Replacing factory installed JBL speakers in older model Toyota Camry

[OLDBALLZ]

Good Afternoon Gentlemen & Ladies;

FNG (F'ing New Guy) here with a request for assistance in identifying a component of the 6x9 front door panel speakers (JBL 86160-AA382) in my daughters oldie but goodie 2003 Toyota Camry SE with factory JBL head unit, amp & speakers (6). Not wanting to sink a bunch of cash into a older car, one driven by my college aged daughter, I decided to upgrade her speakers since a couple of them were distorting very badly due to a torn speaker cone / foam edge ring. While disassembling one of the front door panel speakers I noticed that there was some sort of "Block" or extra component to the speaker / bracket assembly. This Block is white in color and is inline from the speaker bracket to the speaker. It goes like this; vehicle wiring harness plugs into a double female connector that is part of the speaker bracket. This White Block plugs into the double female connector on one end and then on the other it plugs into the positive & negative spade lugs on the speaker. Not knowing what this component is I began an exhausting research starting with Crutchfield (where I bought my replacement speakers). Their tech wasn't sure and referred me to emailing Toyota and JBL. I emailed both and JBL says they don't actually make or design large portions of the systems that Toyota uses...in other words, Toyota uses whatever electronics they can and slaps JBL stickers on it. Interesting!! JBL techs said that they don't have any idea what the component is that I'm wanting to identify. I finally received an email back from Toyota, they said that their techs didn't have that information readily available and they referred me to subscribe to one of their online technical manuals for $$. All of this has lead me to all of you. I'm going to attach some pictures and hopefully someone has ran into a similar situation or has an electronic background and help me with the information I need to proceed with the replacement speaker installation. Sorry...I'm long winded, I'm a newbie here! Here's what I'm wanting to know; First...what is this white block (noise / static reducer, bass blocker or crossover) and will I need to incorporate it inline with the new replacement speakers? Thanks for taking the time to read this post, look at the pictures and offer any advice or assistance that you can.

OB out!!

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[huberoy123 10+ year member]

I would wire the speakers directly, and forget about the white block. The old speaker is 2.9 ohm, and the white block may have something to do with impedance matching, bass blocking or crossover as you stated. Just a guess.

 

[BCotrell]

Dang man, I looked around and jbl makes some 2way 3ohm 6x9 speakers but they’re all pretty high power handling requirement. Have you tried to find them at a Toyota wrecking yard? Or someone off a Toyota forum who went aftermarket. eBay?

 

[OLDBALLZ]

I would wire the speakers directly, and forget about the white block. The old speaker is 2.9 ohm, and the white block may have something to do with impedance matching, bass blocking or crossover as you stated. Just a guess.

Thanks for replying huberoy....Yeah, I thought about DC'ing the white block and wiring them directly. You might be on to something though...the front door panel speakers were 2.9 ohm and the front dash speakers were 2.0 ohm as were the rear deck (behind back seat) speakers. Maybe the white block is for impedance matching as you stated. Thanks...you added yet another option to my dilemma...

 

[OLDBALLZ]

Dang man, I looked around and jbl makes some 2way 3ohm 6x9 speakers but they’re all pretty high power handling requirement. Have you tried to find them at a Toyota wrecking yard? Or someone off a Toyota forum who went aftermarket. eBay?

Thanks for looking around BCotrell....In the beginning of researching new speakers I was unable to find 2 ohm replacement speakers anywhere...including decent ones out of a local import wrecking yard and off of EBay. After that I called Crutchfield and told them what I had and they supposedly matched me with the best operating speakers for my original equipment head unit and amp. So far the new front dash and rear deck speakers sound really good together...oh should I say good enough for my daughter's back & forth to college car. After removing the door panels and pulling the old speakers, only then did I notice this "white block" and the difference in ohms between all of the speakers. Thanks for your response to my post!

 

[FPX2]

Hi OLDBALLZ,
I have the exact same dilemma - would you mind sharing what model Crutchfield recommended to you?
Do you know what the impedance was on your new front speakers? Did you end up bypassing the mysterious white box?

BTW, I just measured the resistance - directly on the speakers = 2.9Ohm (as indicated by the label). Then past the "white box" it increases to 3.5Ohm, which is in line with huberoy123's hunch.

Thanks!