How hard is it to run new speaker wires to the doors of an 86 truck?
I'm debating about running new wires vs using a floating ground adapter.
Can I just connect new wires to the old and pull or am I going to have to fish/route and pull paneling to run new wires?
I don't imagine it would be that easy to pull the wires and be done.
I am guessing they are fastened somewhere along the way that makes it impossible to just tug them out.
I'm sure the easiest way is use the adapter but I'm concerned about noise being added to the sound.
Oh and edited to add, which automotive speaker wire is better to use (if any) so it holds up over time and doesn't fatigue from the door open/close.

 

You will have to pull the door panels off anyway to hook the speakers up. The only other panel is the kickpanel. I would run new wires and not the adapter for the best sound. Most speaker wire has many strands and will hold up ok to the door opening and closing. Just make sure you use grommets or short pieces of vacuum line or fuel line to run the wire through when it goes through sharp metal areas. Make sure to pay attention to the + and - on each speaker, if you get one crossed you will lose your bass response.

 

Nice! I was hoping it wasn't going to get too serious. (pulling out the dash)
Door has the hardware already so I'm good there. Just need to replace the speaker and new wire.
One radio station and 1 speaker working is better than nothing but I'd prefer more.
Would you even bother with removing the old wire or just leave it and run the new?

 

Leave the old wire. It's tucked way up and attached in hard to get places. No need for you to mess with that. Just run your wire up from the kickpanels, and find convenient things to wire tie it to to keep it up under the dash as you head toward the center where the radio is. Pay a little attention as you run over the steering column, make sure the wire doesn't get caught in any of the pedal linkage for the brake and clutch if you have one.

 

I ran new wire in my 94 and looking back, I would've stayed withe the factory wiring for the reasons stated. Mine's a conversion van so access was worse that a standard Ford product. The factory wire gauge is on the light side but you won't hear the difference. If you want a sub-woofer I found my 10" in a tube with what's probably a 25-30 watt amp is a good match with the (4) 5x8" in the front & rear doors.

 

Each person contemplating this needs to research their vehicle and the aftermarket stereo they are installing. Many aftermarket stereo's are high power and cannot use a common ground. Many later model Fords do not use a common ground, but most of the older ones did, and a common ground system can damage a high power aftermarket radio. That's why it's best just to run new wire when you are in doubt of what you are dealing with.

 

Exactly.... and today you would be hard pressed to find any automotive stereo systems that are not BTL design, even the cheap China stuff is all BTL nowadays.

http://www.ti.com/lit/an/slyt141/slyt141.pdf <<== link to data sheet to show Example of BTL for those that may not know what it is.

BTW there are converter boxes to convert Floating Ground to Common Ground but I would advise against their use for a number of reasons