Replace stereo unit (XJ 1999)
 

Hello,

I am thinking of replacing the stereo unit but want to make sure the anti theft system is stand alone radio unit based and not part of the ignition anti theft in any way.

Thanks for any input!

Not to my knowledge but what radio unit do you have installed at this time the AM/FM/CD/Cassette?

Hi and thanks. Yes, it's the stock AM/FM/CD/casette type...

Your safe in removing it that does not affect your Anti-Theft sys.


If you decide to remove it and it all works I would be interested in it for my 99 as all I want is a stock unit to replace an aftermarket one in it. PM me if you want here.

The radio unit is not connected to any anti-theft system. In fact, Chrysler did not use an anti-theft system-enabled radio on any North American-market vehicle (except for the 2004-2008 Chrysler Crossfire, which DID use an anti theft system-enabled radio) until about 2013 or so when they added anti-theft capabilities to all of their radios. That being said, all European-market Chrysler vehicles have used the anti-theft system-enabled radios since the Grand Cherokee ZJ was introduced for overseas markets in 1996. I'm pretty sure pretty much all vehicles destined for Europe or overseas markets use anti theft system-enabled radios.

Also, removing the radio won't do anything, in fact, when the radio locks up in a vehicle with the System, most people just give up and install an aftermarket radio not using the System (pretty much all aftermarket radios do NOT use the System). The only time you'd need to worry about the System in a vehicle equipped with it is when you reinstall the factory radio, you'll have to enter an anti-theft code in order to get the radio to play again.

Replacement done
 

Ok, so I replaced the stock unit with a Pioneer 4x50w, USB etc, and Kenwood KFC-E1665 speakers (E1765 in europe) that are not too deep and that I understood from reading the forum fits in the cherokee.

Not super impressed with my updated sound. Might be the speakers are not strong enough or it is simply bad acoustics in the door and the rear upper speaker mount... Anyone else have experience of replacing speakers? Its the bass of course that is missing the most and when pushed, creates bad resonance in the car.

Now I might be a bit picky but this is my feeling:)

With regards to the request for my stock unit, I am in Sweden so not super cheap I think to ship this one.

Thanks to everyone for advice though.

Best,

Henrik

the rear mount sucks--plain and simple. They will never sound as good as the door speakers. I stuffed some polyfil in the ceiling inside the rear mount. It helped a little. I used pioneer speakers with the OEM head unit and it sounds ok. Maybe try some different speakers. I just did a google search for those speakers you used and they are $20 here in the U.S. I think you should upgrade them.

Crutchfield will offer you rubber baffles (they work like "top hats" on ceiling-mounted speakers in homes and businesses) that fit over the tops of the speakers and provides sound insulation, they're about $10 or so if you don't purchase speakers from them and want to just purchase the baffles. You'll need either a 5 x 1/4" or 6 x 1/2" baffle, depending on the speaker.

I always look for plastic or rubber-surround speaker cones with silk-dome tweeters when I go to purchase speakers for my vehicles... the plastic cones don't produce as much bass as rubber-surround cones, but the silk-dome tweeters produce more clear and crisp highs than the "whizzer" (paper-cone) or "piezeo"-based tweeters will.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-Z2rnbpl...KFC-1665S.html

reviews seemed great.

the reason i choose these i learned from the forum that not many 6.5 speakers fit in the front doors, they are too deep. this one wasnt. but in the back of course not limited in the same way
obviously the reason they fit is a very small magnet. Will anything sound good with such a small magnet is the question? When I mounted it seemed to be a lot of room left though. Is it the window that will hit the magnet when down? It must be the very last bit of rolling down the window that it its so the question is on that one if its really necessary to consider.



but i am leaning towards that the reviewers dont know **** about car audio sound :) will test with another speaker i have tried on my boat, really same price range, to see how bad the speaker is and how poor the car mounting is. appreciate the comment on the rubber insert but wont that kill bass while making it less vibrant?

1

The only good way to get a more powerful bass is to install a sub woofer in the cubby hole in the passenger side rear cargo area if you need to keep it out of the way and the amp under the rear seat.


Better speakers will help some but as you know a sub is the answer in the end.

I'm not sure if this will help, but...

Keep in mind that the original system in the XJ was set up for speakers with an impedance of 2 ohms. The stock speakers were 2 ohms, and the stock head unit and amplifier (if you had one) was set up to drive 2-ohm speakers.

The speakers you installed have an impedance of 4 ohms. Practically everything on the market now is 4 ohms, so your new head unit probably is also 4 ohms. However, if you still have an original amplifier or the original speakers in the rear, they would be set up for 2 ohms, and you have an impedance mismatch.

You didn't say whether you have an amplifier. If you do, and it's 2 ohm, it's not going to give those 4-ohm door speakers the signal they're designed for.

OR

If you don't have an amplifier and you're running all the speakers directly out of the head unit, you now have an impedance mismatch between your 4-ohm head unit and your 2-ohm rear speakers.

It's best to have everything set up for the same impedance all the way around. So you might want to think about replacing whatever original parts are left. If the new door speakers don't sound right, make sure you're feeding them the right signal before you blame the speakers.

ETA: Also, one other thing that comes to mind is that the original systems in these Jeeps did not have crossovers for the front speakers, and I didn't see crossovers included in the description of the speakers you bought. (The Infinity system in mine had the crossovers built into the amplifier.) Without crossovers, the sound from the front speakers could sound muddy. Just something else to consider.

If you want some nice rear speakers, see if you can find a sound bar for the back on the roof. I found one at the junkyard and it was like a god send. There's plenty of space behind it for thicker mids. I also have some considerable sized speakers in my front doors, and still have plenty of space for bigger ones if need be, so I don't know why your space is limited. To take care of the bass, I have a 15" subwoofer running at 450w at 4 ohms. I want 2 12's at 2 ohms, but that will come in the future. I would focus on just getting nice quality mids, and just run them off of your headunit. Then get an amp and put in a subwoofer to fufill your bass needs. The sound bar looks like this:

http://www.cherokeetalk.com/forum/at...dscn0008sm.jpg