Stupid questions thread

How the FUCK do I determine "positive" for these speaker wires? Apparently this is AC not DC as I thought so it isn't as simple as just checking with a multimeter.

Yes I know you can check the colors of the wires on the stock wiring harness, problem is, multiple sources quote different things for a 2000 explorer. Also metras wire harness that is used to quickly and easily hook up aftermarket speakers is known to reverse polarities because of a manufacturing defect they they refuse to acknowledge.

My autism DEMANDS I see first hand what the polarities are so I can know they are right. I had all 4 speakers hooked up and a subwoofer. the speakers sounded pretty average. The sub was great though. I have used these speakers in other cars and they sounded better, hence my wondering if the polarity is reversed.

TLDR; how do I determine polarity of AC voltage in this scenario?

Hook it up to a 9v battery. The correct polarities will make the speaker produce a slight 'hiss' whereas the incorrect will produce no sound.

white is positive
black is negative

black is always negative

zzzzzz

probably this
just hook them both up the same way and listen to them before you put the door all back together
if it sounds good you got them both right, if it sounds off then switch the polarity on one of them and it should sound better

lol no

I know the speakers polarity as its marked. I need to know the polarity of the wires you see.

The black and white you see is an after market quick connect metra harness that attaches to the stock speaker connector.

The problem is, I can't find a consistent source on the stock factory harness polarities and to make matters worse, some people claim the metra harness to be reversed in polarity.

Essentially, if I can determine the polarity of the wires on my own I will know as a matter of fact and have no problem hooking the speakers up.

Let me rephrase, imagine no colors on any wires exist.

How then would you know which wire was positive or negative?

There must be a way to test this.

The polarity on the speaker is marked so that's not a problem it's just the wires.

zzzz

so you know the speakers polarity side

then you should know that whichever side the wire is touching on the polarity is the polarity side regardless of colour

it's literally metal wire strands forming to connect items; colour doesnt affect the polarity, the wire connection is

so lets say if the left one is negative and its the white one sticking out, the black is positive because its not touching the negative terminal

tl;dr

black is negative because black is negative

I didn't really understand what you said but here's the deal.

The head unit has two wires coming out of it for the speaker in that door.

One of them is positive and one is negative. This is AC so it will work ether way BUT properly wired the speaker cone will move outwards producing sound in the proper way rather than moving inwards. The sound quality of higher if the "positive" wire from the head unit is hooked to the positive terminal on the speaker.

So if someone set you an empty room with two wires coming out of the wall and said "tell me which one is positive and which is negative"

What would you do?

Personally I think I will just go get some LEDs and use those to determine polarity as they will only work one way.

If the LED lights up I will know which wire is posirive and which one is negative.

>polarity of AC

What?

Test from one wire to the frame of your car. Get voltage? It's hot.

zzz its so simple

lemme draw you a diagram cause you seem like an idiot or something

if the harness "WHITE" wire is clipped using the harness to the "POSITIVE" side on the speaker, it is therefore "POSITIVE"

the reverse holds true: if the harness "WHITE" wire is clipped to the "NEGATIVE" side on the speaker, it is therefore "NEGATIVE"

now, in case if you're confused on anything: look at the factory wires in the door before the harness

white is always positive, black is always negative

what if it's not? what if they're the same colour?

the ones with wire wording on them are the "POSITIVE"

btw u can test it on the harness using the multimeter if you put your key into the on position

>black is always negative
Do not listen to this dangerous animal.

>>black is always negative
Unless it's signal.
Or positive.

Black is 'hot'

OP, get a damn voltmeter and check for AC voltage on the wires with the speaker hooked up.

Just hook them up and see how the speakers behave.

That's the beauty of this stuff, if you reverse the polarity it'll just work in reverse. There's no damage done, no flying sparks, etc.

here i drew you a diagram

I think I'm gonna try this. Thanks.

I realize that with AC it will work either way but for the best sound it must be connected properly.

No that is incorrect information. If you hook up a 9v battery to a speaker 1 way it will pop out and the other way will move inward. There won't be any kind of hiss because there is no oscillating current to create it. Honestly where do you guys get this shit from?

the only way for you to know for sure is to use a multimeter on the continuity or "beep" function. Put 1 probe in the known + wire at the headunit end and touch it to each wire at the corresponding speaker end. Whichever one beeps (has continuity) is obviously your + wire. Repeat for each speaker. There is no way that you are going to hook up a volt meter and see the polarity of an alternating signal because it doesn't have one. Likewise, you are not going to be able to hook the speaker up and simply look at it to tell it's out of phase. Maybe if you sit 2 speakers side by side you'll be able to tell they are in phase relative to each other but not to anything else.

OP, honestly I'm not sure if this whole board is trolling you or just doesn't have a clue about audio. I worked for a sound/light/stage rental company for years and now I'm an auto electrician, I have a pretty good grasp of how speakers work.

> If you hook up a 9v battery to a speaker 1 way it will pop out and the other way will move inward.
This is how I found out which of the terminals on my own speakers where positive/negative.
I'm sure OP could strip that white wire and test it out like that himself.

YMM. I can check Mitchells for wiring schematic.

Maybe head unit is not as powerful as the one in other car?

Dealer or private for used car?

Are you legitimately retarded OP?

Is the white wire coming out of the head unit positive or negative. Bam there is your answer.

As long as you pick one way (say black is positive) and hook both speakers up the same way, it makes no difference.

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