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Confused about red wolf speaker harness

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27K views 39 replies 12 participants last post by  Tazio Nuvolari  
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#1 ·
WRT: 2021 Prime SE

I wanted to replace the factory (non-JBL) dash speakers to the Kicker 47KSC3504 and am confused about the usage of the red wolf harness as per https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RMZ4CR6

There has been a few comments from here and reddit that says the harness is wrong and you'll need to "fix" it for 5th gen Rav4, what exactly is the fix ?

In the amazon listing itself it even says (Picture #5) "For 2019-2021 Dash Speakers, Wires are reversed in polarity. SO before install work positive and negative on your tweeter"

Are we talking about plugging red onto black on speaker and vice versa, or is there wiring cutting required ?

Thanks
 
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#9 ·
Okay, so I've ordered and received the Kicker 47KSC3504, I came with a pair of "in-line crossovers with 11" Lengths of speaker wire attached (tinned wire on the input end and three female quick slides on the output end)"

So at one end with 3 connectors obviously go onto the speaker itself. The other end had a positive label on one of the ends, so I would just "connect" the "positive" line with the black connector coming from the Red Wolf, correct ?
 
#13 ·
I just installed the 322F along with the 620F speakers in the front this past week. Crutchfield supplied the Metra harness with both sets of speakers. I can confirm the polarity is reversed on the Metra harness and easy to fix. Cut the harness wires in the middle and swap ends. Takes 2 minutes. I know its best to crimp or solder but I used wire nuts. I understand the Red Wolf harness is exactly the same as the Metra. I first installed without reversing the wires and had a faint buzz in the dash speakers. After I reversed no buzzing. Other than the faint buzzing I couldn't tell the difference in sound quality but I doubt the rear speakers being out of phase would cancel out much bass because they have little to no performance. In the process of installing new rear door speakers now.
 
#20 ·
RedElmo said:
Totally and re reading your post makes sense now.
Click to expand...
Better order your door speakers, you know you will want them after installing the dash speakers. I was only going to the dash a couple of weeks ago and now have installed new front door speakers and just received new Infinity speakers for the back doors. While I had the door panels off did Hushmat insulation. Doors don't sound like a hollow tin can anymore.
 
#22 ·
I only have an LE Hybrid so I expected a sh*tty system. If my crappy stock speakers are the same as you have in your Prime that would be a shame. The combined weight of all 6 of my factory speakers don't weigh as much as 1 of the 3.5 JBL's. That's why the JBL dash speakers overpower the doors. Even with the front door speakers replaced it needs a dedicated subwoofer. Hoping the addition of the new rear door speakers will provide a little more imaging but don't expect much additional base. Don't really want to do a sub, but I didn't really want to replace my stock speakers and I did. I didn't want to take my door panels off either but my passenger side front door had a rattle every time I closed it which bugged the hell out of me. Turns out the window tint guy left one of his plastic squeegees in my door. The panel was really easy to remove so I decided to do the door speakers and sound deadening material. Deadening material made the car a little bit quieter as well. When you order you door speakers ( laughing ) make sure to get the plastic trim panel tools, they make it much easer to remove the door panels.
 
#28 ·
Finished all 6 speaker swap tonight with JBL Clubs up front in the dash and doors, Infinity Reference speakers in the rear doors. Well worth the minimal investment, less than $250. Sound deadening material added in all 4 doors. Speakers, easy. Sound deadening, time consuming but worth it. Definitely quiets the cabin a little except when accelerating hard on the motor and doesn't do much for the A pillar wind noise at highway speeds. Doors sound and feel way more solid when opening and closing.
 
#36 ·
14v6 said:
Installed some Infinity speakers in the dash
Click to expand...
14v6 said:
On Amazon, it said the polarity is reversed up to the 22 model year.
Click to expand...
I used Infinity dash speakers also on my '21--great improvement over stock. Lots of people on this forum and in the RedditRav4Club used the Red Wolf harness and they did NOT cut and reverse the polarity on the wires for the dash even on the 2019-2021 models and they claimed it worked fine. Some did have issues like buzzing or bass was not good. So the reversed polarity issue on Red Wolf harnesses may only happen sometimes on some cars--or maybe some peoples' hearing is not that good and they can't tell that the polarity is causing problems. I seriously doubt that Toyota has corrected the reversed polarity on the 2023 model year so the Red Wolf will not need to be reversed--despite what Amazon says. We all know that Amazon's automobile product information is sometimes wrong.
 
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