Fairmont AU - Rear Speaker Problem

kylcal · 13-08-2005, 03:15 AM

Had a good search through the forums but found nothing relevant. Hoping someone can help me.

Have a Fairmont AU with the CD stacker in the boot and a remote amp behind it which, I believe, drives the back shelf speakers. About two weeks ago I started to lose sound intermittently from the back speakers - would turn the car on and the speakers would be working, drive for about 10mins and then silence. This continued for about a week but for the last week I have had no sound at all.

I have checked all plugs into the back speakers (sub in the middle) and they are all sitting correctly. The amp is powering up fine and both the RCA leads are plugged in correctly.

Can anyone shed any light on where the problem is? Is it the amp and if so how do I get it out to check it? Do I have to drill out the rivets that hold it in or is there an easier way that I'm missing?

Yours hopefully

**Stav** · 13-08-2005, 08:41 AM

Did you check the earth to the amp?Sometimes with age and heat they may simply need a clean. Failing that ..pull out your radio and check the connector going in for the amp.If you get stuck let me know here in this post.It is a process of elimination. If I were there I could find the fault in 10-40 minutes .On the net obviously I cant see the car and will take a bit longer.

JC · 13-08-2005, 09:18 PM

My olds had this problem in their AU2 Falcon - well, a similar problem as their whole radio would stop working intermittently. The CD or whatever would still play, but no sound came out. I swapped the radios between my AU2 and theirs, and all was good in both cars for about a week, but then they went to Melbourne and the radio/CD stopped working on the highway. It worked for the whole return trip though.

I had a look at it when they returned, and the only thing I could pickup was that one of the rear speakers sounded a bit distorted when the radio did work, so I replaced the rear speakers and they have never had the problem again. After pulling the rear speakers out, I obviously checked them, and the speaker cone had started to tear away from the body - I have no idea why this would kill all 4 speakers, but by replacing the faulty speaker (and it's mate) it has definitely cured their problems.

So....you could give that a try - I would suggest replacing the front speakers with a decent aftermarket pair (even the base Aerpro 5 X 7s at around $25 a pair are better than the standard stuff ford fit), and then put the fronts in the back. Even if this doesn't fix your issues, it won't have broken the bank, and you will have at least one pair of better speakers.

Another way to diagnose the problem would be to run some speaker wire to the amp, and to a set of speakers you know are working - even old PC speakers will do. If you get sound by doing this, you know that either the speaker wire or the rear speakers are at fault.

kylcal · 13-08-2005, 10:52 PM

First, thanks for the replies guys.

To Useless, yes I have checked the common earth (attached to the post that the amp is riveted on to). Removed it, gave it a quick clean and re-attached it but still no sound. As for removing the head unit well..... tried that with the old coathanger trick - unclipped three sides and then managed to break the clip on the last one :(( Think it might take a bit of dash removal to get it out now. Would certainly appreciate any other advice you might have though.

To JCXR8, unfortunately I'm on the nightshift so just reading this from work for the first time and therefore unable to try running some wire to another speaker. Will give it a go when I get home though. One question - and I hope this doesn't seem too stupid - but should I be connecting the speaker to the RCA inputs on the amp? Sorry, quite the beginner at this. As for replacing the speakers, its something I'm hoping to avoid to be honest. I'm unimpressed by the sound quality from what is supposed to be a 'premium' sound system but I'm, really not very handy at that sort of thing.

Thanks again guys.

JC · 13-08-2005, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kylcal

...should I be connecting the speaker to the RCA inputs on the amp?

No, the RCA inputs on the amp connect to the RCA outputs from the head unit. There should be a bank of speaker terminals on the amp - or perhaps just a series of wires coming out of the amp. You need to connect to these. Or perhaps just unplug the speakers (there is a plug that you would undo on the speaker - accessible in the boot) and connect some other speakers up temporarily.

As for the "quality" you would expect from a factory system - when they use $2.50 , paper coned speakers, quality goes out the window in the interests of profit margin.

kylcal · 13-08-2005, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JCXR8

There should be a bank of speaker terminals on the amp - or perhaps just a series of wires coming out of the amp. You need to connect to these. Or perhaps just unplug the speakers (there is a plug that you would undo on the speaker - accessible in the boot) and connect some other speakers up temporarily.

As for the "quality" you would expect from a factory system - when they use $2.50 , paper coned speakers, quality goes out the window in the interests of profit margin.

Yes, there is a bank of speaker terminals on the amp. I'll try that option and failing that I can easily unplug the speakers and try it that way.

TCK-098 · 14-08-2005, 12:05 PM

Yes id have to agree on the quality of the ford so called premuim sound set-ups talk about house so i threw all the speakers out and repalced with fusion best thing i did and the CD stackesr well they are good enough for frisbees ive had my car for 9 months and im up for my 4th stacker.

FFS ford is wish they would make a decent sound system for once

:

buickman · 14-08-2005, 01:41 PM

I've only replaced the door & rear deck speakers on the AU1 ghia for better quality sound but have not had any problems with the stacker in the boot.
But have heard many stories on the dash stackers on the AU 2/3 playing up a lot.

buickman

Panda · 14-08-2005, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kylcal

...about two weeks ago I started to lose sound intermittently from the back speakers...but for the last week I have had no sound at all...

Given that you now have no sound at all, I would be looking at the head unit, not the amp.

Quote:

Originally Posted by buicman

...but have heard many stories on the dash stackers on the AU 2/3 playing up a lot...

I'll go along with that. Certainly sounds like the head unit to me.

Panda

kylcal · 14-08-2005, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Panda

Given that you now have no sound at all, I would be looking at the head unit, not the amp.

I'll go along with that. Certainly sounds like the head unit to me.

Panda

Having re-read my post I think I should clarify something. When I say the speakers were working intermittently and then stopped working completely for the past week I am referring to the back speakers only. The front two speakers have always been working fine. Thats why I thought it might be the remote amp in the back that powers the rear speakers only.

Hope thats a bit clearer