I will be installing new door speakers in my 2010 Subaru Outback with polk speakers. The factory wires going into the factory speakers have a plug to connect the circuit. I don't have an adapter and need to know which speaker wire is positive and negative for all four speaker locations.

What is the way to determine the polarity so I can splice in my new speakers?

thanks in advance.

Kevin

 

It should have a noticable difference in the wire, like one is more black (negative) than the other. You could keep the volume low and quickly touch the wires either way. Take notes for the other doors.

 

Take the factory speaker and bump the terminals with a battery. I use a 9v with some speaker wire soldered to the terminals. If you have the + from the battery on the + of the speaker the cone will move out, ie away from the magnet.

Then match the wire color in the car at the speaker to the wire color coming out of the dash. If they differ (sometimes they do) then use a multimeter to confirm which dash wire is the corresponding speaker wire (continuity or resistance setting)

 

^^THE SAME THING WITH MORE DETAIL IN CASE YOU NEED IT...

Speaker Polarity Test

 

Great, thanks for the advice. I installed the speakers yesterday and it really made a difference. Now I am jonesing for an amp, head unit and subs