Use 16 gauge wire for the speakers and something like 14 gauge for the power. The larger the power wire the less ohms or resistance. For the speaker wire use this.

http://cgi.ebay.com/STINGER-TWISTED-16GA-SPEAKER-WIRE-PURPLE-5FT-PER-BID_W0QQitemZ130251791907QQihZ003QQcategoryZ32811QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

I buy from these guys all the time and you only buy the amount you need. For the power wire just get something at the store.

This is a good tread to know about, as I have a new radio to put in the TDT, and at present the fader is getting in the way.

Thanks, Boom. they do seem to have pretty good prices there.

the factory wiring looks to be 14-16 gauge, it is not nescessary to replace the wiring if it is in good condition. No 4 or 5 inch speaker is going to pull that much power to need a heavier wire. not even a 6x9 for that matter.

reading the forums made bypassing the fader seem harder than it really is. i just did it this weekend in my "new" 81 300d.

i pulled up the center console and looked at the wires coming from the fader. the ones on the left of the fader were the 2 left speaker wires and the 2 on the right were the right. in my case the right were green and black(2 pairs). and the left were red and black(2 pairs).

i used a battery to test which set went to which speaker and just wired them to my head unit's corresponding wire.

entire radio instalation took me approx 30 minutes.

While that may be true, the original speaker wire has more ohms of resistance than the new stinger stuff. The more ohms the harder the amp in the headunit has to work and the hotter it gets because of that. Really just get the new stuff, what is 15 dollars and a extra 20 mins?

If you gain access to wires like that, can you duct tape new wire onto the end of them and just pull the new wire throught the route the old wire follows? That seems like it would be th easiest way to replace wire if it would work.

You might be able to do that in the front but not the back. its really easy to gain access to the wires and route them if you take the side of the center counsel out. The back just runs along the center divider counsel under the carpet. I then ran them under the carpets and then the carpet unfer the backseat the wires run under it.

Just want to mark this thread as I'm installing an Alpine tomorrow.

In my 83 300D on the back of the stock radio, I don't have attached:

Grey = Dash Lights (dimmer)
Blue = power antenna

Thoughts?

Having trouble, no power to my new Alpine CDE-9872 head unit, wired with spade connectors:

oem brown wire to Black ground Alpine
oem black female spade connector to red ignition switch wire Alpine
oem black wire (cut before fuse wire hardwired to stock radio) to Yellow battery wire

connected antenna jacks
connected 4 speaker wires tested with battery for proper connection.

Still my Alpine doesn't turn on! What am I missing? Do I need a fuse between the battery and the Alpine? I taped the ground wires together, shound I squeeze spade connectors on the ground wires.

Help, thanks.

Update, for my 83 300D there is no constant power wire as it wasn't necessary for the analog Europa radio. I use the:

oem black wire (sheath with ground) as illumination wire to orange on Alpine
oem black spade connector as a switched on wire to red on Alpine
wired a constant power from red plug to yellow on Alpine

I blew an 8 amp fuse on the car when I put the cig lighter back, so I substituted a 25 amp (red) fuse in the same position whihc is for heat seats on the same position. All's well.

I have to check my connections. I drove it and had the Alpine on for 20 minutes and then if went blank, restarted and went blank again. Had dinner, came out and started to go and the Alpine turn on for 10 minutes, hit a bump and went blank again.

I want to replace the original speakers in my 300se . 5.25" Rears .is that a normal size or a odd search for size? I do not wish to modify the rear shelf area.
mak

I followed the procedure detailed by EricLee31, but independently since I see the post after finishing. I was following the post by ThosDoran, "W123: Speaker Wiring Myths ...".

I cut the wires at the Fader and pulled them back thru the sheath, cutting the crimped connections. The bundle w/ power and factory L & R pairs to the Fader can be discarded. This leaves just 4 pairs to the speakers and the "power" wires (brn=gnd, blk=+12 switched, red=+12V constant, blu=antenna motor). Red should connect to "memory" on most new radios.

I identified the speaker wires by touching a 1.5 V battery between each pair. On my '84 300D the colors are:
Left Front: grey-, grey/brn+
Left Rear: blk-, blk/yel+
Right Front: brn-, brn/red+
Right Rear: blk-, blk/wht+

Re polarity, I termed the wires that had been connected to the splices "negative" above. It shouldn't matter if the spliced ones were called "positive", as long as you are consistent everywhere. The polarity is just so the speaker cones move in the right direction. Could an audiophile tell if your phasing was off? It would be fun to test those guys.

I left the original cut lengths so the former spliced ones are shorter in my car. If it heads to a museum, someone may want to restore the wiring, otherwise no need to look back.