Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with caraudio

What's wrong with the car stereo in my 2003 Nissan Sentra?

ixohoxi — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 10:31:21 -0800

What's wrong with the car stereo in my 2003 Nissan Sentra? I have a Blaupunkt MP3000 dash unit which has served me well. I had it professionally installed shortly after purchasing the car (new-ish), and until recently I've had no problems with it. (No external amp or anything fancy like that—just the head unit.)

A couple of months ago, the audio started cutting out intermittently. Going over a bump in the road will often cause it to cut back in briefly—and it worked for a short while after I removed the dash panel and disconnected and reconnected the wiring clips—but those periods of functionality have gotten shorter and shorter, to the point where I only hear an occasional split-second of radio when I cross a rough train track. It's not any one speaker that's cutting out; they're either all working, or (more often) all not working.

The Blaupunkt is receiving power, and from all indications is performing normally—the channel meters show that an audio signal is present, and everything works the way it should. It doesn't matter whether the signal is coming from the radio, the CD player, or the aux input—it's just not getting to the speakers.

I tried removing the Blaupunkt and putting the original factory unit back in—and got the exact same behavior. Unit gets power, seems to function normally—but no audio.

Since it's getting power, it shouldn't be a fuse issue, but just for shits I checked all fuses that sounded relevant—under the hood, inside the cabin, and on the rear of the Blaupunkt—and all of them look fine.

When it was still working for short periods of time, it seemed like it would cut out again when the signal got loud (e.g., if I turned it up moderately loud, or when the broadcast/CD peaked)—but I couldn't be certain of that.

(If it matters, I replaced all four factory speakers with new Kickers a few months ago.)

So what's the deal? I thought those eight wires coming from the back of the head unit connected directly to the four speakers. So how is it that two otherwise functional head units are failing to power all four speakers? The behavior with bumps in the road suggests a loose wire/component, but what single point of failure could possibly cause this behavior?

Obviously I'm misunderstanding something here—do the four speaker signals pass through some common component inside my Nissan before they get to the speakers?

Any suggestions would be welcome—I'm starting to go crazy without music in the car, and I can't really afford to take it to a professional right now, and besides I'd rather fix it myself, if I can.

How to splice heavy speaker wire?

Thorzdad — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 08:37:52 -0800

Car audio filter: How best to split/join thick speaker wire in a subwoofer install? We are installing a pair of 10" DVC subs. We will be powering them via a mono amp. The plan is to wire the speakers in series-parallel, to present a 4ohm load to the amp. This requires us to split and T both the pos and neg wires across the subs. What sort of connection would you suggest we use to accomplish the T? A wire nut? That's, basically, 3 12-gauge speaker wire ends coming together. That's a pretty huge wire nut.
Is there some sort of purpose-built junction piece we can use to wire the ends together?

For those unfamiliar with series-parallel wiring, please refer to this diagram. We need to know how best to accomplish the joins at the little red and black dots.

Can I trust the retailers on amazon.com selling me discounted car audio components?

skechada — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 11:50:02 -0800

Can I trust the retailers on amazon.com selling me discounted car audio components? I'm putting a new audio system in my car and researching prices and components. I've come across some great deals at amazon.com, but they almost seem too good to be true. For example, some Alpine 6x9's and front door component speakers cost ~$200 through 'DiscountCentralOnline' and 'DiscountJungle,' while the same two pieces cost >$350 on crutchfield.

While I'm inclined to go with the conventional wisdom that if it's too good to be true, it probably is, I've purchased electronics through amazon before and always been extremely satisfied. But I know that grey market retailers are all over teh internets, hence this question for you all. Any insight is appreciated.

I had to remote start that Honda, baby.

iknowizbirfmark — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:00:13 -0800

I want to put a remote starter in my 2007 Honda CR-V. How, what, who in Chicago and how much? I want to put a remote starter in my 2007 Honda CR-V, which has the factory keyless entry but no security other than some sort of ignition immobilizer standard on all modern Hondas, it seems. There appear to be all kinds of different options - Google presents hundreds of sites and dozens of options, and that's before I even figure out where I want to have it installed in Chicago.

