Unsure of whether or not this is the correct section, move it if its wrong.
I have a 1999 Buick Century.
The rear speakers randomly turn from full sound and bass to what sounds like a quiet mono whisper, like listening to cheap headphones 10 feet away.
They’re stock.
Ive checked the connections on the back speakers. ive disconnected one, then the other…both stay quiet. Ive checked the wires as far as i could follow them from the trunk underneath the rugs in the backseat.
Did not check from front seat up into dash.
They appear to be untouch, not clamped down or smushed or torn.
I can go my day with full audio. car in park… in a parking lot…
Like now… My car is in the parking lot…just checked… all speakers work.
But when i go to it later the rears will probably not work.
Before work they didnt work… got in to HEAD to work… they worked before leaving the driveway.
Ive replaced the headunit.
Other problems in the car are my front right blinker keeps melting its bulbs or just not working. the melted one may have been because someone put a gooey conductive gunk on the bulb from prev’ owner.
Thought it may be a power issue. maybe when my auto headlights kick in.
Put the e-brake on so they wouldnt turn on when the car did…
speakers worked fine. took ebrake off, still stayed on. put on highbeams. turned on all lights in the car and rolled down all windows auto at the same time… still stayed on…
Could there just be a problem with the speakers even tho sometimes they work 100% and sound verrry verry nice and clear?
factory amp in the car? did you have to power up the factory amp via a blue remote lead or antenna lead to get sound?? could be a problem with the factory amplifer.
If i were to switch the front and rear on the back of the headunit, wouldnt that just make the noise that normally comes out the back… go out the front and vice versa? i had this problem yesterday with my stock HU, and today with the aftermarket.
in that case the problem 100% exists between the wires on the back of the head unit up to and including the speakers. you could try running a temporary wire from the back of the head unit across the car to the rear speakers to rule out wiring. (at which point you can prove it’s speakers)
also, make sure you don’t have a factory amp in the middle.
or you could just get new speakers which would be a big upgrade even if they’re fine.
Yeah thats actually a really really good idea. Now i guess id just have to dig up some extra speaker wire or buy some. BLARG!
But other than that, how do i find out if i have a stock amp somewhere. It had that upgraded “Concert Sound” thingy, but i have yet to run into anything in the car that i didnt atleast have some idea of its purpose. I had to remove the entire front dash panel to change the HU and i didnt spy anything, a google of concert sound century etc etc stock amp, or amplifier didnt seem to turn up anything pointing towards one of those, unless i missed something.
the amp will not be behind the dash. check under the rear deck gm likes to put them there i dont recall the location on that particular car though. and you don’t need extra speaker wire to test what theblue said, just switch the wires behind the radio you should have enough slack back there to do it
ha, which, the tech support without sleep or the stereo.
I dont know whats worse.
a bad car stereo or someone who goes by the name ‘hardbody’ on the internet.
Anyways, I’m also looking to do some upgrades to my car sound system so its just really annoying not knowing if whether or not i replace my rear speakers if theyll cut out too, ARGG.
Also i checked out crutchfield.com and they try and make you select your make and model for rear speakers and all they give me are one pair that looks like a snowcone wrapped in a trashbag. buicks are AWESOME.
Sorry for the lighting, no flash on the google phone and the interior car lights arent great, plus its dark out. i drew where that is located in green on this.
Hopefully youll understand me
Green is the wire pictured.
The main suspect is the one that randomly jetts across under my backseats and then shoots straight up in the middle.
Its a quick top view of the car.
since the cover on the cable can be opened i peaked inside. it has like 6 wires or so. it doesnt go to the back lights… or atleast not all of them because the back lights didnt have these colors or gauge. the ones enclosed in the sleeve were pruple and such, maybe a silver or a white cant recall but i cant think of where else they might go other than maybe a hidden amp?
What should i do next.
It looks like a HUGE BITCH to get it out if she does exist.
rear speakers are usually the only ones amped in these cars. run new speaker wires from the back of the deck directly to the rear speakers. this should solve your issue.
you don’t “need” an amp with your aftermarket headunit… it’s arguable as to if having a working factory amp in the middle will be better than removing it. an aftermarket amp would be an upgrade for sure, but then you’d probably want better speakers also.
don’t forget to turn the system on and wiggle all the wires at the back of the car to see if it’s simply a poor connection issue.
