Advice needed, new to me truck with audio issues.

[Kale Terry]

Hey y'all! So I just bought an 02 Ram 1500. The previous owner put in a Boss bcpa10 aftermarket head unit, and said he put in new speakers as well, not sure of the brand. It seems that everything is running on the HU internal amp.

So, when you turn the volume up at all, I mean a hair over quiet, the speakers start crackling really bad, like they're not getting enough power or something. Under a certain volume the sound is clear. I started messing with head unit settings and while playing with the balancer/fader I noticed that there's no sound at all coming from the passenger side back speaker, and oddly if I push the fade all the way up to the front speakers, suddenly I can turn the volume up loud without any crackle.

I've got the tools to go digging for the issue, I've got repair and multimeter skills. I just haven't got the first clue about car audio systems. What do you guys think is happening? Are there any tests I can perform to get to the bottom of it?

Thanks for any help! And y'all have a good day!

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[Jimi77 Premium Member]

Sounds like a blown speaker.

 

[SbassLaser]

So it sounds like the problem is only with the rear speakers, correct? You only hear the crackle when the rear speakers are playing, and the passenger rear has no sound at all?
One thing you could do is swap the front and rear speakers to see if the problem follows the speakers. If it does, then you know they're bad. If the problems stay in the same location with the speakers that were working fine in the front, then it's going to be a headunit or wiring issue.

 

[Kale Terry]

So it sounds like the problem is only with the rear speakers, correct? You only hear the crackle when the rear speakers are playing, and the passenger rear has no sound at all?
One thing you could do is swap the front and rear speakers to see if the problem follows the speakers. If it does, then you know they're bad. If the problems stay in the same location with the speakers that were working fine in the front, then it's going to be a headunit or wiring issue.

Smart! Will I be able to hook the rear speakers up to the front for a test without issue? I think the rears are smaller.

And the odd part is that the problem is with all of the speakers, but only when the rear speakers are involved. It's not a blown speaker rattle or anything. It's like everything is clear up to 18 on a volume knob that goes to 50, then after that the sound through all of the speakers is increasingly distorted and crackly, and doesn't really move up in loudness with the volume, just makes things more and more crackly. But when I turn the fade up past 2/3s to the front, the issue goes away and I can turn everything up as loud as I want. I also noticed that there's good sound from the rear driver's side speaker, but absolutely nothing from the rear passenger side speaker at any point.

 

[SbassLaser]

I don't think you'd have any issues due to the size of the speakers, typically a headunit will put out the same power to all 4 channels.
I'm not sure why you'd hear the crackle from all speakers but not when the fade is all the way to the front. I would try unplugging the rear speakers one at a time and testing to see if the sound improves. Just don't let the unplugged speaker wires touch anything when the headunit is on. This is just a guess but maybe there's an issue with one of the rear speakers that is introducing distortion. It could be that rear passenger side that has no sound.

Have you looked at the wiring harness of the headunit at all? If it was a DIY install there's a chance that those wires could be loose or have come disconnected. Loose grounds can cause all sorts of issues.

 

[Kale Terry]

I don't think you'd have any issues due to the size of the speakers, typically a headunit will put out the same power to all 4 channels.
I'm not sure why you'd hear the crackle from all speakers but not when the fade is all the way to the front. I would try unplugging the rear speakers one at a time and testing to see if the sound improves. Just don't let the unplugged speaker wires touch anything when the headunit is on. This is just a guess but maybe there's an issue with one of the rear speakers that is introducing distortion. It could be that rear passenger side that has no sound.

Have you looked at the wiring harness of the headunit at all? If it was a DIY install there's a chance that those wires could be loose or have come disconnected. Loose grounds can cause all sorts of issues.

Alright, just went out and started pulling stuff apart. The two rear speakers are both factory but from different trims it seems. One is generic Chrysler and the other is the infinity package. Gonna just assume the door was originally from a different truck. I pulled both speakers and tried the system, still had crackle over 18 volume. Swapped the rear speakers and it seems both speakers work, whichever one is plugged into the passenger rear door is dead. Any ideas?

 

[Kale Terry]

Alright, just went out and started pulling stuff apart. The two rear speakers are both factory but from different trims it seems. One is generic Chrysler and the other is the infinity package. Gonna just assume the door was originally from a different truck. I pulled both speakers and tried the system, still had crackle over 18 volume. Swapped the rear speakers and it seems both speakers work, whichever one is plugged into the passenger rear door is dead. Any ideas?

Just pulled the head unit too, the wiring harness looks pretty well done. All the wires are labeled and connected with those fancy sleeves with solder in the middle. It all terminates in a single plug that connects to the factory plug, minus what I'm assuming is the antenna wire connected to its own quick disconnect connector.

 

[Kale Terry]

So I've been testing for continuity and it seems that rear passenger positive and negative on the pig tail are both getting continuity to negative on the door plug, nothing to positive.

*Edited because I was wrong about them just being switched.

 

[SbassLaser]

Well that will definitely cause problems lol, were you testing for continuity with the headunit unplugged? If so, it sounds like you'll have to check the wires for damage. Could be pinched in a door or under a piece of trim.

 

[Kale Terry]

I was. Welllllll, guess it's time to start tracing wires hahaha. This should be fun. Thanks for brainstorming with me! I'll post once I find wherever the wire is messed up, whether it fixes it or not.

 

[Kale Terry]

I was. Welllllll, guess it's time to start tracing wires hahaha. This should be fun. Thanks for brainstorming with me! I'll post once I find wherever the wire is messed up, whether it fixes it or not.

Well, managed to narrow it down to (thankfully) the wiring harness in the door. Good continuity from the head unit pigtail to the end of the plug in the gap between the body and door. No continuity from the other side of that plug to the speaker plug. Guess I'll either get a new door harness, or just thread and splice some new wire there. I'll update when I've got it done. Still scratching my head about the distortion in the front speakers even with the rears unplugged. Guess we'll see if this solves the issue.

 

[SbassLaser]

I'm wondering if the positive and negative being shorted was somehow causing the distortion, so unplugging the speaker didn't change that but reducing the power going through that channel did... Just a guess. Hopefully fixing the wires solves both issues lol, Good luck!

 

[Kale Terry]

I think I just *MAY* have found the issue lmao.

Pulled the whole door harness, got it inside to start unwinding it and would you just look what was hiding under that rubber boot as an added bonus, the sound system is running fine now that this mess is disconnected from it.

I've got a couple new speakers and some 14ga wire coming in a couple hours. I think we'll have all these connections repaired and buttoned back up by the end of the day.

Thanks for all you help!

 

[slater]

nice find there....

 

[SbassLaser]

Yeah that'll do it! Lol
Happy to help!