4 -- 125 watts per channel into 4 ohms.

[@jonathanpinders.r.5627]

I think I asked this before on the center channel speaker is it L or R on the amp?

[@DIYAudioGuy]

Do you mean the stock center channel that came with the Alpine premium system in these trucks?

[@jonathanpinders.r.5627]

@@DIYAudioGuy yes, I'm just a little confused on how these stock center channel are ran and to replace to aftermarket is there a designated channel for it. Or is it the left or right?

[@DIYAudioGuy]

@@jonathanpinders.r.5627I honestly have no idea how the center channel was implemented in that factory system. The center channel "should" be its own separate channel. The signal from the front right and left should run to the factory amp, from there it is split. Low frequencies go to the woofers in the doors. Mids and highs go to the right and left channels. The center channel "should" then have its own independent channel created by mixing the right and left channels. If Dodge / Alpine actually did it that way, no idea. Most aftermarket upgrades to that setup involve completely bypassing the factory amplifier and thus losing the center channel. Which is okay because that little 2.5 inch speaker was not doing much to begin with. If you ask me. Dodge lost out on a great opportunity. They could have easily put a 4in full range driver in that spot.

[@DIYAudioGuy]

@@jonathanpinders.r.5627 Oh, and thanks for watching my video, I really appreciate it! I am trying to hit 1,000 subscribers.

[@jonathanpinders.r.5627]

@@DIYAudioGuy thank you for replying and explaining I really appreciate it

[@JayRays1truck]

I just checked my truck and there are no dash speakers in it. Would it make a big difference in sound if I add dash speakers? The holes are there, but I did not see any wiring.

[@DIYAudioGuy]

Yes, and it is very easy to run the wires.

[@JayRays1truck]

@@DIYAudioGuy Thanks for the quick response! I’ll have to add the dash speakers then. It seems like my truck is missing some mid range currently. I have subwoofers so it has plenty of bass.

[@DIYAudioGuy]

@@JayRays1truck here's what I'm currently running kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHrSmYKYZtKSa8k

[@JayRays1truck]

@@DIYAudioGuy Thanks for the advice! I just installed some 3.5” coaxial speakers on the left and right sides of the dash. I wired them into the harness at the back of the radio. Man, I cannot describe the difference they made! It is like a whole new system. Before, I had to turn the radio up pretty loud hear the mids and highs clearly. Now, I can have the radio at a low volume and everything sounds clear! I replaced my door speakers a few years ago with Kicker DS series speakers so I ordered the Kicker DS 3.5s for the dash. It sounds amazing compared to the system without the dash speakers. For $40, I should have done this years ago.

[@jamirwilliams2320]

What size are the speakers in the dash?

[@DIYAudioGuy]

3.5" and there's plenty of room I probably could have fit a 4 inch speaker in that spot.

[@jonon1989]

I've been looking at different videos and they all show using a 3.5 speaker in the dash. I pulled my dash and the holes in my dash are 2.5". I went to put the 3.5" speakers in and they didn't fit. Did you cut your dash or was it 3.5" hole? Seams like my 2003 ram 2500 all the speaker specs are all wrong.

[@DIYAudioGuy]

That's really strange. The openings in my dash we're easily big enough to get a 3.5-in speaker to fit. I probably could have gone up to a 4-in speaker. The factory hole for the center channel is a lot smaller, you're only going to get at 2.5 to fit there. Another important thing to remember is that speaker sizes aren't exactly standardized. Some manufacturers based the size on the cone others base it on the frame. My door speakers, for example, are supposed to be 6-in speakers. But they are bigger than the 6.5s that I pulled out.

[@jonon1989]

@@DIYAudioGuy yeah the corner dash speaker holes in my dash are small. Idk why but seems like my truck has odd sizes. Like the rear door speakers every where I look it says 6.5" speakers. I pulled mine and a 6.5 won't fit it's to big and a 5.25" is to small. And same goes for my front door speakers I had to build a ring to get 6×9 to fit.

