Know anything about car stereo systems?

Banjo33

Banjo33

Line Up and Wait
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Banjo33
I’ve got an upgraded system in my truck, head, amp, 12” sub under the seat (MTX) that was installed 12 years or so ago. Worked fine until the last couple of years, now occasionally, the speaker starts popping when the stereo powers on. Sounds kind of like a microphone on a really windy day, only comes from the sub and doesn’t respond to the volume knob. Sometimes I can turn the stereo off and back on and it’ll go away. Sometimes the stereo has to be off for a few days before it’ll go away. I’ve moved all wiring I can find to see if there’s an obvious short, although I don’t have to hit a bump in the road or anything to make it start/stop...has no affect.

Any ideas?
 
Crossover driving the sub going bad, loose connection or poor ground.
 
Does the crossover go between the sub and amp or somewhere else? I think I’ve seen it under the dash...the amp connects directly to the sub.

Any way to check it?
 
Depe nding on your system, you may not have an active crossover. If the amp connects directly to the sub, probably not. First, check your amp and see if it has a low boost gain adjustment. If so, you might just have that turned up too high.
 
Do you have a single amp, or two, one driving the sub and another driving the mids annd tweets? If just one, and there's no low gain adjustment, I'd suspect yhe amp has seen better days.
 
My guess is amp on the fritz or head unit connection/malfunction. I assume your head unit controls the crossover (low-pass filter) via RCA cable to the amp? Does sub continue to operate normally with music despite the popping noises? I’d almost wonder about the turn-on lead (12V) from the head unit maybe causing amp to cycle on/off.


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Just one amp, but it might also be driving the others too. I say that because the crossover is in the dash, whereas the amp is behind the backseat with the sub.
 
I’ve not traced the connections from the head or amp...been too lazy to disassemble the back seat. Guess I need to do that, lol.
 
Oh, and woofer responds to head just fine. If I crank up the volume, the popping gets drowned out by the music.
 
You know, one thing I just thought of regarding the low gain idea. A while back I was reaching around the amp one day jiggling wires to see if something was loose and when I would tap one of the adjustments on the amp, it would make the loud pop sound. I guess I need to get in there with an inspection mirror and see what it was I was touching, you may be right about the amp being bad.

Not sure about power ccycling on amp...haven’t got it to do the popping sound when I was ready to do any lengthy troubleshooting (other than what I just mentioned).
 
Banjo33 said:
You know, one thing I just thought of regarding the low gain idea. A while back I was reaching around the amp one day jiggling wires to see if something was loose and when I would tap one of the adjustments on the amp, it would make the loud pop sound. I guess I need to get in there with an inspection mirror and see what it was I was touching, you may be right about the amp being bad.

Not sure about power ccycling on amp...haven’t got it to do the popping sound when I was ready to do any lengthy troubleshooting (other than what I just mentioned).
Click to expand...

If the sub was sounding normal other than the popping, I’d rule out the turn-on lead. Amp turning on/off would cause the sub to be intermittent.

Check your RCA connections and amp ground to ensure connections are tight and no breaks in the wires from tight bends.


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It's a 12 year old speaker. The coil or glue could be bad by this time. Just replace the speaker.
 
It's a aftermarket 12" sub in a truck that has been used for 12 years. My guess is that the OP played it louder 12 years ago that they do now:p MTX speakers, like many others in that time used a glue holding the coil in place and the rubber seals. Stuff just gets old and used, especially after being beat on like subs do. Pull the cover off the sub and see if there is a tear or lose cap.
 
Visibly, the speaker is fine...sounds fine too if I turn the volume up and drown out the popping it’s doing. No, I don’t bang on it like I used to, lol. RCA cables at the amp and stereo are connected fine with no change to sound if I push/pull them.
 
Here’s what I know about car stereo systems.


Most of what I hear blaring from them these days is pure krapola.
 
Meh, bad speaks don't generally pop. They buzz, rattle, sound fuzzy and distorted, but don't generally pop. Carefully push on the cone and see if you feel any drag, inspect the spider for tears or cracks. Grab a vom and ohm it out. I bet it's ok.
 
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