Speakers Arnt Working?

[GTS4-32]

Hey guys, im hoping 1 of you's have got a solution to my problem that doesnt end up in buying new speakers.

Im no good at this audio setups etc so this was a beginners round for me. Now the problem is that i tryed connecting my rear speakers to my amp because i was told i would get clearer sound all round.

I connected my speaker wires to the rear speakers and the other end into my amp, bridged it of coarse, but i may have stuffed up in the connection to the speakers, i think i may have put the negative wire into the positive connection. Not sure if thats what caused it though.

So the problem is when i start the car i heard like a popping noise coming from the rear speakers. So i disconnected the wires straight away. I thought id leave it and give it to someone that knows what there doing, but when i started my accessories again the speakers still didnt work, and this time you hear nothing. Just the sub.

And the fade was in the middle so if the rear speakers are blown the front cant be, but it still doesnt work. Is there some fuse for this stuff, please tell me its something simple i have to change to get em going again.

Cheers,

Steve.

Edited December 25, 2006 by GTS4-32

[Trav33]

Sounds like you have a 4channel amp, which normally has 2 fuses.

I'm guessing one of these has blown... have a look for them on your amp.

[GTS4-32]

Sounds like you have a 4channel amp, which normally has 2 fuses.

I'm guessing one of these has blown... have a look for them on your amp.

It is a 4 channel amp but hasnt got 2 fuses, only has 1...and it isnt blown. So its something else, but what could it be?

[Trav33]

If you get a AA 1.5v battery, and put a bit of speaker wire from the battery to the rear speaker (doesnt matter which is positive or negative), and tap the wire on the battery a few times, it should make a bit of noise, and you'll see the speaker cone move. If it does this, your speakers are fine.

Try this, and it will isolate if the problem is the speakers, or the signal source.

[Midol]

Reversing the polarity of speakers won't blow them.

[GTS4-32]

If you get a AA 1.5v battery, and put a bit of speaker wire from the battery to the rear speaker (doesnt matter which is positive or negative), and tap the wire on the battery a few times, it should make a bit of noise, and you'll see the speaker cone move. If it does this, your speakers are fine.

Try this, and it will isolate if the problem is the speakers, or the signal source.

Ok i tryed this and it worked. My speakers make a noise.

So if my speakers arnt the problem, then what do i look at now?

Reversing the polarity of speakers won't blow them.

Well thats a relief.

Any help from of what to do now to get them working again?

Cheers fellas,

Steve.

[Midol]

Are the outputs from the HU working?

I just stick the wires on my tounge though that isn't recommended, wire straight to the speakers or a multimeter to see if the head unit is still working.

If it is, then it is the amp.

*****NOTE: Whilst doing ANY electrical work the negative battery terminal should be disconnected.

Edited December 26, 2006 by Midol

[GTS4-32]

Are the outputs from the HU working?

I just stick the wires on my tounge though that isn't recommended, wire straight to the speakers or a multimeter to see if the head unit is still working.

If it is, then it is the amp.

*****NOTE: Whilst doing ANY electrical work the negative battery terminal should be disconnected.

Yea the hu is working fine, i think it may have to do with the wires coming from the speakers, not 100% sure but thats my guess. If it is the amp, what is the problem with it?

Cheers,

Steve.

[Trav33]

From the sound of things,... u originally had the speakers wired to the head unit - then disconnected them, and hooked them up to an amp. So if you hook them back up to the head unit, nothing has changed, no reason why it shouldnt work again!

Wouldnt it be better to try and get your speakers + sub running from the amp, like you had originally planned?

A couple things to check...

-do you have two sets of RCA leads (2 black + 2 red) going into your amp.

-if you have a 4ch amp, and are running a sub on 2ch, and speakers on the other 2, the only channel to be bridged should be the sub channels. were you bridging the speakers across 2 channels each before???

[Fixxxer]

We need to work out what configuration you had before, and what configuration you have tried to do now.

Do you have a 4 channel amp? If so, and as said by travb81, you should bridge 2 channels to run the sub, and you should NOT bridge the rear speakers, just run one speaker off one amp channel. Try it and see how you go.

Fixxxer

[GTS4-32]

my configuration before was:

-rca cables, 1 black 1 red pluged into the amp.

-sub wires bridged on channel 1+2

and the earth, power and remote wires plugged in the amp.

That was it, i then wanted to connect my speaker wires to the amp, so i connected them into the channels 3+4 and i did bridge them. Now i know i shouldve have, but i did. And when i took them out and went back to wer i started the speakers didnt work all together?

So whats the plan now? lol

Cheers,

Steve.

[Trav33]

A 4 channel amp should have allowances to plug 2 sets of RCA leads into it. ie:

Front Channels - Red + Black

Rear Channels - Red + Black

If you only have one set of RCA cables coming from the deck, you will need to get a 'RCA cable splitter', that will give you two reds and two blacks from the cable. Then you can plug a cable into each of the 4 channel inputs.

