So I bought Kicker's CSS65 audio system. Installing the tweeters and component speakers were straight forward, however, I've never dealt with crossovers before so I just skipped it (for now). Looking at this diagram, I understand that the crossover is basically connected in between to both the tweeter and the woofer, but I don't understand where I connect the input wire.
Also, where should I place the crossover?? I see people placing it in the little divot on the other end of the door, but I hear that it's susceptible to water damage, and I live in Washington state, which is a big nono. How would I place the crossover behind the inner metal plating of the door? Like it shows in the diagram?


can I remove that metal plating? if I remove all the bolts and screws will it come off or is that just part of the the entire door?

 

SIDENOTE: The headunit I have right now is a base model Alpine (no bluetooth, no USB, I doubt any inboard crossover, etc)

I plan on getting a Kenwood KMM-BT728HD, which states it has a 2 way crossover. Do you guys think this new headunit will mellow out the sound, or should I stick with the crossover install?

 

Don't mount the crossover behind the white plastic if you want to avoid moisture.
I had mine glued and taped to the inner door panel where it is much more protected.
As for where to connect input wire it should be marked on the crossover terminals, if you are unsure take picture and we will take a look.

 

I meant more like where do I solder this into the harness? Do I bring this input wire through the rubber grommet into the interior cabin and then solder it into a particular wire?

 

The crossover is powered by the wires that were initially powering the OEM woofer. That's where I'm picking up power for mine, anyway.

Look at the Metra 72-7800 speaker harness adapter to solder to the wires vs hacking up the oem wiring; make it PnP.

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-q5oXqD...SABEgJL-_D_BwE

And check out this guide: It's for an Ap1 but the concept is very much the same.


https://www.instructables.com/id/AP1...r-Replacement/


I'll be mounting my crossover INSIDE of the actual door. The crossovers included with my Polk component speakers are marine rated, and fully encapsulated on the inside. If yours are similar I don't think there's much to worry about. Use adhesive Velcro tape so if you do ever need to remove them it isn't a total nightmare. I'm using 3M dual lock on mine.

 

Its a good thing I have plenty of spare adapters lol

Can anyone attest to connecting the input wires to the oem woofer harness? Just want to get my stuff straight before I go ahead with it.
Plus, that sounds a lot more straightforward than I expected so Im hoping its right hahaha

 

Realistically where else would you get your signal from? Do you have an amplifier as well or are you just running a headunit?

If you're just running a headunit, or in my case the alpine power pack bridged to 2 channel 90W which is still outputting to the OEM woofer connector, that's where you're going to power them from....If you're running any kind of aftermarket amplifier you'll need to run the input wires to the amplifier outputs.

 

No amp, just headunit.
Pretty big relief to hear to be honest. Idk man, this "manual" is pretty shit, and alot of installation videos on Youtube/Google search are also pretty vague