For quite a while I knew that some of the tweeters in my premium audio system were not working. Recently, upon closer inspection I discovered that NONE of the four were working. Listening suffered, even with the treble control cranked up.

Last week I completed the swap of the "Installed but Unused" dash tweeters for the inop A-pillar tweeters, based on information I discovered in this forum. WOW, what a difference in audio quality! It was so much more clear and crisp, and I had to un-boost the treble.

The tweeters in the A-pillars and rear doors are a similar design. They are lightweight plastic and they have weak wire connections. The dash tweeters are different and seem more durable, with a metal casing. They are all interchangeable at the mounting holes where they twist-fit into place in the grill. The rear deck tweeters are not installed in the premium system. Otherwise I would be able to swap them into the rear doors.

So, if anyone has a pair of dash tweeters available (you guys with premium audio aren't using them!), PM me with an offer. I want to use them for the rear door tweeters. They are part # DBC10873. There are none on ebay.

Big thanks to Nick (NTL1991) for posting details about this job, he did this on his XJ12 about 3 years ago.

Remember the above only applies to the Premium factory audio. The Standard audio system uses the tweeters on the dash and the rear deck. They are good tweeters. No re-tweeting necessary.





Screw removed, connector and capacitor removed, original pigtail installed. Rock on!

 

What is involved and removing them? Premium Audio has them installed but not even hooked up?

 

I think from what I have read a change in the tweeter part numbers and locations during X300 production as well as premium option from the standard .

The capacitor in the pic is what usually fails and can be replaced ( phone repair shop )

There is a 95 VDP in the salvage yard I can look at for part number and test

It never had a woofer speaker but a CD changer so I'm going to try a woofer from a X308

 

Yes they are installed but not wired in (although wires are connected at the tweeters). I think the wires terminate under the dash and are tied off. The premium system instead routs high frequency output from the trunk amp directly to the A-pillar tweeters. They have no capacitor to filter out the bass.

The rear door tweeters are wired in parallel to the door speakers, and they DO have a capacitor.

The dash vents where the tweeters reside can be pulled or pried up to get at the tweeters. But be careful, the plastic vents aren't very strong at this age.

I removed the A-pillar trim to access the pillar tweeters. The trim pulls/pries off. Again, be careful not to bend it too much because it can crack. The grab handles have to be removed first, although only the forward screw of the rear grab handles has to come out. That is where there is a joint in the trim (short wheelbase). The metal caps are a pain to pop off.

The rear door tweeters just pry right out very easily.

All of the tweeters are held in place in their grilles with tabs and only need 1/8 turn to release, and they are all the same diameter.

I put the non working tweeters from the A-pillars back into the dash positions as the holes are slightly visible thru the windshield.

There are about four different tweeter part numbers depending on location, capacitor, etc. I will see if I can bypass the capacitor in the rear door tweeters to get sound. Maybe they will still be usable. The premium setup does not have tweeters in the rear deck to borrow. Too bad.

It would have been much simpler if they had mounted an amp somewhere up front! I suppose they didn't have room. Relocating the tweeters added complexity too.