Volvo 940 Aftermarket Stereo and Speaker Install

Volvo 940/740 aftermarket stereo and speaker install guide:

I know there have been some threads on this before, but I wanted to explain the challenges I faced and what I learned to make it easier to install everything. 

What I ordered from Crutchfield and Amazon:

-Stereo Receiver (Crutchfield for $89.99)- Kenwood KMM-BT322U

-Trim Bezel for the 940 (Included with Receiver purchase from Crutchfield)- Metra 99-9222

-Factory Amp. Bypass Harness and Power Harness (Included with Receiver purchase from Crutchfield)- Metra 70-1120

-Front Door Speakers (Amazon)- Rockford Fosgate R1525 5.25-Inch

-Front Door Speaker Adapters (Amazon)- Front Door Speaker Mount Plate Adaptor Bracket Converter Adapter 5.25"(https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
-These were a direct fit and make the install easy and professional

-Rear Door Speakers (Amazon)- Kenwood KFC-1365S 5.25-Inch

-Rear Deck/Hat Deck Speakers (Amazon)- Kenwood KFC-6965S 6x9-Inch

-Sound Deadening (Amazon)- SILESS 50 mil 25 sqft Car Sound Deadening Mat
-I found this is the best/cheapest alternative to using the "brand name" stuff. 
They also offer a thicker (80 mil I believe) if you want more dampening.
-Make sure to buy a roller for this. Makes install a breeze and makes sure
you get it done right.
-I really only used 1/2 of the 25 sq. feet I ordered.

-Butyl Tape (Amazon)- This helps with vibrations. I put it between the front door adapters and the door panels and then also between all speakers and the door panels. Makes a massive difference.

Install Details:

Stereo Receiver:

-Take out the orig. receiver and unplug everything

-Take that "box" that the orig. receiver was in and install the new deck you ordered into it. You can follow the basic directions included with the bezel kit (except it shows the bezel for the 940/740 being installed upside down). It might also help to use the install directions from the new deck. Just a suggestion.

-Wiring up the new deck. It can all be done at the workbench if you ordered the harness adapters from Crutchfield. Just follow the diagram from the harness and from your new deck. (My deck's wire colors actually matched up with the harness adapter wire colors, making this super straightforward)

-One thing to note, the orig. dash tweeters will no longer be hooked up. I did not
want them anymore, but if you do, you can use the factory wiring diagram or I
believe the harness adapter shows what color they are to splice them in with the
front door speakers. This is not recommended and prob. not needed if you have
coaxial speakers in the front doors. 

-Once you have the new deck and the adapters wired together, go back to the car.

-Now, remove the driver's kick panel and you'll find the factory amp. There are some good diagrams on where this is exactly online. This should be easy to find, as it's an aluminum amp. under the dash (approx. 5"x3"x3").

-You can just unplug the amp. and bypass it with the new, long harness adapter. Make sure to route this so it does not get tangled in the steering column. 

-Now just plug in the long bypass harness, the short harness to the power, and the antenna. 

-I recommend testing everything before you fully install the new deck into the dash. 

Front Doors:

-I would recommend watching a video or looking at a diagram before you take off the door panels for the first time. You will appreciate not breaking anything, as you'll have less rattles once the install is complete.

-Once the door panels are off, I took on applying the sound deadening to all metal surfaces on the door (behind the door panel). I did both the exterior sheet metal (where the SIPS is) and also the interior sheet metal. Make sure to cover around the speaker hole very well. This will help direct the sound and prevent rattles if there is some slight rubbing. 

-Now, it's time to install the speakers on the door panels. I used some short stainless screws and "U-clips" on the door panel to hold the adapters and speakers. Make sure to use the butyl tape and maybe some sound deadening material between the door panel and the adapter as well as the adapter and the speaker itself. It's better to have more than less of this stuff. I found that doing deadening and then butyl tape on top of that worked well. 

-When installing the adapters, you'll just use the factory holes in the door panel to secure the adapters.

-The speakers mount on an angle in the adapter, so you'll have to drill holes in the door panel for this. Super easy to drill through these door panels. ***Make sure to install the speakers so that the connections are at the top of the speaker or else they will hit the metal on the door during installation and you'll have to re-do it***

Rear Doors: 

-My 940 is a '93 with the 5.25 inch speakers in it. If you have a later model, you might also need adapters for these doors also. I, however did not need adapters and the 5.25 inch speakers fit directly in. ***I did not have to install these speakers upside down like I did on the front doors*** make sure to check yours

-Do all of the same steps as I did for the sound deadening and the install for the front doors on these rear doors.

Rear Deck: 

-This was the easiest. Crutchfield will email you a PDF on how to remove the rear seat, headrests, and the rear deck cover in order to replace these speakers. I followed those instructions and it was very straightforward.

-Step 1: Remove old speakers and place in the new ones and see if you have to drill new holes. If the orig. holes do not line up, mark where the new holes need to be and drill those now. (You can use bolts or the same U-clips to secure these speakers)

-Then I covered every surface of metal back here in the deadening. I put an extra layer of the deadening right where the speakers go. 

-Right before I installed the speakers, I put one layer of butyl tape right around the speaker holes to further prevent vibrations.

-I recommend putting some butyl tape in the 3rd brake light housing because this little guy rattles a ton with any volume.
 

Feel free to email us if you need any clarification or if you have any questions about this install.