# Car speakers randomly work and don't work



## maxwell1 (Mar 31, 2019)

Lately my speakers will just go silent in my car. I can drive all the way to school without it happening one day and another day it will happen 20 minutes into my drive. Its not the head unit because the song still shows as playing. I’ve tried bluetuth, aux, and USB inputs and they all do it. I updated the firmware on the headunit and it didnt fix it. I drove this car almost a year without this problem. The only thing that has changed is I switched from a samsung to and iphone but it didnt start happening until a week after that. 

I’d like to stress the point that the speakers work sometimes and cut out completely other times, so dont tell me to check fuses. Resetting my phone and the headunit doesnt help. Only works again if my car is off for a while.



-My specs-

head unit: JVC kw-r910bt

speakers: 6 months old but i forget the brand. If its important ill check.

i also have 2 16’ kenwood subs. The amp is pretty old and all the wiring for it was already done when I bought the car.

Car: 2003 subaru wrx


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## GEM592 (Jun 19, 2015)

All speakers, or just particular ones? Are all speakers being driven by the one amp?


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## Ifixtheinternet (Jan 29, 2016)

Have you tried using a USB drive vs your phone to see if there's a difference?

And does the head unit drive the speakers or are they on an amplifier?

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


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## Pb82 Ronin (Jun 6, 2018)

Bad connection on remote trigger wire on the HU.


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## zibizuba (Mar 31, 2019)

check if the previous owner has done the wiring well. I happened to see cases where the cables were simply connected by hand and insulated tape


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## maxwell1 (Mar 31, 2019)

GEM592 said:


> All speakers, or just particular ones? Are all speakers being driven by the one amp?


Yes, all the speakers go out all at once, as if I paused the song, except my phone as well as the stereo show that the song is still playing. They are all on one amp and both fuses on the amp and the stereo are intact. However, there are also these two weird almost mini-amps looking things in each car door, which the speaker wires connect to before the speakers themselves. Forgot to mention that (idk what they are).


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## maxwell1 (Mar 31, 2019)

zibizuba said:


> check if the previous owner has done the wiring well. I happened to see cases where the cables were simply connected by hand and insulated tape


When I bought the car I installed speakers and a new stereo using really nice crimp connectors. I used the same wires he had though.


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## maxwell1 (Mar 31, 2019)

Pb82 Ronin said:


> Bad connection on remote trigger wire on the HU.


Okay, is that just one of the wires in the HU harness?


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## Ifixtheinternet (Jan 29, 2016)

maxwell1 said:


> Okay, is that just one of the wires in the HU harness?


He's referring to the amp signal wire that turns the amp on.

If the speakers are powered by an amp, that could be your issue.

So once again, are the speakers powered by an amp?

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


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## maxwell1 (Mar 31, 2019)

Ifixtheinternet said:


> He's referring to the amp signal wire that turns the amp on.
> 
> If the speakers are powered by an amp, that could be your issue.
> 
> ...


Yeah they're all on one amp, i said that in one of my replies.


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## Ifixtheinternet (Jan 29, 2016)

maxwell1 said:


> Yeah they're all on one amp, i said that in one of my replies.


Ok. Do the subs cut out with the speakers at the same time?

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## Pb82 Ronin (Jun 6, 2018)

maxwell1 said:


> Okay, is that just one of the wires in the HU harness?


Yeah. Traditionally, it's a solid blue wire coming out of the HU. But the wire that goes from the HU to the amp remote port is likely your issue. They are notorious for being a PITA to get a good connection on because they're usually like a 22-26 gauge wire. For my original install I had used a T-splice and female wire end. Occasionally under hard cornering or braking, or even a bump in the road, my amps would cut off. So I pulled my HU, and stripped and T-soldered the remote lead. Hasn't happened since.


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## Sine Swept (Sep 3, 2010)

Blue = Power antenna
Blue/white stripe = Remote turn on wire

If you use blue wire, amp will only turn on with radio tuner.


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## maxwell1 (Mar 31, 2019)

Ifixtheinternet said:


> Ok. Do the subs cut out with the speakers at the same time?
> 
> Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


yes they do


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## Ifixtheinternet (Jan 29, 2016)

maxwell1 said:


> yes they do


Ok. 

In that case I agree it could be the remote amp wire (blue/white).

I would reterminate at the amp and HU and see if that helps.

It could also be a grounding issue with the amp.

To test for that, use a multimeter to measure voltage at the power / ground wire right where they go into the amp, while the problem is happening. if you get any less than 12V it is likely a grounding issue.

While checking that, you can also check the remote wire, that should always have 12V as well while the system is on.

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## Pb82 Ronin (Jun 6, 2018)

Sine Swept said:


> Blue = Power antenna
> Blue/white stripe = Remote turn on wire
> 
> If you use blue wire, amp will only turn on with radio tuner.


Depends on application. GM usually uses straight blue for remote...like my vette and my Tahoe. My mustang and my F150 use different colored wires.


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## Sine Swept (Sep 3, 2010)

You can also pop the hood and look for the power wire that runs to your amp. Make sure that it hasn't become loose or corroded. Check your under hood fuse block for the same.

At the amp follow the ground wire to the car, is it fastened tightly with a nut/bolt or is it hanging loose by a single screw.


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## maxwell1 (Mar 31, 2019)

so i fidgeted with the wires behind the headunit, taping off a few unused ones, and I made sure none of the speaker wires were showing any copper and that the remote signal wire was fine. I didn't have the problem for 2 days. Today I parked at a Chipotle with them working, but when I came back the problem started up again. The only thing I did in between those times was open and close my door.


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## Johnsnowkornar (Aug 20, 2017)

Ifixtheinternet said:


> Have you tried using a USB drive vs your phone to see if there's a difference?
> 
> And does the head unit drive the car speakers or are they on an amplifier?
> 
> Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


Hi, my newly installed head unit has no power, any suggestions??


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