How to Repair Home Theater Rear Speakers

Repairing home theater rear speakers--also known as surround speakers--takes a little bit of technical savoir-faire. Instead of jumping in and tinkering around, it is best to take small troubleshooting steps or maybe even call the manufacturer or a service technician. Here are some basic steps on how to diagnose and repair home theater rear speakers.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Screwdriver
• Sharp knife
• Soldering gun
• Multimeter

1. Read the manual. There will likely be a troubleshooting section that can help diagnose the problem.
2. Unplug the speaker. Make sure the speaker isn’t connected to anything that is plugged in. Electricity can travel through speaker wires.
3. Remove front grille. Most simply pop off, but you may need a screwdriver. Carefully take it off and put it somewhere where it won’t be damaged.
4. Unscrew the drivers. These are the cone-shaped speaker near the top and the large bass speaker near the bottom. Some are sealed in place and may need to be levered off with a knife or flat-head screwdriver.
5. Pull out the drivers as far as you can, which won’t be very far. They are attached with two short wires which have little slack.
6. Look for any disconnected or shorted wires. If you find a bad one, replace it and see if that fixes the problem. Re-connecting the wires may require soldering.
7. If a damaged wire was not the problem, detach the wires from the rear of the drivers using a screwdriver or pliers. If they are soldered, snap them off with the pliers and re-solder once finished.
8. Locate the crossover network and remove it using the screwdriver or pliers. These are wires that connect multiple drivers. Find its fuse and, using a multimeter, test it and replace if necessary.
9. Use the multimeter to test the impedance of the drivers. Make sure the results match the impedance rating listed on the back of the speaker or in the manual. Running too high or too low of an impedance can damage the drivers. Replace as necessary.
10. Reconnect the parts and wires using a screwdriver or soldering iron, and reassemble.

Tips & Warnings

• Try hooking it up to a different source if you simply aren't getting any sound.
• If you are getting noise, try unplugging components from the receiver one at a time.
• Check for grounding problems and interference from other power sources.
• Check the cables for any obvious damage.
• Check the warranty. If the warranty is still good, return the speaker to the manufacturer.
• You may need to do some soldering to reconnect the wires to the driver. Do your soldering over a surface that will not be harmed by drips of hot solder.