Major installation problem

xtahoex

Junior Member
First off thanks for any help that can be given...

I am a 40 year old man and have several installs under my belt. I was building a basic audio system for a project car that I am about to get on the road. Here is a list of everything that I am using...

Sony MEX-N5200BT

Soundstream TN5.950D Tarantula Nano 950w Class D 5 Channel Amplifier

Soundstream PSW.124 Picasso Series 12″ 600W Shallow Subwoofer

Pioneer TS-A6996R A-Series 6" X 9" 650W 5-Way Speakers

Pioneer TSG1045R 4-Inch 210W 2-Way Car Speakers

4 Guage Install Kit

Everything was hooked up and I verified it was in working order. It sounded good and ran it for about 5 minutes.

Fast forward about two weeks and I was in the car today and wanted to check out the sound again. Before I could even play any audio from the head unit, I smelled burning and noticed smoke emitting from one of the 6x9s. I shut everything down and had to get to work. A few hours later I returned and tryed the system again after verifying that the gain levels were not set high (none of the factory amp settings or headunit settings had been adjusted). The only sound I am getting is from the subwoofer which from what I can tell sounds normal. All of the component speakers are silent...

Can someone give me some insight... I am going to call soundstream tomorrow and talk to them. I am guessing this is an amp related issue? I did some forum searches and found nothing related to my catastrophic failure. Not happy right now.

Thanks,

Ryan

 
what's the HPF set at

 

---------- Post added at 08:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:04 PM ----------

 

for the doors

 

---------- Post added at 08:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:04 PM ----------

 

Check your door amp fuses and see if they've discolored

 

---------- Post added at 08:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:05 PM ----------

 

Like the fuses inside of the amp

 
Soundstream is NOT what you remember it being in high school. It's bottom of the gutter flea market junk these days.

That said, IF you were not careful in running your speaker wires or RCAs and one of those pinched, broke the insulation, and shorted to the car chasis that could cause similar trouble with ANY amp/speaker. Likewise sometimes internal faults in a head unit can wreck havoc with amp/speakers but I've installed two Sony head units in my vehicles this past year and am really liking them, they seem pretty good quality so the Sony would be low on my list of suspects.

Anyway, nothing for it but to disconnect that amp and begin trial the process of elimination, if you find the amp has failed, do confirm all your wiring is secure and intact or you'll just kill any other amp you drop in its place.

 
id hook up another speaker to make sure everything is still working. probably easier than checking all the wiring

 
Here is what I have done so far...

Knowing that the Sub channel is still working, I took the RCAs out of the front and rear of the head unit and tried them in the Sub channel. No change, No sound from the components.

I then pulled all of the components and tested them with a 9 volt battery. 3 tested just fine, the one that was smoking tested bad and is a goner.

I then tested the head unit by removing the new Sony and replacing it with an old Pioneer Premier that I had. Again only the Sub channel worked.

This leads me straight back to the Amp. It must be the culprit. The question I have is why. I was careful during the install, I would be absolutely shocked if I nicked a wire causing it to short (but I guess its possible). I think more likely its a quality control issue with Soundstream? I am waiting on a call back from their tech support and I will most likely have to send in the Amp. The bad thing is, I don't think they are going to cover the cost of a new set of speakers.

Based on all of that, any differing opinions?

Thanks again.

 
Here is what I have done so far...
Knowing that the Sub channel is still working, I took the RCAs out of the front and rear of the head unit and tried them in the Sub channel. No change, No sound from the components.

I then pulled all of the components and tested them with a 9 volt battery. 3 tested just fine, the one that was smoking tested bad and is a goner.

I then tested the head unit by removing the new Sony and replacing it with an old Pioneer Premier that I had. Again only the Sub channel worked.

This leads me straight back to the Amp. It must be the culprit. The question I have is why. I was careful during the install, I would be absolutely shocked if I nicked a wire causing it to short (but I guess its possible). I think more likely its a quality control issue with Soundstream? I am waiting on a call back from their tech support and I will most likely have to send in the Amp. The bad thing is, I don't think they are going to cover the cost of a new set of speakers.

Based on all of that, any differing opinions?

Thanks again.
tbh man i never had a reg speaker smell or smoke before (not even if +& - were switched) so unless amp channel is bad or speakers just messed up u will have to check to make sure no paint under amp ground.. ofc wire (if u used cca wire).. or could be something has nothing to do with amp except maybe any wire has a screw through it or is being pinched..

 
If a single speaker was smoking I could see it possibly being just a faulty speaker but if NONE of the speakers are working now connected to that amp then I suspect the amplifier. So, what makes the amplifier work? 12v+ coming in - 12v remote wire - Ground wire - RCA cables - Speaker wires. Inspect all cables connected to the amp and look for frayed or strands of copper that may be touching another connection. Make sure they are tight connections. Make sure the RCA are ALL in the INPUTS and not a pass through connection. Make sure all speaker wire connections are tight, not frayed or touching other terminals. If they are screw terminals, the frayed wire can actually touch the chassis of the amp and cause an issue to a speaker. Check your ground wire and make sure its clean to bare metal and tight. Check the fues on the amp or going to the amplifier.

My first thoughts are that one of the speaker output wires may have bridged with another wire and sent a lot of voltage to that speaker, melting it and possibly damaging the amp or putting it into protect mode.

 
there seems to be alot of forum "hero's" lately all competing to prove they are the most smartest/experienced....OP be careful of who you are taking advice from

 
there seems to be alot of forum "hero's" lately all competing to prove they are the most smartest/experienced....OP be careful of who you are taking advice from
Isn't that one of the reasons people join forums? For assistance? It cost the OP nothing to read the suggestions and it cost us nothing to list possibilities for the OP to troubleshoot. Best case, we help the OP. Worst case, nothing changes.

 
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