I tried to install my new Blaupunkt HU into my 92 Subaru Legacy Wagon. I had to cut the wiring harness because of an ongoing problem with the left speakers constantly cutting on and off. I thought I traced each of the colors to the corresponding speakers, but when I connected the unit, there was NO sound. Power worked in "on" position and "accesory" position. I took some advice from your Forum and ran a jumper wire to one of the speakers (Right Rear). Guess what - Now the whole system works !! There is stereo seperation, fader works AND the balance works. What did I do? should I leave the jumper wire attached ? Is there any loss off quality and will there be any upcoming problems because of this "miracle".
Replies (5)
compvr15s on 12/27/2003 16:43:51
was the wire that origanaly ran to that speaker bein shorted out, where the coating rubbed off and it was touchin bare metal if so, tape the bare spot or run a new wire, then if that fixes your problem everything will be fine.
ttocs on 12/27/2003 20:49:40
head units often turn the entire amp off if it detects a short. At least a good one does....
Lowereastside on 12/28/2003 02:23:38
The speaker that kept shorting out was the left front. When I ran the jumper wire, I left all wires at the HU connected. I attached the jumper wire to the Front /left speaker wires at the harness connection. I then disconnected the right/rear speaker wires (from the speaker) and attached the jumper. I only meant to check the speakers one at a time, but when everything came on, I didn't want to go any further.
swez on 12/28/2003 12:44:35
That's really strange... it seems like there is a wiring issue here that may not be easy to track down. Most HU's use a "floating ground" system that is different than chassis/body grounds. Each speaker gets a + & - polarity wire from the HU to power them. If the wires are shorted or the speaker shorts, most HU's will either blow a fuse, drop an amp channel or go into protect mode... on...off cycling.
Are you sure you have your speaker harness wires right? Can check this with an ohmeter or even a 9 volt battery.
1. Disconnect the speaker wiring harness from the HU
2. Go through each paired wire set using the battery as a signal source, and see if you get pops and clicks from each speaker in the system.
3. Better still, use an ohmeter. The ohmeter is a better option as you can read the resistance to each speaker voice coil and wires that feed them. It should be pretty close to 4 ohms. If you get a "flier" that read well above or below 4 ohms... there's a problem in that speaker/wiring run.
a. A very low reading (1 ohm or less) indicates a shorted wire or speaker coil
b. An unusually high reading ( 10 ohms or higher) means poor connection to the speaker or an OEM speaker that is not 4 ohms. This is common in rear speakers for American cars. Not sure what ohm load Subaru stock speakers use.
Swez
Lowereastside on 12/30/2003 13:41:58
Yeah, now I got it. I followed the steps speaker-by-speaker and found the problem. I found the bare wire under the dash. The "battery" helped a lot. The HU was also shutting down (but not blowing a fuse).
The system is pretty basic right now but sounds and works well. Now I have to figure out how to build on it.
THANK YOU FOR THE REPLIES AND GREAT HELP.
Replies (5)
compvr15s on 12/27/2003 16:43:51
was the wire that origanaly ran to that speaker bein shorted out, where the coating rubbed off and it was touchin bare metal if so, tape the bare spot or run a new wire, then if that fixes your problem everything will be fine.
ttocs on 12/27/2003 20:49:40
head units often turn the entire amp off if it detects a short. At least a good one does....
Lowereastside on 12/28/2003 02:23:38
The speaker that kept shorting out was the left front. When I ran the jumper wire, I left all wires at the HU connected. I attached the jumper wire to the Front /left speaker wires at the harness connection. I then disconnected the right/rear speaker wires (from the speaker) and attached the jumper. I only meant to check the speakers one at a time, but when everything came on, I didn't want to go any further.
swez on 12/28/2003 12:44:35
That's really strange... it seems like there is a wiring issue here that may not be easy to track down. Most HU's use a "floating ground" system that is different than chassis/body grounds. Each speaker gets a + & - polarity wire from the HU to power them. If the wires are shorted or the speaker shorts, most HU's will either blow a fuse, drop an amp channel or go into protect mode... on...off cycling.
Are you sure you have your speaker harness wires right? Can check this with an ohmeter or even a 9 volt battery.
1. Disconnect the speaker wiring harness from the HU
2. Go through each paired wire set using the battery as a signal source, and see if you get pops and clicks from each speaker in the system.
3. Better still, use an ohmeter. The ohmeter is a better option as you can read the resistance to each speaker voice coil and wires that feed them. It should be pretty close to 4 ohms. If you get a "flier" that read well above or below 4 ohms... there's a problem in that speaker/wiring run.
a. A very low reading (1 ohm or less) indicates a shorted wire or speaker coil
b. An unusually high reading ( 10 ohms or higher) means poor connection to the speaker or an OEM speaker that is not 4 ohms. This is common in rear speakers for American cars. Not sure what ohm load Subaru stock speakers use.
Swez
Lowereastside on 12/30/2003 13:41:58
Yeah, now I got it. I followed the steps speaker-by-speaker and found the problem. I found the bare wire under the dash. The "battery" helped a lot. The HU was also shutting down (but not blowing a fuse).
The system is pretty basic right now but sounds and works well. Now I have to figure out how to build on it.
THANK YOU FOR THE REPLIES AND GREAT HELP.
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