I want something simple, sweet and seamless. What brand I should use, and are there any issues with doing remote start in a 2007 CR-V? And which shop in Chicago should I have do the work for me?

USB Charger Static

mccarty.tim — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 15:49:08 -0800

My car's USB adapter makes staticy noises over the radio. Should I replace it, and if so, with what? When I got my car, I bought several car adapters, including a cellphone charger and a USB adapter, both cheapie generics from eBay megasellers. The problem is that my USB charger is what I use to run my GPS (which I bought used with a bad battery and defective car charger, so I use the USB adapter to run it instead), and whenever I plug it in to the USB adapter, it creates static, or maybe somehow grounds the signal so that less of the signal comes in. Can you tell I'm not an electronic engineer? Also, if I am really close to a reasonably high power station, I get little to no effect.

It seems to be largely based on where the cable is, and I've tried it with several cables with similar results. I did try it once with a USB cable that had a barrel type thing on the end, probably meant to control RF interference, but it only helped marginally. However, it came with a camera, and it was a small barrel type thing (I know it's a bead of some material inside, but I'm not that smart...). If the cable is closer to the head unit, the static is worse, but it's not as bad with the external antenna. However, that's probably because there's a metal bar in between the cable and the antenna on my PT Cruiser, so that's probably the station there.

My cellphone charger causes some trouble when I hold it close, but I keep my charging phone in the arm rest instead of near the radio, so it has little to no effect on radio signal.

I'd like to get a new USB charger, preferably with more ports so I can charge my GPS and iPod at the same time, or perhaps a firewire port as well for faster iPod charging, if the newer ones still support it (my Nano does, but not for data). Is there a model with less of an RF sent over the cables problem? Or is this an issue with my cables or radio? I have no trouble getting smaller radio stations from farther away when the USB charger is not plugged in, so I think the antenna is probably properly installed. For what it's worth, the radio is a Chrysler 2007 PT Cruiser stock REF radio, and I'm not entirely happy with it since it has a loose AUX port on the face, but I put up with it and I'm in no rush to replace it.

I've been looking at this, this, and this. I want it to be under $15, preferably under $10, and I might ask for it as a christmas gift, so if it has a distinctive brand name or shape, that makes it easier to ask for without having to get the wrong thing or feeling bad for asking for something really specific. I'm not too big on inverters, as I'm worried they'd be expensive and I'd start abusing them for bigger things and then pop a fuse in my car. I don't really need to daisychain another car adapter, since I have two ports and only really want to charge 3 gadgets in my car (GPS, phone, iPod), and rarely all at once.

The interference does not coordinate wtih any band of the radio, and I'm only trying it with FM, as I don't like any of the AM stations.

I'm looking for a cable that will both charge and play audio in my car for my iPhone 3G.

DrDreidel — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 07:23:38 -0800

I want to plug my iPhone 3G into my car stereo using the data port, not the headphone jack. I would also like it to charge the device. I have a cable installed right now that works for my standard iPod. This cable will play the music through my car stereo but will not charge the device. I have a Pioneer head unit (don't have the model number available right now).

How to install a new head unit?

ibfrog — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:51:11 -0800

car audio filter: Trying to replace the head unit on my car and I'm getting lost in the wiring harness and install instructions. (lots of questions inside) This may be a really specific question but I'm trying to wire a JVC KD-AHD39 into my 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart. The Lancer has a subwoofer and an amp under the driver's seat.

The harness in the car has 5 wires attached and the harness that was sent from crutchfield only has 4. First question is : Any ideas on what the extra wire is?

