sound system issues

[ihaveavibe]

Hi all,

I have an ‘03 base vibe with moon and tunes. The radio works but the bass only comes from the front right door speaker. If I turn the balance to the left, the tweeter and the the door speaker both work but the sound is really just the high frequencies and not very loud. Fade to the back also works with the same effect. The bass and mids really only come from the front right.

Can someone give me suggestions for what to test? I assume it’s not the head unit (original).. maybe some connectors? Isn’t there an amp under the front passenger seat? I don’t have a wiring diagram, don’t know if there are crossovers like in a home speaker, or how it’s set up at all. Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks!

[Bookworm]

Hi all,

I have an ‘03 base vibe with moon and tunes. The radio works but the bass only comes from the front right door speaker. If I turn the balance to the left, the tweeter and the the door speaker both work but the sound is really just the high frequencies and not very loud. Fade to the back also works with the same effect. The bass and mids really only come from the front right.

Can someone give me suggestions for what to test? I assume it’s not the head unit (original).. maybe some connectors? Isn’t there an amp under the front passenger seat? I don’t have a wiring diagram, don’t know if there are crossovers like in a home speaker, or how it’s set up at all. Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks!

It sounds like your speakers have disintegrated. The fact that you get music from the speakers means that _something_ is receiving, it's just not changing it to sound waves very well.

[ihaveavibe]

Although it's possible that three of four speakers are suddenly all exhibiting the same type of failure, I doubt it. I much rather suspect an electric or electronic issue.

Does anyone have the wiring diagram for moon and tunes or is familiar with the difference between base sound and moon and tunes? The base case electrical diagram is in the Haynes book, but that is of limited use. I guess I'll poke around under the passenger seat this weekend.

[Bookworm]

Ah - you didn't say it was sudden. I assumed this was a long standing issue, or an issue from a recently obtained car.

I had this problem with an old Ford Escort - it turned out that the center cones were intact, but the outer cones were disintegrated.

[ihaveavibe]

I think it happened over the course of a few months... I just noticed it one day (I'm not the primary user and I often have the sound off) and it's surprising how deceptive even one speaker was from the drivers position.

Anyway, I saw some posts of folks who had speaker issues and some videos on YouTube. It may well be deterioration. But I wouldn't rule out the radio or the amp. The posts by Derf no longer come up with the schematic. Looking under the seat isn't very enlightening.. I wish there was an easy way to test. The only thing I could think of was to try the working speaker connected to the other channels to test the amp, but the harness connector being what it is, this would be hard without cutting wires. I have no oscilloscope. Swapping around the speaker itself seems a hassle since the door trim would have to come off and the speaker is riveted in.

[Bookworm]

Grab another speaker, if you can get ahold of one. Don't worry about the Ohms (4, 6, or 8), you're not planning on leaving it there. Just use alligator clips and wire and clip the 'new' speaker to the old one. Listen to it. Try it on another one that sounds different. If the 'new' speaker sounds the same on both, then the wiring and amp are fine. It may sound bad, but you're just checking to see if it's the same on both sides

[ihaveavibe]

Yup, thought of this (Or just wiring the right speaker leads to the left and vice versa with patch speaker wires inside the cabin). The big question here is whether the speaker connectors / leads are exposed or if rivet drilling is needed (which would have to be done anyway if the speakers are at fault, but I'd rather hold off until after the test). I may attempt this weekend. Crutchfield has some photos that imply there may be an exposed connector... though some photos also show a subwoofer in the cargo area, which I don't have.

[ihaveavibe]

This project has been on the back burner, but the other day I finally took off the door panel and sure enough, the foam around the speaker cone has rotted out.

Does anyone have a rec for a re-foam kit? (I'm guessing a new set of speakers is the way to go, but just in case.)

Anyone have a rec for what fastener or hardware to use to screw mount replacement speakers? Prefer to avoid getting a riveter.

Thanks

[joatmon]

Been a while, but I had to replace the speakers in one of my Vibes. The speakers came with adapter rings and some clips and screws for mounting. it was too long ago for me to remember where I got the speakers or what kind, so that's no help, but you shouldn't need a riveter.

You don't need this anymore,but since its missing from other posts, here's a diagram showing the wiring between the head unit , the amp and the speakers in an 03 M&T There are no crossovers, at least not external to the amp.