Having an annoying problem in my truck stereo that I cant diagnose. I had an Alpine H/U and Alpine MRF-240 amp driving my front stage (CDT 6.5" Components). With my volume down low, only the left side speaker would work, but I could turn it up to a moderate level and it would instantly come back on and work just fine. Wouldnt happen every time, but enough to be annoying.

Now I replaced the amp with a Directed Audio 2-Ch and the H/U with a Pioneer Double Din DVD unit (same speakers) and it does the same thing (if not worse). Could the wires (RCA and speaker) be the problem or would the crossovers have something to do with it? I thought for sure it was the H/U or amp, but its not.

9/20/2011 4:41:01 PM

could be the speaker itself...

thats my thought. but i am no expert.

9/20/2011 4:43:54 PM

either C/O or speaker. switch those components from the working side to the none working side one at a time to determine where the problem is.

i'm betting speaker

[Edited on September 20, 2011 at 5:05 PM. Reason : .]

9/20/2011 5:04:46 PM

So in theory, I should be able to just switch the RCA's from one side to the other, and if the problem does not move its the speaker.

I just figured if the speaker was not displaying any obvious problems (distortion, bottoming etc) that there wasent much wrong with it. Oh well.

9/20/2011 5:18:37 PM

sounds like a wiring issue or the actual speaker. you see this a lot when there's a bad connection some where be it wires or voice coil .

9/20/2011 5:34:34 PM

switch cross-overs and see if the problem follows. that's my guess.

9/20/2011 7:26:44 PM

i once had a small sub that only played when you pressed lightly against the cone. i also had a tweeter that did the same thing as your speaker, turns out it was 1 strand of wire between it and the crossover

9/20/2011 11:03:52 PM

Gotta trace it through a series of tests.

Yes, it could be the RCA. Switch the RCAs at the amp or the back of the head unit and see if the problem switches sides. If everything is fine move to the next step.

It could be the crossover. Switch the crossovers and see if the problem changes sides.

My guess though, is it is the speaker. Speakers with damaged voice coils will effectively "bind up" and not produce any sound at low power levels. Give it enough power and the speaker will move even though the voice coil isn't very smooth. Sometimes at a medium volume it'll sound distorted as you're giving it enough power to move, but it's still not smooth. Swap the speaker itself from one side to the other to confirm.

[Edited on September 21, 2011 at 1:03 AM. Reason : s]

9/21/2011 1:01:57 AM

figure it out yet?

9/29/2011 9:40:10 AM

Didn't want to start a new topic, so just throwing this in here (definitely doesn't realate to the OP):

This past Christmas I got one of these for my '97 328i BMW...an ipod interface that needed to be installed:



I was too lazy/busy to ever get it installed and I just recently sold my BMW and got a 4runner that I'd like to get a new stereo installed that has an auxillary option to hook-up my ipod/iphone.

Question is...I've still got this product ^ in the box...never opened. Do I try to sell it on ebay/craigslist, or do you think I could get a good value for a trade-in at whatever car audio place I go to? I see it listed from $130 to $170 in most places. If I could get $100 on a trade-in, I'd rather do that than the extra $20 I could get for the hassle of selling it online.

Anyone here want it for their old bimmer??

5/7/2013 8:29:56 AM

If you can see if it works for e46's as well then you're sitting on a gold mine, Jerry.

5/7/2013 8:56:30 AM