Bad speaker ground?
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Postmaster
Joined: Aug 2004
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From: North of Boston MA
Bad speaker ground?
My '97 F250 XL has what I think is a bad speaker ground. When I hit a bump the radio sound cuts out. Hit another bump and it comes back on. The radio still appears to be working - all the lights are on, can change stations, adjust volume (i.e. louder or softer when it comes back), etc. It did this also before I installed the current radio so I am 99.9% certain it isn't the unit. it has never blown a fuse. I have the radio grounded to the chassis as recommended by the radio manufacturer.
I wired the radio using the factory harness and an aftermarket adapter plug. All my splices are good.
Any guesses where to start looking for a bad ground or any other ideas? Are the speakers grounded individually or from the radio harness? They all cut out together and come on together and it is either on or off, nothing in the middle.
Thanks for the help.
I wired the radio using the factory harness and an aftermarket adapter plug. All my splices are good.
Any guesses where to start looking for a bad ground or any other ideas? Are the speakers grounded individually or from the radio harness? They all cut out together and come on together and it is either on or off, nothing in the middle.
Thanks for the help.
Postmaster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,417
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From: Durham, NC
Speakers don't have a ground, like they one time had. With the newer radios, both wires going to the speaker are driven differentially. Does both speakers cut out, or only one of them? Does the unit have a cassette, or CD payer?
If so, does it cut out when playing a tape or CD? If it only cuts out when playing the radio, I would suspect the antenna, or connection to the antenna.
If so, does it cut out when playing a tape or CD? If it only cuts out when playing the radio, I would suspect the antenna, or connection to the antenna.
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Postmaster
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From: North of Boston MA
Originally Posted by Bob Ayers
Speakers don't have a ground, like they one time had. With the newer radios, both wires going to the speaker are driven differentially. Does both speakers cut out, or only one of them? Does the unit have a cassette, or CD payer?
If so, does it cut out when playing a tape or CD? If it only cuts out when playing the radio, I would suspect the antenna, or connection to the antenna.
If so, does it cut out when playing a tape or CD? If it only cuts out when playing the radio, I would suspect the antenna, or connection to the antenna.
If the antenna connection were bad, wouldn't I still get some sound? I get silence, no static or anything.
I'll try the CD player and hopefully you are correct - antenna would be an easy fix. Thanks.
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Postmaster
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From: North of Boston MA
found it....
I finally got around to playing with the stereo today. It wasn't the antenna because the CD would do the same thing.
Here is what I found....
While wiggling wires trying to find a bad connection I noticed that if I had the plug with the speaker wires partially plugged in it would work fine. If I plugged it in all the way it would cut out. So, I pulled all the wires out of the plug and connected the speaker outputs from the stereo into each input one speaker at a time. When I plugged any pair of output wires into the input for the LF speaker, all the speakers would quit. So, it appears that I either have a short in that speaker or in the wires somewhere.
For now I just have the stereo hooked up with the wires to the LF speaker pulled out. Seems to be working fine.
Someday maybe I will change the speaker, probably not.......
Here is what I found....
While wiggling wires trying to find a bad connection I noticed that if I had the plug with the speaker wires partially plugged in it would work fine. If I plugged it in all the way it would cut out. So, I pulled all the wires out of the plug and connected the speaker outputs from the stereo into each input one speaker at a time. When I plugged any pair of output wires into the input for the LF speaker, all the speakers would quit. So, it appears that I either have a short in that speaker or in the wires somewhere.
For now I just have the stereo hooked up with the wires to the LF speaker pulled out. Seems to be working fine.
Someday maybe I will change the speaker, probably not.......
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Joined: Oct 2005
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Originally Posted by Nitramjr
My '97 F250 XL has what I think is a bad speaker ground. When I hit a bump the radio sound cuts out. Hit another bump and it comes back on. The radio still appears to be working - all the lights are on, can change stations, adjust volume (i.e. louder or softer when it comes back), etc.
I was thinking of purchasing a radio wire harness and giving that a try.
I'll let you know what happend when I do change them.
Mospeed
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Joined: Jul 2005
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if the speaker is shot inside and effectively just a ground, it will have that effect. If you touch two speaker wires together it will cause all the other ones to either shut off completely or become very distorted and quiet. Check your connections to that speaker as well, as one of them may have pulled off or something like that. Are they aftermarket speakers or stock? One other test you could do if you have another speak lying around is try it with another speaker, and another set of wires, because a short in the wires on their way to the speaker will cause the same problem, and if the wire is worn through, it might not be a bad speaker at all, just bad wiring that needs replacement.
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Joined: Oct 2005
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I belive it's original wiring. I purchased the Expedition in October and have recently encountered this problem. I'll check the speaker wiring as soon as I get a chance.
Mospeed
Mospeed
Last edited by Mospeed; Jan 11, 2006 at 10:22 AM.
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