speaker amps question

[SoulC]

Well I believe my speaker amps might have finally gone bad..cracking, then pop, then silence. Ive been in communication with BrianK and will be sending them this week for repair, however I have one question.
How can I be sure its not the head unit as no sound will play at all after the crack/pop? I would have thought a single bad speaker amp would only cause distortion from the single speaker.. That just my non-electrical intuition though. Anybody? Is there a way to test the head unit itself as well? It does still power on.

 

[Old Guy]

Has this been getting gradually worse or was it fine and then dead? If they were fine and then suddenly dead then it might not be the amplifiers; but, the power amplifier relay which provides power to the three amps or the #51 fuse which supplies the relay. The head unit is powered up separately from the amplifiers.

Get the service manual and check the wiring diagram for the stereo system. Power to the amps is on the yel / red wire on the plug at each amp. Checking at the foot well speaker connector will be the easiest to do. If there is no power when the head unit is switched on your problem is with the power supply to the amps. If you have power to the amps then the head unit may have issues because it is unlikely for all 3 amps to die simultaneously. The wiring diagram will show you the wires that the line level audio signal is on and you should be able to use an earphone to test for the presence of audio at the amp plug.

 

[drew]

I'm not sure it matters: amps and stereo need to be done.

 

[docnsx]

my speakers went bad and years ago had them repaired by BrianK, then the I had what you described as the snap crackle pop and would clear up then it finally crapped out and replaced with Williams retro fit radio and so satisfied and sounds much better wiht stock look

 

[drew]

I recommend @Heineken for stereo repair.

I know the intended stereo drop in PCB is vaporware at this point, but a destructive hardware hack will ruin the ability to retrofit.