Things You'll Need:
- Extra Speakers
- Speaker Cables
- Commercial Metal Cleaners
- Fuses
- Voltmeters
-
Step 1
Check the amplifier ground. If the ground is not good, disconnect it, clean the area and secure a new ground to the clean metal surface.
-
Step 2
Use a voltmeter to make certain that the amplifier is getting enough voltage. Put a meter on the amplifier's power line when the car is running to see how much voltage it is getting. It should be getting 13 volts or more. If it is not getting enough, upgrade the car's battery, alternator and power cable. You may also want to include a stiffening capacitor. A capacitor holds current and discharges it when the amplifier needs it.
-
Step 3
Check the fuse to make sure it is large enough that power can get through. Consult with the manufacturer of the amplifier as to the proper size of the fuse.
-
Step 4
Disconnect the speakers from the amplifier if you still experience distortion.
-
Step 5
Take a speaker that is not part of the system and attach it to each channel of the amplifier. If you get noise, you have a bad amplifier and will need to replace it. If there is no noise, you may have a bad signal going to the amplifier.
-
Step 6
Disconnect the RCA cable between the radio and the amplifier and plug in a new RCA cable that is not a part of the system. If the noise disappears, you have a bad cable.
-
Step 7
Turn on the radio. If you experience turn on/off pop, the power antenna lead may be turning the amplifier on and off, or there could be a problem with the amplifier itself. Confer with an installer to remedy the problem.
-
Step 1
Gain access to the RCA cables, which connect components to one another.
-
Step 2
Disconnect the RCA cable between the radio and the amplifier. If you still get noise in your system, then the amplifier could be the source of the noise. If there is no noise, the amplifier is probably not the problem.
-
Step 3
Reconnect the RCA cable from the radio to the amplifier and unplug the RCA cable from the back of the radio. If there is noise, the cable is the culprit. If there is no noise, the cable is okay.
-
Step 4
Plug the cable back into the radio. If the cable was not the problem and you still get noise, the radio is the source.
-
Step 1
Check the ground as well as the antenna of the radio. If the ground wire is not secured to a clean metal surface, you might have a bad ground.
-
Step 2
Disconnect the old ground, clean the area and connect a new ground securely to clean metal.
-
Step 3
Make sure that the antenna cable is connected properly and check for rust on the retainer bolt and fender where the antenna mast is mounted. If you find dirt or rust, clean the area.
-
Step 4
If you hear a thump-thump-thump, the speaker may be touching ground and feeding through the amplifier. Disconnect all the speakers from the amplifier.
-
Step 5
Take a speaker that is not part of your system and connect it to each terminal output. If you still hear the thumping noise, you have a bad amplifier. If there is no noise, test each speaker in your system independently by connecting each to the amplifier until you find the bad speaker. Replace that speaker.
-
Step 6
Check the speaker wire to be certain that it has not shorted. If it has shorted, replace the wire (see the Related eHows).
Comments
enorman said
on 1/26/2009 Not a complete and accurate description. You can cause more problems including damaging components if you don't know what you are doing and understand the circuit loading caused by impedance mismatching of the load.
torque63 said
on 12/27/2008 Solder and heat shrink all wiring when assembling a car stereo system, use connectors to connect to car wiring so you can install the factory radio back into it when you sell the car.
madambutterfly said
on 10/21/2008 This was spot on..Had to do this last weekend!
DmnOfTheFall said
on 7/19/2008 I have just installed my component speakers. I have not raised the volume enough to break the speakers. One of them makes a "buzz" sound when a certain bass note plays...I placed tape and kleenex on the speaker cone in order to muffle the sound. It works great but how could I fix this otherwise. Is the speaker already broken ? I just bought this. Thanks
sgtgoomba said
on 6/27/2008 I wanted to clarify something about the turn on/off pop, and the cause of it. Car stereos send out a start out 'blip' of energy when switched on (either by pressing a button, attaching a faceplate, whatever). If your amp is already on at that time, it'll amplify this blip, and that's the start-up pop. Amps have a delay when they are turned on which so as to miss that blip, but for that to work your amp and your stereo need to turn on at the same time. If you get the turn-on pop, make sure your amp is connected to a lead that powers on your amp when your radio is turned on, and not when your key is turned.