How big/small? A3 rear speakers

atc

atc

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I've just bought a '99 A3 SE (does that make it an 8L?). To my total dissbelief having fitted my Sony MP3/CD I have found my car only has 2 speakers! Looks like that is the original spec. Can i retro fit rears? What size are they? There are no wires so I'll have to run them, while I'm at it I want to run all the cables for my amp and sub. Any hints and tips will be welcomed.

Ta, ali
 
Yes you have an 8L. Rear speakers are fitted they just run off a separate amp inside the tupperware sub (passenger side cubbyhole in boot). You just need an adapter to hook them up to the 20 pin connector behind the HU.
However if you are adding a proper sub then I would recommend rewiring them straight to the HU as the puny Audi amp is pants. You can pick up the feed to them off the red plug that connects the plastic sub, so no need to remove both rear speaker panels. They are 6.5" coaxials, but if you upgrade them, or someone has removed them, you will need adapter rings to fit anything other than the Isophon shyte Audi fit as standard.
Let me know if you want the pinouts.
 
AndyMac said:
Yes you have an 8L. Rear speakers are fitted they just run off a separate amp inside the tupperware sub (passenger side cubbyhole in boot). You just need an adapter to hook them up to the 20 pin connector behind the HU.
However if you are adding a proper sub then I would recommend rewiring them straight to the HU as the puny Audi amp is pants. You can pick up the feed to them off the red plug that connects the plastic sub, so no need to remove both rear speaker panels. They are 6.5" coaxials, but if you upgrade them, or someone has removed them, you will need adapter rings to fit anything other than the Isophon shyte Audi fit as standard.
Let me know if you want the pinouts.
Click to expand...

Snot there! There is no sub in my car. I guess its possible that someone has removed it at some point. Is there any spec A3 SE that wouldn't have had a sub? The wiring behind the head unit has been pretty butchered. What can I say you get what you pay for and my car was cheap!
 
No all A3's have a sub, so someone must have done you a favour and removed the piece of garbage. One less job for you to do.
 
Someone's definatly been a chopin'! Pulled the head unit forward to have another look for other wires. All I can find is a very short bit of ofc phono twin cable and a short bit of singles. I can't see any connectors where the amp would have been! There is evidence of an amp having been screwed to the back seat. Looks like I'm going to have to rip out 1/2 the interior and do the whole thing again myself. Not looking forward to that! Oh well can't live without tunes! Especially in a 1.6, the engines are a bit rough under acceleration, to say the least!!
 
The Audi wiring is shockingly bad, so you're better off without it. Run proper RCA's for the sub and some speaker cable for the rears and you'll be sorted. It's relatively easy in the A3. You'd have to have run the speaker cable anyway regardless of the butchering, and proper RCA's will mean no wiring adapters needed. You can run the RCA's down the same side as the power cable, so no additional work at all.
 
I've hunted arround for any signs of the original wiring so that I can take the power supply for my amp but no sign of anything. Where's the best/easiest place to take the power from? If I come directly from the battery (via a fuse) any ideas on how to get through the bulk head? Also any tips on removing the trim (before I break anything).
 
You couldn't use the original wiring to power a proper amp. You need to go direct to the battery. The easiest route is via the spare grommet up by the pollen filter on the paassenger side under the wiper splashguard. This drops down behind the glovebox, which you need to remove so you can feed the cable through. A wire coathanger is useful here.
A3grommet.jpg
 
Excellent, cheers for that! I'm going to order some proper cable, then all I need is the time to do the job.
 
audi upgrades
All sorted, sounds much better now. The driver side door tweeter isn't working so I have to have a look at that at some time. Also my car has never had rear speakers!?!?!? The felt insterts are still in place over the rear speaker holes in the rear cards by the base of the rear seat. I didn't find any sign of there haveing been any original amp in the boot either! Strange........
 
No the stock amp is inside the tupperware sub, so without that you have no amp.
 
AndyMac said:
Yes you have an 8L. Rear speakers are fitted they just run off a separate amp inside the tupperware sub (passenger side cubbyhole in boot). You just need an adapter to hook them up to the 20 pin connector behind the HU.
However if you are adding a proper sub then I would recommend rewiring them straight to the HU as the puny Audi amp is pants. You can pick up the feed to them off the red plug that connects the plastic sub, so no need to remove both rear speaker panels. They are 6.5" coaxials, but if you upgrade them, or someone has removed them, you will need adapter rings to fit anything other than the Isophon shyte Audi fit as standard.
Let me know if you want the pinouts.
Click to expand...
sorry mate , ive just got an Audi A3 sport on a P reg had to change main head unit to JVC system but i have no sound in the rear of my car could you please tell me how to get them running and even the std Audi sub

Thanks
 
audi upgrades
can you send me the pinouts :thumbsup:

Can anyone tell me how to setup my rear speakers as there not running
because i've changed my head unit to a JVC but i still have the std Audi sub how do run it all.....................
:salute::redrs4:
 
You need to buy an RCA input adapter, which allows you to plug your rear RCA's from the JVC into the Audi loom feeding the rear/sub amp.
http://www.carstereos4u.co.uk/audi-...utoleads-pc9-404-harness-adaptor-819863--.php
However the puny Audi amp is only 2 x 20w so the rears and sub will be very quiet compared to the 45W+ from the new HU going to the fronts. So you'll have to fade to rear quite a bit to balance the sound.
Alternatively you could rewire the rears directly to the HU and then use the above adapter from your sub pre-out (RCA) and then jack the sub level up to max.
Neither option is perfect unfortunately. You may also get interference from the rear amp as it doesn't like non Audi head units.
 
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