Right Speakers Go Out

[webber]

This is an ongoing problem for over four years. The right speakers, all of them, started randomly going on and off. The whole radio/tape/CD unit was replaced. Eight months later, same problem. Another radio unit. Several months later, same problem. This time, a new amp. Several months later, same problem. Another new radio. Several months later, same problem. This time a new amp AND radio. TWO DAYS later, same problem. It's all been done under warranty but ...

Can anybody tell me/them what to do?

[VMF]

just a guess but were the connectors checked?

when the speaker is off do youhear hiss from it or its off completely? if you do hear a hiss it means that cables from the amp to the speaker are ok and you should check cabling from the head unit to the amp and if there is no hiss it means that cables/connectors from the amp to the speakers are bad.

good luck

[93LSOwner]

just a guess but were the connectors checked?

when the speaker is off do youhear hiss from it or its off completely? if you do hear a hiss it means that cables from the amp to the speaker are ok and you should check cabling from the head unit to the amp and if there is no hiss it means that cables/connectors from the amp to the speakers are bad.

good luck

There is a hissing noise when the unit is on, but the volume is all the way down; in the Acura Legend. So, most likely cabling from the head unit to the amp have a problem.

Webber,

That warranty paid for itself. Didn't it.

[VMF]

what does legend has to do with it?:)

[93LSOwner]

what does legend has to do with it?:)

I'm sorry about that, I should have been more clear about it. I was just restating your suggestion by that it answered one of my problems, which I have in my family's Acura Legend.

Just giving you credit for your suggestion. Thanks.

[SKperformance]

I might say you have a water leak that clears up everyso often and causes the wire to act weirdly but when dry the dealer just guesses as which part is bad to make you happy. You need a water leak company to locate the source or a good wiring or audio store.

[four door]

Believe your amp is under front passenger seat and like someone else said if water/moisture/corrosion could be causing a short. Check the connections and clean if necessary.

[VMF]

i dont think that water and moisture can get under the passender seat unless some1 specifiaclly spilled smth on the amp. amp is located ABOVE the carpet and if there is any water you will also see it on the carpet under your legs. i have a 96 LS and i had trouble with my amp and what happend was that it died after steam cleaning si i just got 800$ from those guys for my new amp:)

[webber]

just a guess but were the connectors checked?

when the speaker is off do youhear hiss from it or its off completely? if you do hear a hiss it means that cables from the amp to the speaker are ok and you should check cabling from the head unit to the amp and if there is no hiss it means that cables/connectors from the amp to the speakers are bad.

good luck

VMF

Thanks for the replies.

No, nothing hisses. What has been strange, though, is that, the first three times the radio was replaced, everything worked properly for 8 to 12 months. Then the speakers would start cutting out again. This time, however, the problem came back in two days. Example: Yesterday I was early for an appointment. I sat in a parking lot for 20 minutes drinking coffee & reading the paper. During that time, the right speakers went off twice, then came back on after +/-5 minutes. When they are on, they're perfect ... then they just quit.

Anyone else heard of this problem?

[VMF]

well if there is no hiss then check the cables. make sure you chek for hissing when the volume is high. just put a tepe with no record and let it play for a while and chekc those right speakers to make sure there is no hiss when they are off.

[webber]

Been there, done that from Day 1. Dealer claims they have checked wiring. Cannot believe they just keep replacing radio/tape/CD unit, and amp again & again & again ...

Is the wiring that difficult to replace instead, either from radio to amp or main feed to right speakers?

[Gillette LS400]

The dealers are always happy to deal with warranty work. They get to charge the manufacturers every time something is replaced and even though a head unit takes about 15 minutes to change, they get to bill for whatever the labor manual says. It is great for them, but crappy for you because they actually have a vested interest in you coming back again, while you would just rather the thing work. Your best bet is to contact the warranty company and tell them what the dealership has been doing. They will make sure that it gets fixed right because it will save them money. Who is your warranty with? Is it an extended Lexus warranty or another warranty company. If it is Lexus, call the regional office and ask to speak with a supervisor. They will send a Lexus tech that is ungodly adept with fixing ANYTHING wrong with your car. They have guys trained on specific cars that teach all the other techs what they are doing. If you can manage to get ahold of one of these guys, they will not only be very intelligent, but they will also be glad you called. If it is just a warranty company though, they will have specialist places to take you car to. It wouldn't hurt to try

[SKperformance]

Your hardware has been changed so it leaves only wiring left. I don;t think it is moisture in the amp,never said it was. It is more likely in the wiring around it or a loos connection on the amp harness itself. Do they remove the seat to remoev the amp from under it? If not i can;t see how they inspect the harness under there.

[VMF]

you have to remove the seat to get to the amp. i did it couple of times and its only 4 screws to take it out. i also suggested that connectors might be the problem since there is no hissin from speakers. what i think there might be a shortage somewhere and overload cirquit on the amp turns right channels off to prevent damage to the amp and then it puts em back on when it dissapears. or it might be just a loose connector. those dealers like to "think big" and to change whole thing ignore those small details. i'm never going to the dealer again.

[webber]

Haven't forgotten about all of you that replied to my post. I just haven't gotten the car back in yet. I will let you know when/if and how problem is resolved.

Thanks for all the advice.

[Lexus.]

I have the same problem with my 95 LS400. The right chan went out with low distorted volume, it got worse until right chan ceased completely. I replaced the amp, it did not help. I replaced the Nak headunit with a used one and it fixed the problem. It still does it sometimes, maybe 2% of the time. Banging the dash will often restore the sound. If that doesnt work, I crank up the vol all the way and turn balance knob to the right chan. It will all of the sudden clear up and sound is restored.

[webber]

Aaaagh! My car was in the dealer's shop for a week. Of course, the speakers worked perfectly while there. How do you fix something whens it's working properly? Oh well, I'll keep driving it until it acts up again.

To be continued ....

[webber]

EUREKA!! They found it! What I didn't realize is that the amp monitors the whole system. A short detected in any speaker will cause the amp to shut down a channel. Here's what was happening: Inside the speaker box located in the passenger door, there were 3 or 4 multi-strand wires all twisted and soldered together. (See attached picture, if it loaded, and e-mail me for a copy.) Some of those wire and solder ends are sharp! From the fibrations inherent in speakers and cars, a sharp wire end gradually had worked its way through the insulation of another wire. Because it was driven by vibrations, sometimes it was making contact with the other wire, and sometimes it wasn't. When it did, the amp would detect a short, and shut down the entire right channel for at least a 'cooloing off' period. Sometimes the intruding wire would remain imbedded in the other wire resulting in continuous right channel outage.

I hope what I have written makes sense. Nonetheless, thanks to all of you for your suggestions.

[webber]

I don't think the picture loaded. Also, I've tried writing some of you directly to thank you for your help, but can't find your e-address.

If anybody wants the picture of the problem, send me an e-mail:

mawebber@amkw.co.

Thanks again.

[SKperformance]

easiest way is to load the pic in the LOC gallery and leave us a link to it here.

glad it worked out.