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2017 Model S front speaker wire colors

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Hi, I have read various sites that describe different color wires to tap into for the front speakers as if it has changed over the years.

Does anyone who has done an install on a 2017 or 2016 refresh Model S with the Basic audio know the colors of the speaker wires to tap into from the

1. front speakers?

2. rear speakers?

Looking to add a sub and possibly multichannel amp.
 
I watched a Light Harmonic front and rear speaker replacement video the other day. I recall the installer said the speaker wires on a '16 were white and white w/black on the left and white and white with grey on the right side. If you search I suspect you can find it also and watch it.
 
i have an 09/2017 model s with AP2.5 and have begun sound deadening my car, so far i have removed the 4 door panels and front kick panels, theres a *sugar* ton of connectors and wires in the front passenger kick panel.

i have yet to check my gray plugs which i hear contain all the audio connections but at the speakers themselves my driver door is solid blue and blue/white. the passenger front door is solid green and green/white. cable appears to be 16awg-14awg thickness, an audioshop i purchased some custom made speaker mounts for my 6 3/4" components say the speaker wiring is 16awg in tesla. i have yet to pull my a pillars off to find the wiring for the tweeters but need to this coming week so i can get all speakers channels wired into my JL FiX 86... will probably find my center channel wiring too when i take the dashboard panel off and/or try to get behind the MCU. the audioshop i ordered my brackets from says they are including their latest model s wiring diagram but the package is still en route and i cant wait!
 
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Reactions: David.85D
i have an 09/2017 model s with AP2.5 and have begun sound deadening my car, so far i have removed the 4 door panels and front kick panels, theres a *sugar* ton of connectors and wires in the front passenger kick panel.

i have yet to check my gray plugs which i hear contain all the audio connections but at the speakers themselves my driver door is solid blue and blue/white. the passenger front door is solid green and green/white. cable appears to be 16awg-14awg thickness, an audioshop i purchased some custom made speaker mounts for my 6 3/4" components say the speaker wiring is 16awg in tesla. i have yet to pull my a pillars off to find the wiring for the tweeters but need to this coming week so i can get all speakers channels wired into my JL FiX 86... will probably find my center channel wiring too when i take the dashboard panel off and/or try to get behind the MCU. the audioshop i ordered my brackets from says they are including their latest model s wiring diagram but the package is still en route and i cant wait!

Did you get the wiring yet? I see in the trunk lid what looks to be place for speakers but I don't think there are any...
 
Did you get the wiring yet? I see in the trunk lid what looks to be place for speakers but I don't think there are any...
I haven't taken my trunk apart yet but did fully disassemble my dash for the most part to get behind the radio as well as the kick panels/front side sills. Have had the door cards off to confirm and a pillars removed but not the rear door sills or rear seats taken off yet to investigate rear deck wiring yet. I am told there is wiring for the blank speaker pods (on base stereo) to reuse which I plan to for my rear component set of tweeters.

Here are my notes what I have documented:

Front right speaker can be found in front right kick panel on a gray connector plug
Green 16awg and green white stripe 16awg on gray plug pin 10 and 18

Front right Tweeter is found in a pillar
Green maybe 18awg and green white stripe 18awg wrapped in felt goes straight down a wire loom to the left and direct to mcu

Rear right speaker can be found in front right kick panel on a white connector plug
Red 16awg and red black stripe 16awg white plug pin 2 and 9

Front left speaker can be found in driver kick panel on a gray connector plug and also on a white plug (the gray controls more than just the speakers if you disconnect, the white is safer to disconnect as it's just the speaker wires)
Blue 16awg and blue white stripe 16awg pin 10 and 18

Front left Tweeter found in driver a pillar
Blue 18awg and blue white stripe 18awg runs down a plastic loom over the steering wheel and to the right toward mcu directly to the mcu

Rear left speaker is also found in driver kick panel
Gray 16awg and red white stripe 16awg

Here are the polarities I determined:

Rear left
Gray negative
red white positive

Rear right
Red black negative
Red solid positive

Front left
Blue negative
Blue white positive

Front right
Green negative
green white positive



Some more notes worth sharing. The main 4 door speaker wires are pretty thick 16awg in comparison to most of the rest of the wiring ran inside the cabin so it's actually pretty easy to find these wires once you pull off your panels.

