Help: Passenger footwell carpet removal

[AKnowles]

I'm trying to pull a few speaker wires to the passenger door panel. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find a way to remove the carpet in the passenger footwell without cauing potential irrepairable damage. Neither my Bently manual, 101 Project book, or the web have givn me any clue how to remove it without destorying it.

Can anyone here provide some insight?

Thanks,

Art

[RandallNeighbour]

sorry for my PM just now. I thought you were heading back to the rear deck above the engine compartment.

You know, if I were you I'd drop by a stereo installation shop that works on Porsches and ask their tech to give you a tip and give him a $20...

[Meir]

That's interesting.
I never tryed to remove the passenger kick panel ( not even when removing the dashboard).
The driver side is held by 4 screws and clips, so I assume the passenger side is more or less the same.
Look closely and see if the crept cover hides any screws.
If not, it might be just fixed by clips, and all need to be done is pull it.
I will try to have a look at it tomorrow and post the solution ( if you are not gonna figure it out by then).

[AKnowles]

Randall, Thanks for the PM. I was thinking about using the center channel for the reverse brake switch and rear camera video feed, but hadn't considered it for the speakers. I have enough of the carpet around the door sill up that I can run the rear speaker cables. There is actually a bit of space tucked in there and I found another wire bundle there already.

The carpet side piece piece is held on with two screws and some clips that fit in to the body. It popped right up. If I could get the passenger side kick panel out I could just roll up the carpet and put the cabled under the carpet. But so far, no joy.

[AKnowles]

Originally Posted by Meir

That's interesting.
I will try to have a look at it tomorrow and post the solution ( if you are not gonna figure it out by then).

Meir, if you can figure it out I'll owe you big time! I have the entire dash out, the seats out, the center console out. I even have the door sill removed and pulled the two screws holding the carpet retainer (long black plastic block) out. I can tug on the kick panel, but it appears to be stuck on the lower half or bottom. Feels like the bottom is glued in place. I'm not sure and don't want to rip up the carpet with no way to reattach it.

I have been able to wiggle a plastic tool in to the side (fromt he passenger door side) of the kick panel. Can move it about 1/2 an inch and see the wire bundle leading ot the passenger door. On the top, there is a metal clip holding the carpet to the plastic backing of the kick panel. That's where I tried tugging to see if I could lift it uip or pull it back to release the kick panel. No joy.

As it stands now, I'm considering purchasing a door lift so I can remove the doors. Drill them. Put gommets in the holes and run the replacement speaker cables that way. I can use the 1/2 inch of wiggle room on the side of the kick panel to route the cable to the door.

I'd know my options better if I could just get that darn carpet up without damaging it.

[Meir]

Ok that’s the way it goes.
Remove the door rubber seal.
With your hand, fill the top of the kick panel. You will notice a plastic tab that holds the carpet.
Lift the carpet off the tab, and gently pull it away.


This is the location of the tab:



As you can see, the carpet is glued to the plastic panel, so just peel it off, and remove the screw that holds the plastic panel.



Now you have access to the wires from inside the car.

[Meir]

Before you remove the doors and start drilling holes, consider this approach.
Stick your hand to the hole with the wires, and push the top of the connector out. (press the locking tab from the inside)



Now use one of these, with a T20 bit. To remove screw in bottom of connector.



My car is currently on the lift, so I have very limited access to the connector (can’t open the door all the way). so the next pictures are showing the driver side, which should be the same.



Once the screw is removed, you will be able to pull the connector out.
Disconnect the two sides of the connector by pulling tab (like the German style sliding tab)
Look at two sides of the connector.
Yellow arrow shows open space. Red arrow shows white plug that is not in use.
You can remove the white plug and channel the wires thru this space.




If you will do that, you can pass the wires to the door thru the original grommet, and you will be able to put everything back in place
Just don’t forget to leave enough spare wire inside the car, in case this connector will have to be disconnected in the future.
Good luck

[AKnowles]

Meir, Thanks. This helps tremendously. Where do you want me to ship the beer?

[Meir]

Originally Posted by AKnowles

Meir, Thanks. This helps tremendously. Where do you want me to ship the beer?

I'm gonna do the same mod myself in the near future. I'm kind of stuck in the middle of my project (waiting for new RMS ), so I thought to give it a look.
Good luck.

[AKnowles]

Well, I did manage to remove the connector and pulled out the white unused connector as well. I sure wish I had of left the windows up though so I could get to the cables at the door entrance better. Guess I'll have to wait until later today/tomorrow to see if I can do without a door lift. I've pulled the wires so am good to go with putting the dash back together followed by the seats. Once the seats are back in I can power up the car without issue and raise the window. That will tell me if I can get to the cables and unwrap them enough to allow me to pass the speaker wire thorugh the grommet.

On a worst case, I can get the door lift and remove the door. Then work on the wire harness. Even if it means removing the innards to gain access. If I go that route though, I'll remove the extra wires in the harness and just rewrap it with the new speaker wires. That will look, and work, a lot better.

I can see why most people don't try and replace the factory wiring though. What a PITA! Who would have thought pulling a pair of 12 gauge wires to the doors would be such a problem?

