Help!! BMW E46 325i (Non-HK Stock Speakers w/ factory amp) Speakers suddenly quit!

[wheeler8921 10+ year member]

So about a week ago I finally got my car (2004 BMW E46 325i) back on the road after being parked for a couple months until I could finance my overheating problem. I have the non-Harmon Kardon stock speakers running off the factory amp. I replaced the stock head unit with an Alpine 9886 about a year and a half ago and have never had any problems with the audio... until recently. About 3 days ago is where I first noticed something wasn't right. When I would go over speed bumps or almost any uneven surface the speakers would cut out for about a second or two and then come back on and resume playing.. About 2 days ago I noticed it was becoming more and more sensitive to slight bumps in the road or anything of that sort and the cutting in/out continued..

Well, I got in my car today and started it up. The headunit kicked on as normal and the CD resumed play everything as normal, except with no audio. I tried adjusting some settings on the head unit with no luck. Instead of yanking out the headunit and double checking every connection, I figured I'd post here and see if any of you had any advice!

Click to read more...

 

[Skittles619 10+ year member]

Sounds like a connection came loose cant really tell you which one probably an amp turn on wire or something in the bypass harness if you used it.

 

[wheeler8921 10+ year member]

Sounds like a connection came loose cant really tell you which one probably an amp turn on wire or something in the bypass harness if you used it.

That was my initial thought. I didn't use a bypass harness, just got the car harness and installed it. It's been installed for a year and a half and this is the first problem I've had with it. My biggest fear is that the factory amp sh!t out on me =( I didn't find much info out there on troubleshooting methods, I'm hopeful someone can point me in the right direction!

 

[Skittles619 10+ year member]

i doubt the amp went out unless its been abused/real old etc. Not likely but possible... all i can tell you to do is pull the HU and start checking for loose connections pretty much a guess and check procedure.

 

[wheeler8921 10+ year member]

i doubt the amp went out unless its been abused/real old etc. Not likely but possible... all i can tell you to do is pull the HU and start checking for loose connections pretty much a guess and check procedure.

The car is a 2004, and yea I like listening to loud music, but I wouldn't say its been abused at all. I had the headunit professionally installed about a year and a half ago only because I couldn't get the HU seated back far enough, it stuck out about a half inch or so. I couldn't imagine a connection coming loose back there, simply because everything is so tight. Unless it's "for sure" the head unit, I would hate to pull it out and not be able to get it fully seated again and have to take it back =( Any other thoughts?

 

[DARKHART 10+ year member]

Take it back to the shop that put it in seeing how most places give a life time warranty on their install labor..............//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/eyebrow.gif.fe2c18d8720fe8c7eaed347b21ea05a5.gif:eyebrow://content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/eyebrow.gif.fe2c18d8720fe8c7eaed347b21ea05a5.gif

 

[wheeler8921 10+ year member]

Take it back to the shop that put it in seeing how most places give a life time warranty on their install labor..............//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/eyebrow.gif.fe2c18d8720fe8c7eaed347b21ea05a5.gif:eyebrow://content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/eyebrow.gif.fe2c18d8720fe8c7eaed347b21ea05a5.gif

I really wish this was an option... I got it installed back in Indiana and moved away from there a month ago, so I'd hate to drive 650 miles for them to tell me, nope sorry whatever is wrong with your shit, it aint our fault!

 

[DARKHART 10+ year member]

I hear ya, well it def sounds like there is a loose connection somewhere especially seeing as how it only does it when you hit any type of bump. If you're able to do it yourself, I would start by removing the headunit and checking the integrity of all your connections between the radio and aftermarket wiring harness then I would check for a solid connection between the aftermarket harness and the factory harness cause that a fairly larger piece of plastic with a sliding lock piece that could have come loose.....if you don't feel comfortable doing it then go head and spend the money and take it to a reputable shop in your area......//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[wheeler8921 10+ year member]

I hear ya, well it def sounds like there is a loose connection somewhere especially seeing as how it only does it when you hit any type of bump. If you're able to do it yourself, I would start by removing the headunit and checking the integrity of all your connections between the radio and aftermarket wiring harness then I would check for a solid connection between the aftermarket harness and the factory harness cause that a fairly larger piece of plastic with a sliding lock piece that could have come loose.....if you don't feel comfortable doing it then go head and spend the money and take it to a reputable shop in your area......//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Gah! Thanks for the response man, I took the HU out and double checked a few of the connections without redoing every single one and the connections I checked were solid. This is seriously frustrating, only 1 week after getting my car back on the road for sitting 2 months, I now have no audio =(((

The audio flickered off briefly and then back on a few days back, but when I turned on the car the following morning the HU booted up as normal, but ZERO SOUND! I was thinking it may be something other than a loose connection since every speaker suddenly quit at the same time, it wasn't like there was a particular speaker cutting in and out, it made me think it wasn't a HU issue =/

 

[goingdef 10+ year member]

when you think about it I doubt all 4 rca's have come unplugged at once so next I would move on to see if the amp is still getting power and that the turn on lead at the hu is hooked up if all that is good then I would guess something has rattled loose in the amp itself

 

[Skittles619 10+ year member]

Im guessing its the turn on lead just a guess though.

 

[Worlddre 5,000+ posts]

if the connections are solid start checking for signal in the appropriate places. Start after the amplifier turn your meter to AC volts and check or any kind of signal on the output side of the amplifier. Turn the volume up and down to make sure your meter reads the changes to ensure you have signal. If you have signal then your problem is at the speakers. If you do not have signal check for signal on the input side of the amplfier. If you have signal something is wrong with the amplifier. If not your problem is with the radio.

 

[wheeler8921 10+ year member]

if the connections are solid start checking for signal in the appropriate places. Start after the amplifier turn your meter to AC volts and check or any kind of signal on the output side of the amplifier. Turn the volume up and down to make sure your meter reads the changes to ensure you have signal. If you have signal then your problem is at the speakers. If you do not have signal check for signal on the input side of the amplfier. If you have signal something is wrong with the amplifier. If not your problem is with the radio.

Great info, thanks a lot! Only one question though... on the factory amp, I only see one spot where a harness connects into the top of the amp. It's a bundle of wires all wrapped in black tape, so which connection going into the amp should I be testing?

 

[Worlddre 5,000+ posts]

All of your speaker and input wires will be in twisted pairs. I dont remember the wire colors off the top of my head however you can match up the input wire colors at the amplifier with those that are behind the head unit. There will be 4 sets of input wires and as many sets of ouput wires as there are speakers.

 

[wheeler8921 10+ year member]

put the stock unit back in and fired it up. SOUND IS BACK! Come to find out the antenna adapter behind the dash going into the aftermarket HU was completely disconnected. gotta figure out where that one reconnects at then back to bumpin! Thanks for the help!!!!