Also in the driver kick panel there was a separate white plug that contained almost all the speaker wires you really need to tap into if your going to use some sort of high level to RCA converter or jl fix. The white plug in driver kick contains FL FR RL speakers, for some reason the RR speaker cable isn't there and it's found on a whole separate white plug in the passenger kick along with a cable for the rear trunk buzzer speaker.

Behind the mcu all 4 channels run to the gray plug beneath the heat sink. I tapped in there closest to the source and ran 4 16awg premium speaker cables to the left towards my hd radio unit just to the left of the steering column. On the opposite side of the hd radio there is a spot on the removable bracket that I understand the premium uhfs amp mounts to but with the base stereo it's empty and free to add 4 M6-1.0 x 10mm bolts to to secure a new audio device which I suggest. My jl fix 86 actually lines up just right with 2 of the holes so I just bought 2 stainless screws the size I mentioned and some blue threadlocker and enlarged 2 corner holes on the jl fix bracket to accommodate the thicker screw and viola it's mounted perfectly! My high level wires from the mcu go straight to that. I could have gotten the speaker signals from the white plug in the driver kick if I didn't want to take apart the dash to get behind my radio and ran another signal wire from the passenger kick inside the dash to my jl fix but since I went the whole way I took it direct from the radio to keep things clean and length of cables all the same. I tapped into my obd2 plug for 12v power and inserted a 1a fuse in line since that's all the jl fix requires. The obd2 is fuse protected at 5amps elsewhere in the car.

I never found where the tweeters were directly wired into behind the radio. Tried to tone and probe them but there was a lot of interference or electrical noise in most of the wiring or the toner I was using was a junk China tone and probe. But I did use a multimeter to check for continuity on both tweeter cables and found they are directly wired in to the main front speaker cables somehow, I assume they get spliced in somewhere hard to see or in a wire loom I didn't take apart. I just left them disconnected and dropped new speaker wire down the a pillar to each kick where my crossovers will go. The tesla tweeters have a resistor on each which must high pass crossover on the line itself.

Also worth noting with the base system. Just beyond the dash panel there is a metal painted grate pad you can remove and under that you will find 2 more 3" speaker blank openings (left and right) for the midrange speakers of the premium stereo. No wires were found there but it's easily accessible when the dash is all apart if you want to add more speakers to your car. I decided not to since I didn't want any sound reflecting off my windshield. I covered the opening with some sound deadener and acoustic foam to seal up the cavity. The center speaker is there right in the middle and very little room is there to remove the speaker, I didn't have the correct slim right angle torx tool to get it out and didn't want to scratch my fresh front windshield tint so I left it in place, I never found it's speaker wire combination or figured out how it was wired to the radio either. Left it connected for car blinker noise and other signals it sends out.
 
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Some photos for reference. I'm posting on my phone so I'm not gonna say what which is but if you have a question just ask
 

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t0mmyr,

Thank you so much for going so in-depth on the wiring of the base Model S audio system as well as the highly informative photos! I am going through the initial system design process for my 2018 Model X with base audio and this was very helpful in getting a clear understanding of the general setup.

I really like the idea of having a JL Audio Fix 86 on the UHFS amp location tapping direct from the MCU! That is as close of a way to create full spectrum audio outs! I am thinking of using a Fix 82 for the digital out capabilities, but I would lose the front/rear fader as opposed to the Fix 86, so contemplating.

From that point, I am planning to add:
- JL Audio VX1000/5i - 5 channel amp with integrated DSP
- Focal K2 Power 165KRX2 - 2-way components for the fronts
- Focal K2 Power 165KRC - coaxials for the rear falcon wing doors
- JL Audio wedge box with 10” W6v3 in the rear trunk storage area
- Sound Deadening on doors

I am trying to find a wiring diagram of the MCU rear outs and read that your audio shop may have a way to order these?

I am in Los Angeles, so if that audio shop is within a reasonable drive, I would appreciate it if you can share their contact info.

Thank you again for taking the time to write this seriously helpful info on the boards!


I haven't taken my trunk apart yet but did fully disassemble my dash for the most part to get behind the radio as well as the kick panels/front side sills. Have had the door cards off to confirm and a pillars removed but not the rear door sills or rear seats taken off yet to investigate rear deck wiring yet. I am told there is wiring for the blank speaker pods (on base stereo) to reuse which I plan to for my rear component set of tweeters.