[AKnowles]

OK, after getting the dash & seats reinstalled I rolled up the window. There is no way I can push the 12 guage speaker wire in to the door without removing the door and rewiring the harness. So, in about 2~3 weeks I'll have a door lift so I can remove the door. Once I have the door out I'll pull the harness and remove the extra connector and its wires along with the stock speaker wires. That should give me enough room to pull the repalcement 12 guage speaker wire. If not, the drill will come out and I'll use a few waterproof grommets and pull the cable directly. Either way I'll need a door lift.

Oh well, on to finishing the radio & amp install. if I have time, I'll install teh rear camera too. Otherwise it can wait until next weekend.

[BrokenLinkage]

Don't know if it would make a difference in the feasiblity of pulling your wires, but I guarantee that unless you are doing something bizarre and very high powered, you won't hear any difference going to 16 guage instead of 12. (Not just me,this was conclusion of blinded study using the audiophile ears of the editors of Stereo magazine, back in the pre-MP3 golden age of hi-fi,using high end home stereo equipment).
So if some salesman didn't already talk you into silver plated oxygen-free mylar shielded twisted pair 12guage Munster cable, understand that these are just for show, and since yours ideally won't show, I'd save the $ for a new pair of fuzzy dice and thread smaller cheaper cable in a classy discrete oem location if at all possible.

[AKnowles]

Thanks for the thought, but the 12 guage wire is for a pair of 6 1/2 kicker subwoofers. One in each door replacing the stock units. The fifth channel of my amp is for them and will push (RMS) about 300 watts. As an FYI, you couldn't pull 16 guage either. Just no room.

FWIW, I've already replaced the dash speakers with Infinity 4" speakers from their 4629CFP line. I wish I could have used the tweeter from it too, but I couldn't get it out of the plate without damging it. So, I used a pair of Infinity 10.9t. Bigger than I thought they'd be, but they fit and sound quite good. I'll be adding two pair of Infinity 32.9cf to the rear enclosure sometime next month.

[Meir]

Originally Posted by AKnowles

Thanks for the thought, but the 12 guage wire is for a pair of 6 1/2 kicker subwoofers. One in each door replacing the stock units. The fifth channel of my amp is for them and will push (RMS) about 300 watts. As an FYI, you couldn't pull 16 guage either. Just no room.

FWIW, I've already replaced the dash speakers with Infinity 4" speakers from their 4629CFP line. I wish I could have used the tweeter from it too, but I couldn't get it out of the plate without damging it. So, I used a pair of Infinity 10.9t. Bigger than I thought they'd be, but they fit and sound quite good. I'll be adding two pair of Infinity 32.9cf to the rear enclosure sometime next month.

Damn.
I didn't know kicker makes 6.5 subwoofers. Guess I've been out of the scene for too long. Gonna meet my old buddys from Rockford fosgate next month at the CES in vagas. Gonna see what goodys I can get.
Are you going to place the subs using the OEM box ?

[AKnowles]

Originally Posted by Meir

Are you going to place the subs using the OEM box ?

No. I'm going to buy some MurderMat, Dyanamat, or AT Sound Deadener and line the interior directly behind the speaker location. Then build a plate to replace the OEM speaker box. There is a template online for it. The speakers I bought are Kicker CVT651 and are the 1 ohm model. I'm going to wire them in series at the amp to provide a 2 ohm load.

Depending on time, money, and feasability, I may follow some other soud deadening advice and fill the rest of the door holes with aluminum sheet with a final outer coating of sound deadener. If I do, I'm going to replace the grey plastic water barrier with it. I need to make sure that the sound deader is not too thick so I can still attach the inner door skin without issue.

I really wanted to get up the carpet and line the entire bottom and rear with sound deadener. Mostly because I have gear whine from the transmission and it is annoying at speed. On second thought though, maybe I should just check around a bit more to see if the gear whine is normal for 67K miles. Has been in other cars I've owned so I didn't think to much about it, but I could be wrong on this car. Maybe I'd be better of spending some cash on transmission.

PS: My RX7 had Rockford Fosgate amps, Infinity seperates (51/4 in door & 6 1/2 in rear shock tower), and Bazooka 6 1/2 subwoofers in the rear. The sound was amazing. I never minded being in traffic when I could just listen to the music! I almost bought them again this time around, but wanted better SQ and no alternator whine. So went with the Helix B Five. With no add-on noise reducers I get clean sound from this system. No thump on amp turn on either. Unlike my previous Rockford Fosgate. When you see them at CES you can tell them one of the main reasons I didn't buy this time was their 1% THD. I know, 1% THD is supposed to be unhearable, but I look for it anyway. Also, form what I understand RF bought Fisher which owns Helix, which makes my amp anyway.

[AKnowles]

OK, now I know. I shouldn't have mentioned the alternator whine! I had my passenger side speaker drop out. Turned out to be a loose connection. But in the process of tracking it down I pulled out the HU and since I had it out decided to place the magnets on the USB/iPod, GPS, and microphone wires. After I put it all back, I now have an alternator whine.

Oh well, I do have a noise eliminator I can plug in to it if needed, but before I do guess I'll just check all the ground wires first. And maybe reset the HU again and rearrange a few of the myrid wires behind it.

Hope you all have a Happy New Year!

[AKnowles]

Ah, fixed the alternator whine. Seems I accidently removed the ground wire from the DD unit that also is used by the alarm unit (radio theft prevention). I've also buttoned up the inside of the car and moved on to the mid/rear for the camera install.

Still going to be 3~4 weeks though before I can get a door lift and work on the subwoofers.