What does the inside of my car door look like?

February 13, 2009 10:36 AM

I'm replacing the 6.5" door speakers on my 1999 Chevy S-10 (regular cab) and I have two questions.

I. What does the linkage between the outer door handle and the latch mechanism look like? As I was removing the door molding (a minor fiasco, but done) I accidentally poked my finger in through a hole in the metal and unseated the rod that connects the outer door handle lever to the door latch. I can't see the linkage directly, so I don't know how it goes back together. If only I knew how they connected, I could put them back together.

II. The factory speaker that I'm replacing connected to the wiring via a socket. My new Pioneer speaker doesn't have this socket; it came with wires that crimp onto the speaker on one end and are an inch bare on the other. Can I simply cut the socket insert off the speaker wires in the door and just join them to the bare ends coming from the speaker?

Your help is greatly appreciated.

posted by carsonb to travel & transportation (4 comments total)

You can find an exploded view of the door components here. Hope it helps.

You can just cut the wires if you like. A better way would be to call up a place like Crutchfield and get the little adapter. Should only cost a few bucks and it's much better connectionwise, especially if you want to reverse it if you sell the truck.
posted by sanka at 11:06 AM on February 13

I don't remember my S-10, but most vehicles are similar. I'm writing this assuming you know nothing.

For the linkage, grab a flashlight and screwdriver. Take off the interior door panel if you haven't already done so (there's usually a screw or two in the armrest and plastic thingamajigs that go into holes in the door that you can just yank or pry-out with a screwdriver, although there's also a special tool designed to pry them). There should be plastic sheeting remaining held on by some goop. From my experience it's usually easiest to cut it and tape it back afterward rather than peel it off. There will be a thin metal bar going from the door handle to the lock mechanism, several actually when you include the exterior door lock, interior handle, possibly power door lock actuator. Anyway, you're looking for the one that's probably dangling, using the flashlight. Every one I've seen is a bar where the ends are bent to insert into a hole, with a plastic thingy to secure it there. It's hard to describe, but you should see how the other bars are connected, and all will become clear. It's possible the plastic thingy broke in which case you may stilll be able to secure the bar with something like a zip or twist tie, or it may just have been disconnected. You'll need to see. Fix it. Double-check it works properly. Tape-up the plastic sheet. Replace the interior panel and any screws.

For the speaker, yes, you can just cut-off the factory harness, strip a bit off the ends and twist the wires together. Ideally you should solder them, but personally I don't feel it's worth it, just wrap each cable separately with electric tape.

Take with a grain of salt.
posted by hungrysquirrels at 11:23 AM on February 13

Building on the parts diagram sanka found, this simplified version is essentially the parts of interest.
posted by hungrysquirrels at 12:16 PM on February 13

Turns out a flashlight will make all the difference. Thanks to those diagrams and a little extra light wedged into a nearby hole, I was able to finagle the connecting rod back into its appropriate hole. Seeing how they fit together in the diagrams was key; I didn't have a clear view of the whole set-up, but as soon as I saw the drawings I knew what I had to do. Thanks for laying it out for me!

I need to pick up a couple of fiddly plastic things before the speakers go in, so I suppose I'll update once that's done.
posted by carsonb at 12:58 AM on February 14