[@DIYAudioGuy]

@@jonon1989 had a similar experience with the rear speakers. Supposed to be a 6.5, it's a lot smaller. Bigger than a 5.25. I have some Polk Audio coaxials in the back that are a direct fix replacement. They're not supposed to be though.

[@kelly3214]

I had a Kenwood DDX9906xr Head unit installed a long with a JL XD1000/5V2 Amp My question is if I still need the crossovers for my older Kicker R-13 Tweeters or can I use the Kenwood to Handel the crossover

[@DIYAudioGuy]

I'm not familiar with that head unit, but most head units do not have an internal crossover that is designed to cross over between a tweeter and a mid-range. Did you have a shop do the work? If so then the shop should have set it up correctly and answered all of your questions. Part of what you pay for at a shop is the customer service and the expertise.

[@christinakinnear8239]

I sure have a ton of questions. Thank you for this video. Now i feel like i can fix my new truck. i just bought an 07 Dodge Laramie, has a blown dadh speaker. Anytime i need anything from amazon, i’ll use your link. I need a ton of advice. I’ve got an amp i wanna hook up when i get a normal receiver. #getthisGPSjunkouttamytruck

[@DIYAudioGuy]

Thanks.

[@dugy40]

Please help. Mine has no speakers or wires. I bought speakers. How do I get the wire up there. ?? Thank you.

[@DIYAudioGuy]

You can fish the wire up from underneath the dash.

[@dugy40]

@@DIYAudioGuy appreciate the response but I wouldn’t know where to begin. I stuck a bright light up in the hole at night. Can’t see it under dash.

[@DIYAudioGuy]

I'm sure it's different depending on what model you have, but for the mine I was able to get down in the floorboard and look up and see how the windshield through the speaker holes. You just have to kind of take your time and snake the wire up to the dash. It may help to remove the glove box.

[@dugy40]

@@DIYAudioGuy then I got the drivers side. Thank you again.

[@christinakinnear8239]

Hello again sir, what is the speaker in the middle ?? Thanks again for this video, i just got that dash piece out and didn’t even break it, lol

[@DIYAudioGuy]

That is a center channel. I think all three of the dash speakers are powered by a factory amplifier located behind the glove box.

[@christinakinnear8239]

DIY Audio Guy is that the thing that says VDO pm9198. 12v

[@DIYAudioGuy]

@@christinakinnear8239 that might be the blower motor. I think you have to remove the glove box in order to get to the factory amplifier.

[@craighenry912]

Really enjoying the channel, I have an 06 ram 1500, my question is how did you ground your amp, what did you do and what did you use to ground your system

[@DIYAudioGuy]

When I had the seat and carpet out I drilled a hole in the floorboard, scrapped off some paint and used a ground bolt and a lock nut.

[@craighenry912]

@@DIYAudioGuy did you have the engine nosie with the amp, or was the ground enough to stop that feed back nosie, I use wire from radio to amp with a signal converter to rca, but still hear the noise

[@DIYAudioGuy]

@@craighenry912 I did not have any engine noise.

[@craighenry912]

@@DIYAudioGuy not engine not, alternator noise when you press on the gas that noise that come thru the speakers with improper grounding, I installed an reakosound rk-7157g radio(60 watts), boss amp(400 watts) and wires, cheap walmart 6/9 - 6.5, ran speakers wire to noise isolator, then rca to amp, from amp back to wire harness, that is how my system is set, but get more treble then bass, so was wonder if the way you ground your system eliminated ground noise, or did you use another device to stop it

[@DIYAudioGuy]

@@craighenry912 I didn't have to use anything to eliminate engine noise or alternator noise. I don't like to hate on people's gear but I suspect that the inexpensive wiring or the off-brand head unit might be your problem.

[@medicatedmartin8546]

Do I need an amp if just installing new door speakers?

[@DIYAudioGuy]

Typically no.