The manual for the JVC head lists one of the leads as the "Accessory Terminal". Second question: Is this the line that runs to the switched power? (The extra diagrams seem to suggest that but I'm not electrically inclined and I'd rather not blow anything up)

The crutchfield wiring harness has a line coming out of it called "Power Antenna". It matches a wire in the harness in the car but I have no idea what it is and I can't find a wiring diagram for the car. Any idea what a "power antenna" is

There is a remote lead coming out of the JVC that is supposed to be for other equipment. The install instructions list that as the line to run to the remote power on for extra amplifiers. There is a line in the crutchfield harness that is supposed to be an amplifier turn on, but the crutchfield wire has a special end on it. The wire from crutchfield is a bare wire. Are these two wires meant to be together or do I have the connection completely messed up?

Second to last question (sorry for the mega-post): I'm not completely sure how the subwoofer gets tied into the new system. There doesn't seem to be anything in the crutchfield harness that mentions a subwoofer.

There is a chance I ended up with the wrong harness from crutchfield and I'm trying to call them (they are backed up at the moment). Are there any other things I can do to learn some of these answers for myself?

Honest car audio shops in or around Philadelphia?

hcastro — Tue, 20 May 2008 08:51:58 -0800

Anyone know of honest car audio shops in or around Philadelphia?

Amplifying speaker level outputs on my car's factory stereo?

knave — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 05:29:54 -0800

Do car audio amplifiers sound any good using speaker level inputs? I have a 2001 Maxima SE with the non-Bose stereo system. It is supposedly "premium audio," but in my opinion the sound is pretty mediocre -- reasonable bass response, muddled mids and inconsistent highs.

In past cars, I've simply replaced the stereo with a decent Alpine unit along with new speakers, and everything is good. However, in this car, the stereo is a big trapezoidal component of the center console, and any aftermarket head unit is not going to look appropriate there. I'm fine with adding an amplifier and replacing the speakers if it will give me quality sound using the stock head unit. If the sound will still be mediocre, though, then I'll hesitantly start looking at aftermarket stereos.

Regarding the quality of sound: I'm not after big booming bass or anything, just high fidelity reproduction across the spectrum.

Old school ipod and car audio

elquien — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 07:17:49 -0800

Help my boyfriend play his first generation iPod in his car! I'd like to get my boyfriend something that would allow him to play his first generation iPod in his car. He already has the cassette connector that goes through the "audio out" port on the top of the iPod, and the sound quality sucks. Since the first gen iPods only have a firewire port, he can't use many of the itrips or other fm transmitters available. Any ideas? Are there fm transmitters out there that connect via firewire? Any other relatively inexpensive solutions?

Spectacularly terrible car stereo...

Ian A.T. — Fri, 18 Nov 2005 01:34:09 -0800

My car stereo is probably as bad as it can possibly be and still produce sound. But…I think you guys can help me. The stereo is a factory-issue AM/FM/cassette deck from a mid-90s Caprice. (It has a Bose logo on it, whatever that means.) The symptoms:
        -The sound is really low; not indecipherible, but low enough that I’m always trying to turn it up a bit.
        -The sound also only comes out of one speaker, despite the fact that all four of them work. I know this because once a month or so I’ll hit a bump and have the glorious luxury of four-speaker sound for about ten seconds or so.
        -On coldish mornings, the radio produces only a terrifying high-pitched squeal until it “warms up.” Sometimes this takes fifteen minutes; on particularly cold mornings, the sound never goes away.

Okay! So I assume that the problem isn’t the “head unit” but rather the amp gone spectacularly haywire. Accordingly, here’s my questions…before you read them, please appreciate that my knowledge of car audio is limited mostly to adjusting the volume on NPR:

Is it the amp? Do I even have an amp?
If it’s not the amp, is it the head unit? Will I ever stop giggling when I type “head unit”?

Can I bypass the amp, or is this something I have to replace?
Please keep in mind that I know nothing about this. If I have to replace it, what should I look for when I’m buying? Obviously, I don’t need anything too powerful: I’ll be using my stereo to listen to the news and my iPod (via the cassette) a few times a week…not pumping b-b-b-b-b-b-b-bass as I cruise past your bedroom in the early morning hours. What’s a reasonable price range?