Here are my notes what I have documented:

Front right speaker can be found in front right kick panel on a gray connector plug
Green 16awg and green white stripe 16awg on gray plug pin 10 and 18

Front right Tweeter is found in a pillar
Green maybe 18awg and green white stripe 18awg wrapped in felt goes straight down a wire loom to the left and direct to mcu

Rear right speaker can be found in front right kick panel on a white connector plug
Red 16awg and red black stripe 16awg white plug pin 2 and 9

Front left speaker can be found in driver kick panel on a gray connector plug and also on a white plug (the gray controls more than just the speakers if you disconnect, the white is safer to disconnect as it's just the speaker wires)
Blue 16awg and blue white stripe 16awg pin 10 and 18

Front left Tweeter found in driver a pillar
Blue 18awg and blue white stripe 18awg runs down a plastic loom over the steering wheel and to the right toward mcu directly to the mcu

Rear left speaker is also found in driver kick panel
Gray 16awg and red white stripe 16awg

Here are the polarities I determined:

Rear left
Gray negative
red white positive

Rear right
Red black negative
Red solid positive

Front left
Blue negative
Blue white positive

Front right
Green negative
green white positive



Some more notes worth sharing. The main 4 door speaker wires are pretty thick 16awg in comparison to most of the rest of the wiring ran inside the cabin so it's actually pretty easy to find these wires once you pull off your panels.

Also in the driver kick panel there was a separate white plug that contained almost all the speaker wires you really need to tap into if your going to use some sort of high level to RCA converter or jl fix. The white plug in driver kick contains FL FR RL speakers, for some reason the RR speaker cable isn't there and it's found on a whole separate white plug in the passenger kick along with a cable for the rear trunk buzzer speaker.

Behind the mcu all 4 channels run to the gray plug beneath the heat sink. I tapped in there closest to the source and ran 4 16awg premium speaker cables to the left towards my hd radio unit just to the left of the steering column. On the opposite side of the hd radio there is a spot on the removable bracket that I understand the premium uhfs amp mounts to but with the base stereo it's empty and free to add 4 M6-1.0 x 10mm bolts to to secure a new audio device which I suggest. My jl fix 86 actually lines up just right with 2 of the holes so I just bought 2 stainless screws the size I mentioned and some blue threadlocker and enlarged 2 corner holes on the jl fix bracket to accommodate the thicker screw and viola it's mounted perfectly! My high level wires from the mcu go straight to that. I could have gotten the speaker signals from the white plug in the driver kick if I didn't want to take apart the dash to get behind my radio and ran another signal wire from the passenger kick inside the dash to my jl fix but since I went the whole way I took it direct from the radio to keep things clean and length of cables all the same. I tapped into my obd2 plug for 12v power and inserted a 1a fuse in line since that's all the jl fix requires. The obd2 is fuse protected at 5amps elsewhere in the car.

I never found where the tweeters were directly wired into behind the radio. Tried to tone and probe them but there was a lot of interference or electrical noise in most of the wiring or the toner I was using was a junk China tone and probe. But I did use a multimeter to check for continuity on both tweeter cables and found they are directly wired in to the main front speaker cables somehow, I assume they get spliced in somewhere hard to see or in a wire loom I didn't take apart. I just left them disconnected and dropped new speaker wire down the a pillar to each kick where my crossovers will go. The tesla tweeters have a resistor on each which must high pass crossover on the line itself.

Also worth noting with the base system. Just beyond the dash panel there is a metal painted grate pad you can remove and under that you will find 2 more 3" speaker blank openings (left and right) for the midrange speakers of the premium stereo. No wires were found there but it's easily accessible when the dash is all apart if you want to add more speakers to your car. I decided not to since I didn't want any sound reflecting off my windshield. I covered the opening with some sound deadener and acoustic foam to seal up the cavity. The center speaker is there right in the middle and very little room is there to remove the speaker, I didn't have the correct slim right angle torx tool to get it out and didn't want to scratch my fresh front windshield tint so I left it in place, I never found it's speaker wire combination or figured out how it was wired to the radio either. Left it connected for car blinker noise and other signals it sends out.
 
