Car Audio: Speakers Just... Stopped

The Crowing One

So I have a lovely and reliable little 2006 Civic that has been driven consistently for 4 years now in the Northeast. About a week and a half ago I was on a little trip to see my parents on the other side of the state when I noticed that my front speakers has ceased to output anything. My rear speakers still work fine.

I did my usual of "maybe if you ignore it, it'll go away" and I was rewarded last week with a single speaker (driver front) coming back on for a single drive home from work. Alas, it wasn't to last as the next morning it was right back to only the rear speakers working.

My first thought was perhaps a fuse problem (do cars still use fuses?) but the single drive that the speaker came back on for seems to say otherwise.

I'm a smoker, and as such my driver's side window tends to be open in all sorts of bad weather. I don't know if this is at all relevant, but it seems a perhaps candidate.

I know little to nothing about actual electronics. I plan on having it looked at, but I wanted to get an opinion (or three) before speaking to people who often are more than willing to overcharge because I have no idea what they're actually doing.

Thanks!

The Black Hunter

I perhaps wouldn't say anything about leaving the window open in inclement weather, but take it in for repairs

matt has a problem

If it went out and came back, it just sounds like a loose connection, probably at the stereo since both fronts are out. If you're handy enough with a screwdriver and don't mind spending the $15 for a Haynes manual, it will show you how to take the dash off and pull the stereo, so you can check the connections yourself. Otherwise, it'll probably be around $100-150 to have someone pull everything apart and look at it.

EggyToast

My front driver's side speaker on my 1998 Corolla did the same thing -- went out, came back intermittently, went out again. Then it came back and now only during very hot weather does it *sometimes* not work. In my case, it's certainly due to a loose connection -- I just got lucky and it happened to get stuck in a way that it's a good connection.

For comparison, I had an old 1986 Honda Wagovan, and it had a water problem from the window that actually got the speakers wet, and then they died. They didn't just cut out -- they gradually deteriorated to the point where the sound was muffled and flat. It's a completely different sound from just "not working," and while yes, your speaker could have mysteriously died and then come back to life for a last huzzah, I'm more inclined to think it's just a loose wire somewhere in there.

The Crowing One

Awesome. Loose connection fits perfectly and it sounds like something I can do with a nice afternoon (of which there aren't too many left).

I'd be happy to entertain any other options, I just don't want to blindly go into a shop and say "fix this!" as, in my experience, you're often really saying "here's my wallet!"

Chanus

It's really easy to check the connections yourself. Just pop the cover off and then undo a couple screws. If that's not it, it could be the wiring itself has gone bad... which may or may not be a do-it-yourselfer, depending on where the problem lies (if it's up in the dash, you can do it, but it's a pain in the erse). If checking the connection doesn't work, but you have another speaker (say, the other side) that you know works, try connecting that to it to see if it produces sound... if not, then you can assume it's wiring.

If the speaker is blown, they're just as easy to replace yourself if you've already got the panel off to check the connection... pretty plug-and-play.