I searched around without much luck and have a quick question. When I got my 4runner it didn't have any front speakers. The po just cut the wires and took the whole speaker assembly out. I finally got around to putting in speakers in the front and I don't know which wire is positive and which wire is negative. One is light purple/pink and the other is a darker purple. I'm not even sure if they are the speaker wires. Any help would be fantastic. Thanks.

 

If they are speaker wires (which I think they are), it doesnt matter which way you hook them up, if it did, the speaker itself would have a + or - on it, which i bet if you check, it wont. I know with subs and what not, reversing polarity ive been told can be the difference in the sub pounding out, or sucking in. I couldnt confirm that either way, but its what ive been told.

 

The speaker does have a positive and negative terminal on it though.

 

http://www.installdr.com/Harnesses/Toyota-Wiring.asp there you go looks lke pink is the positive

 

hmm, well sorry for the incorrect information, but i really dont think the polarity matters. get a speaker and try it out, i bet the sound is the same either way.

 

Elton Thanks. Thats great. 87 I don't really think it matters. The only reason I asked is because it said + and - on the speakers. I just wanted to make sure I did it right.

 

All done and it sounds great. Now when I find the speaker housing for the passenger side I'll know the positive wire is green. Thanks again for the link elton.

 

it absolutely makes a difference if you hook the wires up correctly on your speakers. having a speaker wired up "backwards" will cause the speaker to play out of phase and make your music sound pretty bad, or cause issues of clipping from the out of phase speaker. for future reference, here are your wire colors:
Constant 12V+ Blue/Yellow or Blue/Black
Switched 12V+ Gray
Ground Brown
Illumination Green
Dimmer n/a
Antenna Trigger Black/Red
Antenna Right Front
Front Speakers 6 1/2" Doors
Left Front (+) Pink
Left Front (-) Purple
Right Front (+) Light Green
Right Front (-) Blue
Rear Speakers 5 1/4" Rear Doors
Left Rear (+) Black
Left Rear (-) Yellow
Right Rear (+) Red
Right Rear (-) White

 

Yes it does make a difference on which wires you use. It will work both ways but one puts the speaker in phase and the other puts it out of phase.
Someone posted the diagram for the vehicle so you have that. It seems your issue is now what is the polarity of the speaker itself.
To find that when they are not labeled, simply use any battery you have laying around in a remote or power tool. All batteries have a + and a - . Attach some wires to the speaker and then touch the other end of the wires to a battery and the speaker will move. If the polarity is correct (+ from the battery to the correct terminal on the speaker.......as well as the -) qthe speaker will move out when voltage is applied and retract when the voltage is taken off.
If it moves in when voltage is applied, the wires are backwards, or "out of phase".
The stronger the battery, the more movement. A aaa battery will give you very little movement. A car battery(or any 12v in your car) will provide much more.
Do this quick and release quicky don't hold the voltage there or damage can occur. A good balance is a 9v battery but really anything will work if you only hold it for a second or two......ando that's plenty of time to see what you need to.
I usually use my cordless drill battery cause its handy.

 

For those who are wondering, in phase means the cones of both speakers on a stereo line, for example, are moving forward at the same time. If polarity is backwards on one, then that cone will be moving backwards while the other cone is moving forward. This can cause the sound from one speaker to cancel out the sound from the other in bass frequencies, resulting in lousy sound. If they move together--in phase--the sound is reinforced and comes out much better. Old time tube amps had polarity-reverse switches and you could hear the effect easily just by flipping the switch. You can't do that with modern solid-state amplifiers as grounds are common.

 

So I replaced my rear speakers today. I don't trust anything that any other PO's have done. The install dr. info says that the left rear colors are black and yellow, but in my truck they are red and white. What the heck? Both the right and left are red and white.
The right side is supposed to be red and white but I'm lost on the left. It comes out of the wire loom that way and looks stock. I hooked it up red positive and it sounds ok. Anyone want to chime in on this.