Car audio issue - speaker goes dead randomly

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Sep 30, 2020
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Canada, eh?
Howdy Folks,

I have an interesting problem. Last year I upgraded my Honda Civic's audio system to the following items:
Amp:
Sony 4 ch amp
Front speakers:
Pioneer Components
Rear speakers:
Stock

Anyway, the system has been working fine since I installed it all over a year ago.
I made extra-sure to properly do all the connections with solder/shrink tubing.

Lately I've started experiencing issues with the sound on the drivers side.
It seems like it'll cut in and out randomly. I've also checked the balance and fader, and all seem fine.
To test the tweeters, I tried swapping one over to the other side, and it worked fine, so I know it's NOT an issue with the speaker(s).

Anything else I should consider?
My one idea is to remove the head unit then bypass the amp to see if it's an issue with the amp or the headunit's channels.

Also, just thought I'd mention that the car's battery is about 3 years old...still relatively new, but the car doesn't get driven much.

thanks in advance!
 
I think I may have found the culprit.
The battery seems relatively healthy (12.34V) and when starting, it doesn't go below 10v.
But when I put it on a trickle charger, it's taking forever to hit the 50% mark.

If my speakers all come to life after it's charged, then it's the battery (despite having a production date of 01/20 - Jan 2020).
Or it's just an odd coincidence...and for that, I'll need to see if the speakers cut out again in the near future.

I'll keep this thread updated on my progress.
 
A low battery would affect the entire system, not just the left side as you describe.

He is right - the amp and head unit should run down to about 10V. It isn't the battery.

I would check the wiring in the door like previously mentioned. Does the intermittent sound correspond to any events while driving? Hitting a bump, accelerating, braking? Does it still cut in and out if you are sitting still with the engine off (sit in the driveway and listen to a few favorite songs with engine off). Is the amp getting hot? Usually the amp will have a "protect light" - if you can replicate the cut-out, is the light on?
 
To test the amp switch the left and right speaker wiring(at the amp).. if the channel going out moves its the amp
if it doesnt it the wiring.

Not a battery issue.. but I'm 60%/40% wiring vs amp for the cause.

Did you use metra adapters or solder?

If you soldered it can get brittle and crack..
 
He is right - the amp and head unit should run down to about 10V. It isn't the battery.

I would check the wiring in the door like previously mentioned. Does the intermittent sound correspond to any events while driving? Hitting a bump, accelerating, braking? Does it still cut in and out if you are sitting still with the engine off (sit in the driveway and listen to a few favorite songs with engine off). Is the amp getting hot? Usually the amp will have a "protect light" - if you can replicate the cut-out, is the light on?
I agree, I recall back in the late 80's my older brother installed a small amp on his 81 Monte Carlo.
Everytime he'd honk the horn, you'd hear a click on and off sound thru both rear speakers (that's all those cars had back then).

After I re-install the battery, I'll try a few more tests.
thanks again, gents
 
A driver's door speaker (or anything in the driver's door) working intermittently is very likely the wire harness between the door and the rest of the car. Open the door and move the wires to see if it cuts on and off.
 
Update:
After installing the battery and finally figuring out the stupid anti-theft nonsense, I was able to get the radio going again.
Right from the beginning, it sounded like the left speaker was operating at 50% while the right was at 100%.
When I isolated the left speaker, it sounded kinda crackly, like it was blown.

I tried playing with the connections in the harness between the door and the frame...no difference.
I then tried playing with the connections to the amp and radio (as best I could as it's all behind the glove box) and still no difference.
Then on a whim, I channelled all the power to the left side and cranked it up....sure enough, it fired back to life like it used to.

I dunno fellas, I'm rather skeptical that it was the battery...but it was on the charger a while to get it to 100% again.
As for the audio, I'm not sure what to believe anymore. I think if it cuts out again, I'm going to have to pull the amp out of the dash and go over the solder connections etc.
Oh and BTW, the solder connectors I used were these ones meant to be pretty decent and get great reviews. I went the extra mile with all connectors, as this isn't the kind of job I want to be doing twice!
Voniry
 
not sure what year civic, but on the 8th gen 06-11, the holes for the speakers and the way the adapter rings bolt in, can result in the terminals touching/grounding out on the body. i had this happen on my rear speakers intermittently--- thought it was the plug n play pigtails that were supplied by crutchfield, so i removed those and soldered the wire, but found that i needed to bend the terminals on the speaker's basket as they would touch the car's metal and both rears would be dead. once i did that the problem hasn't occurred.
 
not sure what year civic, but on the 8th gen 06-11, the holes for the speakers and the way the adapter rings bolt in, can result in the terminals touching/grounding out on the body. i had this happen on my rear speakers intermittently--- thought it was the plug n play pigtails that were supplied by crutchfield, so i removed those and soldered the wire, but found that i needed to bend the terminals on the speaker's basket as they would touch the car's metal and both rears would be dead. once i did that the problem hasn't occurred.
This is very helpful, thank you!
During installation, I recall thinking the speaker terminals were awefully close to the metal of the door/body.
If that's the case, then using your method should fix the issue or even a piece of electrical tape on the bottom of the speaker opening would suffice as well.

Also, why would this only become an issue after almost a year?
 
Found the issue.

Turns out it wasn't any of the door speaker connections, battery or amp itself.
It was the wiring harness coming off the amp and to the speakers. It's a wiring loom that's all cleanly bunched together and zip tied.
I guess the weight of the harness "dangling" was enough to put enough strain on the wiring (every bump and pothole over the course of a year).
I'll have to either find a way to secure them so they aren't hanging, or mount the amp in another location.
 
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