Although the original British Leyland radio in my '71 2+2 works (tested it), the car was purchased without any speaker/s. There is one double-strand wire coming from the radio. One strand has a common female slip connector and the other has a flat male connector. I have been told that perhaps the radio should only have one speaker. True???? If not, how would two speakers be wired???? Any help would be appreciated

Submitted by douplayalong@y… on Tue, 09/16/2003 - 11:39

Good day,

Contact these guys, they are truly professionals.
Muncie Imports & Exports
1-800-462-4244
ask for Chuck

They are the experts on Jaguar interiors and if they cannot help you, I know for a fact they well direct you towards the proper place.

Good luck!!

Scott Fitzgerald
Greenville,OH
67 XKE OTC
88 XJS Coupe

Submitted by mcload@ev1.net on Tue, 09/16/2003 - 11:29

Dennis, just my two cents....I've heard from a number of folks that dealers only installed one speaker, which is crazy in my opinion. One of your biggest problems is finding a speaker where the rear magnet doesn't hit the radio. I've spent a small fortune on Radio Shack speakers as well as "low profile" speakers, trying to find a set that fits without distorting the shape of the radio console. I've even bought old speakers from EBay and have had them re-coned. It's truly a pain in the rear. You may have to resort to tiny one-inch speakers before you have any success.
Before you wrap everything up for the final installation, do a test fit of the console in your car.

Also, to find the polarity of your speakers (positive and negative), get a little C or D size flashlight battery, and connect one end to one of the terminals. With the other, make contact momentarily. The positive side of the battery on the positive speaker terminal should make the cone move forward. Conversely, the negative end will cause the cone to move inward. Once you've identified positive and negative, mark them with a black marker.

Hope this helps; good luck

Patrick McLoad
1966 E-Type, Right-hand Drive Roadster
#1E1445

Submitted by richmz@adelphia.net on Mon, 09/15/2003 - 18:41

Dennis, I don't know if one or two, but if you want two speakers........

Check the back of the radio for the output impedance spec. It may be 4 ohms. If it is, you can wire two 8 ohm speakers in parallel to the radio, as together their total load impedance in a parallel configuration will be 4 ohms.
If the radio spec is 8 ohms(as I suspect), you need two 16 ohm speakers(which may be hard to find). If only 8 ohm speakers are available to you, you'll have to add a 4 ohm resistor in series to two 8 ohm speakers wired in parallel so it will match the radio spec.( (88 = 4) + 4 = 8 ) Note the 4 ohm resistor must have a power rating greater than the radios' output power rating so that it doesn't burn out(i.e. if radio output power is 5 watts, use a 10 watt, 4 ohm resistor)

As far as which wire to connect to which speaker terminal(s), if the speakers are not polarized(i.e. not marked + or - ), then just take your 2 wires from the radio and attach to the 2 terminals of one speaker(or series resistor if needed), then another pair of wires to the other speaker.....similar to attaching jumper cables from one car battery to jump start a car with a dead battery.

Rich