Thats the input side of things.

Then you will have something like this on the output side:

Ch1 + SUB

Ch1 - BRIDGE TO CH2

Ch2 + BRIDGE TO CH1

Ch2 - SUB

Ch3 + LEFT SPEAKER

Ch3 - LEFT SPEAKER

Ch4 + RIGHT SPEAKER

Ch4 - RIGHT SPEAKER

[GTS4-32]

Ok cool, thanks for your help, ill give it a shot and see if it solves my problem. Ill let you know how it goes.

Cheers,

Steve.

[GTS4-32]

It didnt work. Would it be because i dont have the other rca input? I do have 4 rca inputs, but theres something wrong with the connection from my hu to the speakers i reckon. Im guessin itll be like a faulty wire or a blown fuse? I think i might have to get it checked out by someone that knows what there looking at.

Thanks for your help anyway.

Cheers,

Steve.

Edited December 29, 2006 by GTS4-32

[Fixxxer]

Your connection from the HU to your speakers???

The only speakers you should have hooked up directly to your HU is your front speakers.

You should have either:

4 x RCA cables plugged in at the back of your headunit and the corresponding 4 x RCA cables at the other end plugged in to the amp.

OR

2 x RCA cables plugged in at the back of your headunit, and have RCA splitters at the other end to make up 4 x RCA connections to the amp.

If you do not have either of these setups, then there is NO signal going to you rear channels (the sub will work). You NEED 4 x RCA cables going into the amp inputs.

Ohh and turn off or reset any "Fading" you have set on the HU (just incase you set it to 'fade' to the front speakers).

Also check the 'Gain' or 'level' settings on Channels 3 & 4 of your amp (should be a little turn nob), turn them 'up' (clockwise) to at least half way to start with.

Also check whether you have the high pass HP filter selected on the amp, and have it set around 100 Hertz (Hz).

Fixxxer

Edited December 29, 2006 by Fixxxer

[GTS4-32]

Your connection from the HU to your speakers???

The only speakers you should have hooked up directly to your HU is your front speakers.

You should have either:

4 x RCA cables plugged in at the back of your headunit and the corresponding 4 x RCA cables at the other end plugged in to the amp.

OR

2 x RCA cables plugged in at the back of your headunit, and have RCA splitters at the other end to make up 4 x RCA connections to the amp.

If you do not have either of these setups, then there is NO signal going to you rear channels (the sub will work). You NEED 4 x RCA cables going into the amp inputs.

Ohh and turn off or reset any "Fading" you have set on the HU (just incase you set it to 'fade' to the front speakers).

Also check the 'Gain' or 'level' settings on Channels 3 & 4 of your amp (should be a little turn nob), turn them 'up' (clockwise) to at least half way to start with.

Also check whether you have the high pass HP filter selected on the amp, and have it set around 100 Hertz (Hz).

Fixxxer

So in other words i need another 2 rca cables from the hu to connect into my amp, to get the siganl for the rear speakers. This sortta shits to technical for me, so sorry if i sound stupid, just never been into this crap. lol

Its just i found it wierd that everything was working fine with the setup i got now, until i tried connecting the speaker wires to my amp and suddenly nothing is working? Thats why im puzzeld.

But anyway thanks for your contribution so far, its given me more of an understanding of the situation.

Cheers,

Steve.

[Fixxxer]

Yes, you "need another 2 rca cables from the hu to connect into my amp, to get the siganl for the rear speakers."

You can do this easily by buying 2 splitters (makes 2 RCA plugs from 1 RCA plug) for your current RCA cables. Put a splitter on the end of each RCA you have now, to make 4 RCA's, and your in business.

Just remember that when you do this, you will now have 2 x LEFT channel RCA plugs, and 2 x RIGHT channel RCA plugs (instead of the single LEFT and RIGHT RCA plug you have now).

So both the RCA's plugs from each 'splitter' should be connected to the 'left' RCA inputs on the amp, and the other 'splitter' RCA plugs should go to both 'right' RCA inputs on the amp.

Fixxxer

[GTS4-32]

Yes, you "need another 2 rca cables from the hu to connect into my amp, to get the siganl for the rear speakers."

You can do this easily by buying 2 splitters (makes 2 RCA plugs from 1 RCA plug) for your current RCA cables. Put a splitter on the end of each RCA you have now, to make 4 RCA's, and your in business.

Just remember that when you do this, you will now have 2 x LEFT channel RCA plugs, and 2 x RIGHT channel RCA plugs (instead of the single LEFT and RIGHT RCA plug you have now).

So both the RCA's plugs from each 'splitter' should be connected to the 'left' RCA inputs on the amp, and the other 'splitter' RCA plugs should go to both 'right' RCA inputs on the amp.

Fixxxer

Well that sounds simple. Ill give it a shot and hopefully get it going.

Cheers,

Steve.