ok, so heres the deal...
my sterio...brand new head unit, it works great for three months, then all of the sudden, one day...the display is lit, the cd is spinning, but no sound!....so this bugs me for awhile...i go out and get a new head unit, a pretty nice one, i hook it up all correctly and everything, then still...the display is lit, the cd is turning, but no sound...i go and call up all the audio stores i can...the best thing that i heard was that i might have a short in one of my speaker wires...
does anyone know any other possible causes for this? if this is the reason, how do i check and/or replace the speaker wires?

thanks for the help

mike

 

I had problems like this. I found that I did not tape all the wires behind the head unit well enough, so two of them were touching. On another occasion, I also had a wire touching the mettal frame of the console. This causd my stereo to blow fuses. You may want to check those things if you already have not.
Hope this helped.

 

yeah, i checked all the fuses, everything is cool, i will check my wiring, and make sure its all good though, thanks!

 

Yep, this problem is usually caused by a grounded speaker wire or a blown speaker, which causes the head unit to go into protection mode. Here's how to fix it. Most head units use the following colors for speaker outputs: white/white with stripe=left front, grey=RF, green=LR purple=RR. Get any old speaker, and first test each speaker output from the head unit to make sure they work.

Remove the head unit, and disconnect the speaker connections. Now, using a 9 volt battery, hold one wire on one terminal, and touch the other wire to the other terminal. If there are no shorts, the speaker should pop audibly. When you find the problem speaker, remove it, and test it. You can do this by hooking it directly to the head unit with a short speaker wire. A blown or melted voice coil will also show as a short, and cause the same problem. You could also use a multimeter, set to measure ohms, a good speaker will read 4 ohms or so, a bad one will read 0 or DC. If the speaker works, then it is usually easier to just run another set of speaker wires to the speaker, rather than trying to fix the factory wiring.

By the way, tape is not a good way to make connections. Either solder and tape, or use crimp style insulated connectors. Cars move and vibrate, so good connections are essential. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks so much for the help...
im gonna go home and try that stuff and ill get back to this post when im done...
the only other problem is when i have to replace the speaker, if i do, or re-wire it...i have no idea how to take apart the dash...


thanks so much again, that was a huge help


mike

 

Mike,

Let me know how it goes. I assume you have a 3rd Gen F body car, so hopefully the problem is with one of the rear speakers, because they are simple to get to. Getting to the dash speakers isn't too difficult either. If you need instructions, let me know, and I will tell you how. Good luck.

Tony

 

I learned the best way to hook up any wire is use wire connecters and crimpers. Tape will fall off then you will have no music. Its worth the extra 5 mins to crimp it all. Jim85IROC taught me this when he came up my house and hooked up my deck. Everthing is so much neater. And you dont need to worry about the tape falling off when you put the deck back in.

 

coalyard -
can i have instructions on taking apart the front dash to expose the speaker wires?

thanks

mike

 

There are screws long the front of the Dash Pad(above the Gauges and across the dash) and a few screws inside the defroster duct. Then just remove the Dash Pad.

 

inside the defroster duct for the windshield defrost? how do i get a screw driver in there? or is it easially accessable?

mike

 

You will need a really stubby screwdriver, or an offset one, but I believe these fasteners are 5/16" hex screws. Check at Sears for a special tool that features a rotating handle that drives a 1/4" offset head. If you tell them what you are trying to do, they will point you in the right direction. The kit should come with a good assortment of bits too. I will try to look it up in their online catalog and get back to you with a P/N.