2017 212 ls speaker wire

[tdonoughue]

Ok. Parallel is better....

Yes, with them in parallel, you can remove the wires from the middle speakers going back, then just run a wire set from helm to back. Or leave them parallel. 2 ohm is better than 8.

 

[tdonoughue]

Or, just look at the middle speaker. Parallel will have 2 wires on each terminal. Series will have one wire on each terminal (one running forward and one running aft).

 

[Jeff L]

Respectfully, I think your dealer is not correct on how these 212 boats were wired in 2017 and 2018. Note that the wires say "series" on them. Your harness looks just like mine did.

The easiest way to check whether it is series and parallel is simply to disconnect one wire from one of the speakers which are wired together. If the other speaker wired with it stops playing, it is in series. If the other speaker still plays, it is parallel.

Jeff

Will do thanks. If they are not in series, then using the existing set up would be ok? Ok so forgive my ignorance, but, I have 4 RCA cables (see attached) doesn’t that mean I can only run 4 channels?

 

[Jeff L]

Or, just look at the middle speaker. Parallel will have 2 wires on each terminal. Series will have one wire on each terminal (one running forward and one running aft).

Port (green) starboard (purple)???

 

[tdonoughue]

The RCAs are the inputs to the amp. You have left and right, front and rear. 2 channels. Your amp will then put that out to 6 channels (front speakers, sub, tower speakers, deck speakers, etc).

 

[tdonoughue]

Looks pretty series to me...

 

[Jeff L]

Can you see why my head is spinning?!

 

[Jeff L]

The RCAs are the inputs to the amp. You have left and right, front and rear. 2 channels. Your amp will then put that out to 6 channels (front speakers, sub, tower speakers, deck speakers, etc).

So this doesn’t matter if I run 4 channels or 6?

 

[tdonoughue]

You are confusing input and output. You will have 2 channels coming in (front and rear). You will have 6 channels available to you coming out (6 channels from your amp).

 

[Jeff L]

You are confusing input and output. You will have 2 channels coming in (front and rear). You will have 6 channels available to you coming out (6 channels from your amp).

If I’m understanding correctly, front (L&R) is 1 channel, rear-4 speakers (L&R) is 2nd channel? If I re-wired and each speaker on its own channel, wouldn’t I need a new head unit since I only have 4 RCA cables coming out?

 

[Jeff L]

RCA cables

 

[Jeff L]

or I could get 2 RCA y splitter (1 male to 2 male)

 

[Jeff L]

Respectfully, I think your dealer is not correct on how these 212 boats were wired in 2017 and 2018. Note that the wires say "series" on them. Your harness looks just like mine did.

The easiest way to check whether it is series and parallel is simply to disconnect one wire from one of the speakers which are wired together. If the other speaker wired with it stops playing, it is in series. If the other speaker still plays, it is parallel.

Jeff

Ok, just spoke to the dealer and he admitted he was WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for the info, I'll be re-wiring. Now, I guess I should re-wire the front while I'm at it? You think 100 ft would do? I'd be using this (see attached)

 

[JDRacing]

If I’m understanding correctly, front (L&R) is 1 channel, rear-4 speakers (L&R) is 2nd channel? If I re-wired and each speaker on its own channel, wouldn’t I need a new head unit since I only have 4 RCA cables coming out?

No, each RCA cable represents a channel. You have four input channels. Front left, front right, rear left, rear right. Your head unit is fine. I believe from the picture it is a Polk PA4A, which is what they were putting in the 212 boats in 2017/8. I actually really like mine.

As @tdonoughue said, you will have 4 inputs and 6 outputs. When he said "You will have 2 channels coming in (front and rear)", he meant two channels EACH, front and rear, for a total of four channels.

Your amp lets you choose (with limitations) which inputs go to which outputs.

And yes, 100 feet of that 14 gauge wire you are looking at should be more than enough.

Jeff

 

[Jeff L]

No, each RCA cable represents a channel. You have four input channels. Front left, front right, rear left, rear right. Your head unit is fine. I believe from the picture it is a Polk PA4A, which is what they were putting in the 212 boats in 2017/8. I actually really like mine.

As @tdonoughue said, you will have 4 inputs and 6 outputs. When he said "You will have 2 channels coming in (front and rear)", he meant two channels EACH, front and rear, for a total of four channels.

Your amp lets you choose (with limitations) which inputs go to which outputs.

And yes, 100 feet of that 14 gauge wire you are looking at should be more than enough.

Jeff

Thanks again for all your input! Since I have 4 RCA, I just bought (2) Y splitter (1 male/2 male), does this sound right? Also, 100 ft of 14 ga wire should do all speakers right? Instead of cutting any existing speaker wire, I'll just tape each end and leave the harness connected, correct?

 

[JDRacing]

Yes on the wire length, and on taping the ends. You can also buy some butt connectors and crimp them on the end of the wires in place of the spade connectors for something a little more reliable than tape.

You shouldn't need Y splitters with your setup as it currently stands. Suggest you read the JL Amp manual--I've not used one of their amps, but I imagine it has switches that let you route the input channels to the output channels you want to use. You shouldn't need to use all 6 input channels by splitting the inputs with Y cables in order to have 6 channels of output. As they say in the military; RTFM (read the f'in manual).

Jeff

 

[Jeff L]

Yes on the wire length, and on taping the ends. You can also buy some butt connectors and crimp them on the end of the wires in place of the spade connectors for something a little more reliable than tape.

You shouldn't need Y splitters with your setup as it currently stands. Suggest you read the JL Amp manual--I've not used one of their amps, but I imagine it has switches that let you route the input channels to the output channels you want to use. You shouldn't need to use all 6 input channels by splitting the inputs with Y cables in order to have 6 channels of output. As they say in the military; RTFM (read the f'in manual).

Jeff

I've read it, I'll read it again after I can digest all this stuff

 

[JDRacing]

I've read it, I'll read it again after I can digest all this stuff

Hopefully with this thread you now have a better context for the information provided by the manual, and it will make more sense the second time through. If you've not played with this stuff before, just understanding the terminology can be a real challenge. But once you've gone through the process once, and hear the improvement you've made to your boat's sound system, I'm guessing you'll be back for more.

There's a bunch of boat audio addicts on this forum (me included), and some true experts (not including me). Once you start upgrading, it's hard to stop. Enjoy the process.

Jeff

 

[Jeff L]

I've definitely made it harder on myself, but I'm appreciative of everyone who has chimed in. I need to get my hands dirty and visualize it to get it. I do like the fact that I'm not paying someone to do it (especially if they did it half ass or wrong) and I'm learning about my boat at the same time. It will be worth it, that's why I want to do it right the first time. Once I'm finished I'll post pics/video.

 

[JDRacing]

Finished? I told myself before my first audio upgrade that that was all I was going to do. And then I'd be finished.

Three upgrades later and now it's: "I can quit anytime I want."

Yeah, right.

You'll do fine installing the current upgrade. Not so sure about the "finished" part.

Jeff