Left channel out

[Hiker]

I recently lost volume in the left channel of my minivan. The front has no volume whatsoever and the rear speaker is barely audible. Thinking it may be the radio itself, I swapped receivers from the aftermarket JVC with the factory radio in my 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan and the same problem exist.

I'm left thinking it's the wiring but where and how would I test it?

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[1aespinoza 10+ year member]

I'm left thinking it's the wiring but where and how would I test it?

I would first check that speaker. If they are OEM, their time may be through.

 

[Deiimos]

Check connections to make sure nothing is loose or badly corroded at the speakers / head unit. Use a multi meter / ohm meter to test speaker wire where it connects to head unit and at speakers, assuming that vehicle doesn’t have a separate OEM amplifier or something which could change testing a bit. I’ve had at least one older car that the speaker wire broke where it passed through the door hinge area (in the rubber boot). Started cutting in and out then finally went dead and I had to run new wire. You can of course take each speaker out that is not working and test it out of the vehicle or try it in the other side to see if it still works okay.

 

[Hiker]

I would first check that speaker. If they are OEM, their time may be through.

Hey, thanks for that, it seemed to correct the problem!

When I added the JVC receiver, I also got two new speakers for the rear and mothballed the old speakers. I recently used one old one to replace the front right speaker which was cracking.

With your suggestion, I swapped the left for the right, and sure enough, no volume. I took the other old speaker and both appear to be working now.

 

[Hiker]

Check connections to make sure nothing is loose or badly corroded at the speakers / head unit. Use a multi meter / ohm meter to test speaker wire where it connects to head unit and at speakers, assuming that vehicle doesn’t have a separate OEM amplifier or something which could change testing a bit. I’ve had at least one older car that the speaker wire broke where it passed through the door hinge area (in the rubber boot). Started cutting in and out then finally went dead and I had to run new wire. You can of course take each speaker out that is not working and test it out of the vehicle or try it in the other side to see if it still works okay.

Thanks for the advice, thankfully, it was just the speaker and I didn't have to rewire.