yesterday i finalised wiring and installation of a sub in the trunk, according the teslatap manual. i confirm wiring lf speaker white and white black stripe, rf speaker blue and blue with black stripe. my s85 is built 3-2015. i only accidentally blew the fuse while checking the switched 12v yellow purple connnector. does someone know which fuse is behind this circuit?
 
yesterday i finalised wiring and installation of a sub in the trunk, according the teslatap manual. i confirm wiring lf speaker white and white black stripe, rf speaker blue and blue with black stripe. my s85 is built 3-2015. i only accidentally blew the fuse while checking the switched 12v yellow purple connnector. does someone know which fuse is behind this circuit?

The blue/blue-black wire for the right side door speaker isn't connected to anything. Did you have the same problem?
IMG_1944.jpeg
 
Hi all, I am a new member to the forum, I have read a number of posts and find a lot of conflicting/confusing info/ as well as changes in wire colors over time, I am currently having some issues finding the appropriate color wires.

I have a Dec 2016 facelift Model S apart (Standard Sound so I could do this vs getting UHFS)... I was expecting to find all of the cables in the gray connectors. I have seen some folks mention being able to use either a) Access all wiring in the white harness on the drivers side or b) in the gray connectors on each side of the car (right left kick panels).

@t0mmyr - I saw your note above about rears being in another connector, I could not find my rears on the right side at all (could have missed something)... which photo shows those wires and which are L/R? Thx!

My project:
  1. Subwoofer - Add a powered sealed 12" JL Audio Wedge to the rear cubby using high-level inputs. Status = Done - Wedge not sounding but power is there and I am grounded. I tapped onto the front door speaker for this since I cannot find my rear speakers, I need to run a remote wire instead of using signal to turn on the sub.
  2. Front Doors - Replace door speakers with BA Designworks (artist formerly know as Light Harmonics) drivers - Status = Done, working well.
  3. Front Tweeters - Replace with JL Audio dome tweeters w/ built-in crossovers - Status = Starting tomorrow
  4. Amplifier add-on - Use a JL Audio 320.4 (I already own) to amp the front doors and tweeters as the door replacements are nice but I don't get solid volume until I get to 7-9 out of 10 range. The sub is going to overwhelm them I think so I will amp the fronts.
  5. DSP - I am not using a DSP because the sub is powered and has adjustments and the JL 320.4 is 4 x channel and has crossovers and level adjustments and both have high-level inputs so I do not need to convert to line level. I may add a JL Fix at some point but I don't "need" one from my perspective.
  6. Distribution - I have a distribution block in the trunk hooked up and grounded, the JL Powered Sub and the JL 320.4 Amp are connected to the distribution block as is the ground and 1 x red 8amp wire that runs the length of the right side of the car through the firewall grommet to the 12v battery.

Some of my issues, consolidated:
  1. My door (speaker) wires are (I *THINK*) not the same color as what I see in my gray connectors.
  2. My right rear speakers are not in the gray connector, when I unplug one at a time the other white connectors my sound remains on in the rear. I saw @t0mmyr mentioning there is another connector somewhere on the drivers side.
  3. Where the %^&$ is the remote wire for ON/OFF capability? Signal is not triggering my sub to come on so I am running a remote wire like a normal human ;) tomorrow.
  4. Tweeter confusion - @t0mmyr - You mentioned the tweeters are somehow running to the doors, this confused me as the door drivers are 2ohm and the tweeters are 4ohm to my knowledge. Can you clarify?
  5. What happened to the ground in the trunk that used to be there on the left side in all of the videos? I had to drill another one, am I missing something?
  6. As an FYI I took my back seat out to run wiring to the trunk as getting the door trim out proved a bit crabby. This was very helpful actually, the door sills now tuck under the seats a bit.
I really appreciate anyone that sets me straight, this definitely is not straightforward thus far but it has been fun.

Happy Holidays ;)
 
djjknorr, I can't help you. But there may be a person that can help. However, he's not on TMC. I recommend you go over to Teslatap.com or TM's forum and start a thread asking him for help. You can reach out to him on Teslatap.com for assistance. He's even got an article on teslatap.com about an upgrade he did to his car. Specifically, I am referring to teslatap.com himself.