I recently installed 2 4"x6" and 2 6"x9" speakers into my car. I have an aftermarket panasonic deck and everything worked great until one day I started my car and no sound came from the speakers. The deck was still working, and it is all of the speakers that cut out, not just one or two so I figured the connection is ok. Can anyone tell me what might be wrong??
Replies (6)
swez on 07/31/2006 22:48:43
A few things will cause this:
1. Poor harness to speaker connections in the dash
2. A shorted (grounding out) + terminal speaker to car body
3. Internal HU amplifier failure or menu driven processor has shut off the internal amps
Are those the Evolution TR series? (400 CXi/690 TXi?)
Check item #3 first. If your HU has a menu feature that allows one to shut off internal HU amps and use only RCA's and external amps, it may have to be reset so the internal HU amps are enabled again. Hopefully it's that simple.
The next step is to check out your speaker wiring at the harness. That means removing the HU and do a close visual inspection of all speaker line connects between HU pigtail and OEM speaker wiring. At very least, crimp connectors should be used to join all speaker lines from HU harness to OEM speaker wires. (Wrapping bare wires with electrical tape is not Kosher) In very hot weather, the tape can release and your wires can come apart.
Item #2 is the most time consuming diagnostics step. Here, it's best to have an Ohmeter handy. We remove the HU and disconnect the speaker harness. Then, we probe each speaker line set, (Pos and Neg for each speaker) and listen for speaker pops/clicks and read the Ohmic value on each line set.
If you see any readings below 2.5 ohms, that line has a potential short. (Pos is grounding out to car door metal) If we see no display on the meter and hear no sound from speakers as we probe, that means an open circuit. Time to dig deeper as to why.
FYI: If there are any very low readings, (under 2 ohms) as you probe the speaker lines, it's probably a short to ground and the speaker will have to be removed and tested along with the OEM feeding wires. These often lead to blown HU amp channels. That's a costly repair.
Swez
PS I hope this is an easy one like the HU Menu system just shut off the internal power amps. Otherwise, you may need some professional assistance to figure out what's actually gone wrong.
lilschtive on 08/1/2006 00:10:16
Could the main connection cord coming from all 4 speakers going into the HU be unplugged?
jimmyb on 08/1/2006 19:30:54
Thanks alot Swez. Ya I discovered my speakers were grounded and saved myself some flow.
swez on 08/2/2006 05:50:05
That was easy... good work finding the problem!
Welcome to CK!
Swez
ttocs on 08/2/2006 12:00:48
often if even one of the speaker wires is grounded out, the deck will shut of power to the amplifier to keep it from blowing. An easy way to find out which is grounded it to hook it up and turn it on, and then start cutting/disconnecting one speaker at a time. When you have disconnected the speaker that is grounding, the rest of the speakers will come back on.
swez on 08/2/2006 14:42:30
Nice tip there ttocs. Will have to file that one away for future use.
Would you mind adding that nugget of gold to the FAQ section in the board? SMILE
Swez
Replies (6)
swez on 07/31/2006 22:48:43
A few things will cause this:
1. Poor harness to speaker connections in the dash
2. A shorted (grounding out) + terminal speaker to car body
3. Internal HU amplifier failure or menu driven processor has shut off the internal amps
Are those the Evolution TR series? (400 CXi/690 TXi?)
Check item #3 first. If your HU has a menu feature that allows one to shut off internal HU amps and use only RCA's and external amps, it may have to be reset so the internal HU amps are enabled again. Hopefully it's that simple.
The next step is to check out your speaker wiring at the harness. That means removing the HU and do a close visual inspection of all speaker line connects between HU pigtail and OEM speaker wiring. At very least, crimp connectors should be used to join all speaker lines from HU harness to OEM speaker wires. (Wrapping bare wires with electrical tape is not Kosher) In very hot weather, the tape can release and your wires can come apart.
Item #2 is the most time consuming diagnostics step. Here, it's best to have an Ohmeter handy. We remove the HU and disconnect the speaker harness. Then, we probe each speaker line set, (Pos and Neg for each speaker) and listen for speaker pops/clicks and read the Ohmic value on each line set.
If you see any readings below 2.5 ohms, that line has a potential short. (Pos is grounding out to car door metal) If we see no display on the meter and hear no sound from speakers as we probe, that means an open circuit. Time to dig deeper as to why.
FYI: If there are any very low readings, (under 2 ohms) as you probe the speaker lines, it's probably a short to ground and the speaker will have to be removed and tested along with the OEM feeding wires. These often lead to blown HU amp channels. That's a costly repair.
Swez
PS I hope this is an easy one like the HU Menu system just shut off the internal power amps. Otherwise, you may need some professional assistance to figure out what's actually gone wrong.
lilschtive on 08/1/2006 00:10:16
Could the main connection cord coming from all 4 speakers going into the HU be unplugged?
jimmyb on 08/1/2006 19:30:54
Thanks alot Swez. Ya I discovered my speakers were grounded and saved myself some flow.
swez on 08/2/2006 05:50:05
That was easy... good work finding the problem!
Welcome to CK!
Swez
ttocs on 08/2/2006 12:00:48
often if even one of the speaker wires is grounded out, the deck will shut of power to the amplifier to keep it from blowing. An easy way to find out which is grounded it to hook it up and turn it on, and then start cutting/disconnecting one speaker at a time. When you have disconnected the speaker that is grounding, the rest of the speakers will come back on.
swez on 08/2/2006 14:42:30
Nice tip there ttocs. Will have to file that one away for future use.
Would you mind adding that nugget of gold to the FAQ section in the board? SMILE
Swez
Copyright ClubKnowledge 2009 * All Rights Reserved
