Tapping high-level speaker outputs under door sill?

[tl364]

Hi all, as most, I'm installing a sub/amp/LOC. In taking apart the driver's side door sill to run my power wire, I noticed the loom that runs down the side. Does anyone know if the rear speaker wires are inside this loom, and if so, how the heck to open that white wire channel they're in? I'd love to solder my wires wherever possible, but don't feel comfortable having my iron inside my brand new interior: if I can access the wires here, I'll feel a lot better about soldering my connections. Thanks!

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[NHCivicGuy]

They’re actually on the passenger side, at the kick panel where they plug into the amp.

 

[tl364]

That's even better, thanks! I'm assuming they run down the same sort of channel then, any idea how to get those things open? I can get the smaller tabs that face outwards but the larger portions remain a mystery...

 

[tl364]

Hmmmm, upon further inspection, I don't have a factory amp (sport model). Do the rear speaker wires still run down the passenger side? All I could find in that loom were a teal and purple wire, then a white/yellow and green/black wire twisted together, which doesn't fit the speaker wiring colors either...

 

[rwk226]

Not sure what the wiring diagram is for the '21 HB Sport, but I recently installed a subwoofer system in my '18 HB EX-L. I simply pulled the radio out and used quick splice/taps into the harness there. It isn't a hard process to pull the radio out, would you feel comfortable doing that and sending a picture of the speaker harness coming out of your radio? How To Remove 2016 & Up Honda Civic Radio - YouTube

 

[tl364]

It's not so much that I'm nervous about pulling the radio, it's more so that I want to solder my connections for longevity (these will run to the back of the vehicle for whatever LOC/amp I chose in future upgrades) If I have to pull the radio, so be it, just making my connections at the kick panel would be considerably easier for what I want to do

 

[rwk226]

Definitely understandable there. With my '18 EX-L 8 speaker system (4 tweeters, 4 comps; touchscreen radio), this is what I came up with:

BTW the rear speakers are less than ideal to tap into, as the sound is EQ'd heavier in them than the fronts (less bass frequencies). I'd recommend the fronts if you want better sound for your subwoofer.
You could always buy some 18 gauge wire at Walmart, use some quick splice/taps, use some plyers to make sure the connection is secure, then run those wires to the back of the car where your LOC can be, and just run the wires down the side of the car. That's if you can't find what you need to go the soldering route, of course. Best of luck!

 

[tl364]

Good info, thanks for that! I'm planning on using an LC2i pro so I'm not sure how worried I'd need to be about the freq rolloff on the rea speakers vs the fronts? If it's really that bad, then I guess that sort of throws my whole idea out the window, and i'll just tap the fronts from behind the radio

 

[rwk226]

Not sure if the diagram I provided will match the 2021, we really could use the wiring diagram here to confirm. Not sure if the LC2i would be effective enough to fix the missing bass, but worth a shot! Worst comes to worst you could just tap into the fronts. I wrote an article/wiki on my experience with installing a LOC and subwoofer system in my '18! Might be a worthwhile read for you. This might also help explain why the fronts are better, and if there is any way to fix the rears with the LC2i.

 

[Daveg62]

I would also recommend just pulling the head unit. It's easier to access the wires behind it.

 

[tl364]

rwk, awesome write up! I guess the only other option that might be viable would be a harness extension? I could tap and solder that outside the car, which would be the most preferable for me, but I'm not having much luck finding such a thing. I did see someone on youtube create one from 2 different harnesses, but for $50, not worth it to me

 

[bikejog]

Sounds like a good opportunity to do the Insight armreset swap as well. https://www.civicx.com/forum/threads/fabric-to-leather-armrest-and-center-console-swap.54955/ The door speakers can be easily removed after the door panels are removed. You then tab the speaker connector wires.

 

[rwk226]

rwk, awesome write up! I guess the only other option that might be viable would be a harness extension? I could tap and solder that outside the car, which would be the most preferable for me, but I'm not having much luck finding such a thing. I did see someone on youtube create one from 2 different harnesses, but for $50, not worth it to me

Thank you! And yeah, harnesses are hard to come by unless you make one yourself, and then it's pretty expensive. I applaud you for wanting a clean setup in terms of the wiring, but it's hard to do that here as you've discovered. These are essentially what I used, but from Walmart. Unless you decide to fabricate something yourself or get lucky and find a custom harness, I am not sure what your other options are here. Do keep us posted though as it would be interesting to see what you wind up doing here.

 

[tl364]

I appreciate the motivation, and for those interested, I'll be using an LC2I Pro as mention above, coupled with an old hifonics brutus 1200.1d and a pair of Demon 10" subs, in a custom enclosure of course (came to roughly 2 cubes tuned to 32hz) designed to match the rear seats in the hatch

 

[rwk226]

I appreciate the motivation, and for those interested, I'll be using an LC2I Pro as mention above, coupled with an old hifonics brutus 1200.1d and a pair of Demon 10" subs, in a custom enclosure of course (came to roughly 2 cubes tuned to 32hz) designed to match the rear seats in the hatch

Sweet! that's going to be a killer build. I'm running a Skar RP1200.1d myself and it's a killer setup even turned way down as I have it now. Though my box is double the size of this, but this would be the best of both worlds; lots of deep bass and hatch space! Can't wait to see the end result man