[@5.7_cruz]

hello i have a 2017 ram 1500 along with two subs and no amp can you give me a list of what exactly i need (i have a uconnect touch screen radio if that mattered)

[@DIYAudioGuy]

Do you want to replace the factory radio?

[@5.7_cruz]

DIY Audio Guy no it’s the factory uconnect radio

[@DIYAudioGuy]

@@5.7_cruz That is going to be a little on the complex side, more than I can answer in KZbin comments.

[@5.7_cruz]

DIY Audio Guy yea i was told it was going to be very complicated and it’s better to have a audio shop do it but do you have any recommendations for my 6x9 factory speakers ? as i don’t want to go through the hassle of subs

[@DIYAudioGuy]

It can be done. It will just take some planning.

[@christinakinnear8239]

I guess my question is...can you recommend me some dash speakers with real good bass for my hip hop. I do have an amp and a sound stream bass driver . i don’t know what to do with them 😣

[@DIYAudioGuy]

You are not going to get good bass out of the dash. But you don't need good bass out of the dash. The way our brains and ears work together to localize sound is very complicated, it does not work the way that we initially think it will. When I'm in my truck I can't "hear"the midbass drivers in the door. By that I mean that the sound blends and I get the illusion that the midbass is coming from the dash. If I go into the DSP and cut the midbass off I can immediately tell that something is missing. Unless you want to take a deep dive into all of the physics of how this works I would recommend just getting some component speakers. Mount the tweeters in the dash locations and mount the midrange driver in the door. Get a component set with 6x9s if you can find a quality one in your budget. Infinity and Alpine make some. For a subwoofer you can just put it underneath the back seats.

[@christinakinnear8239]

DIY Audio Guy Thank you 😊

[@christinakinnear8239]

DIY Audio Guy ok for the tweeter, do i add those next to my dash speakers, or am i replacing the dash speakers ?

[@DIYAudioGuy]

Replace the dash speakers. If you have speakers in the dash there is a factory amplifier driving them. You'll need to do some research on how to bypass it. I don't have any experience with that.

[@yamahar1castillo923]

Hello , good morning im alex from Wisconsin , i have a question about wich steering control module use on my dodge ram 2005 , and how to connect , thanks

[@DIYAudioGuy]

Head over to crutchfield.com. Pick out a head unit and they will suggest a compatible harness. If you don't want to buy the stuff from crutchfield you can then just look it up online. They do offer a discount on harnesses if you buy a radio from them, I buy all my radios from them because I know I will get the parts that I need. It might not be the cheapest place but spending an extra 30 or 40 bucks to make sure you have the right parts when you have your dash disassembled is worth it.

[@yamahar1castillo923]

@@DIYAudioGuy thanks

[@kalebsparks8850]

what size speakers should i buy for my dash?

[@DIYAudioGuy]

If it's for a similar truck they are supposed to be 3.5 inch. Just keep in mind that not all three and a half inch speakers are actually three and a half inches. You will likely have to fabricate some kind of adapter, or order one. I recommend taking the grills off and measuring, then reading the specifications of whatever speaker you buy to make sure it will fit.

[@kalebsparks8850]

@@DIYAudioGuy Do you think 3.5 inch will fit a 2006 dodge ram 1500 mega cab?

[@DIYAudioGuy]

Your best bet is to go to crutchfield, they have a database that will tell you exactly what will fit

[@kalebsparks8850]

@@DIYAudioGuy okay, thank you!

[@jessejamestx8993]

I dont have speakers there

[@DIYAudioGuy]

You will only have dash speakers if you have the factory Alpine system. But it is very easy to run wire to this location in this truck.

[@that103ramina4]

@@DIYAudioGuy can you show us a video on how to wire the dash speakers? My truck has the hole for the speakers but there’s no amp or wires that can connect to them

[@jessejamestx8993]

Shii mine was brittle af

[@DIYAudioGuy]

I can't seem to find one in a junk yard that is not cracked. But you can order one from amazon. amzn.to/3uP257v

[@badillo280]

At least you didn’t crack the dash 😂

[@DIYAudioGuy]

🤣