If I need to bypass or replace the amp, is this something I could do myself?
Despite my ignorance at all things car audio, I’m reasonably handy when it comes to automobile stuff: I change my own oil, give myself tune-ups, rotate my tires, and replace my own brakes. I mean, I don’t drop the transmission or anything like that, but I’m not clueless.

Thanks in advance for your help!

(Interesting tangent: the reason I probably need to do this myself is that I live in New Orleans. “Oh, right,” you’re saying, “and most of your car audio places are underwater or looted or just plain closed.” But, in a weird and depressing twist: no. In fact, most of them are open, they’re just packed. Like, ten-day waiting lists before you can even drop your car off overnight to maybe get looked at. Apparently, there’s a certain kind of person who gets a FEMA check and the first thing that springs to mind is b-b-b-b-b-b-b-bass.)

Why do CD's burnt on my iMac skip in the car?

dual_action — Mon, 24 Oct 2005 14:35:25 -0800

Why do CD's burnt on my iMac skip in the car? I have a G5 iMac w/ SuperDrive. Whenever I burn an audio CD with iTunes or Toast 6 they skip like mad in my 2004 Honda Accord. These CD's work perfectly in other CD players and other car stereos *and* the car never had a problem with CD's burnt on my Windows XP machine. I've tried different brands of media as well as burning at speeds as low as 2x, but I still get skips. Do I have a bum SuperDrive or a super picky car stereo? Any other tips?

Looking for a car stereo with a good UI.

Plutor — Mon, 17 Oct 2005 06:36:24 -0800

The factory-installed stereo in my car has stopped playing CDs, and my commute is fairly long, so this is essentially unacceptable. I've looked into getting it repaired, but the whole stereo'll have to be sent away for weeks, and it'll end up costing a bunch. But I've yet to find an add-on in-dash stereo for $200 or less that isn't terribly ugly. I have a 2003 Nissan Altima; the current stereo (and dash) looks like this, which I'm otherwise 100% happy with. I'm not really an audiophile, so pretty much any stereo will probably sound good enough for me. I've considered buying an MP3 player, but my stock stereo doesn't have an aux port, and it'd require a lot of CD-ripping time to convert all of my collection. I'm savvy enough that I have absolutely no problem mounting a stereo myself.

But I absolutely hate the trend of blinking lights and tiny lettering on tiny chrome buttons that seems pervasive in the car stereo market. My priority is a good UI. Is that too much to ask for?

Car CD Player recommendations

graventy — Thu, 07 Apr 2005 16:38:47 -0800

Can anyone recommend a good cheap car CD player with CDR, MP3, an audio-in jack, or some combination of the three? My crappy built-in CD player does none of the three, and I needs my MP3s.

Installing speakers in an old Tercel

synecdoche — Wed, 06 Apr 2005 12:34:13 -0800

I have a 1984 Toyota Tercel, and would like to install some new rear speakers in it. I don't want anything fancy, and don't need advice on what actual speakers to get. Basically my problem is that I cannot find where the rear speakers go! I've researched online and found that the rear speakers for this car should be 5.25 inch ones, but, looking in the rear end of the car, I cannot find any stock speakers or any places to install them.

I've also looked at Ebsco's Auto Repair Reference Center which hasn't helped-- it has wonderful diagrams but begins with "remove the appropriate trim panel" and I have no clue what the "appropriate" panel is.

So I guess my question is: where the heck do I put my new speakers?

What's a good tape adapter for use in my car?

punishinglemur — Thu, 09 Dec 2004 16:53:23 -0800

What's a good tape adapter for use in my car? I'm using it to listen to my Rio Karma MP3 player. My second adapter is dying, and I need a new one. Both times, the cable seemed to wear out where it meets the plug into the MP3 player. How can I avoid that?