1989 LTC No Radio Sound

[bc14227]

This is a factory premium sound system. Getting no sound through any speakers. Can hear faint sounds from a tape playing. Absolutely no sound from a tuned radio station. Turn volume to the max and hear speakers turnoff when I turn off the ignition with the radio power still on.

I thought it was the amp in the trunk. Found one on eBay. Swapped the original for one from eBay. Same result - no sound through the speakers.

Anyone else had this problem and found the solution? I've had this car for 19 years now and trying to maintain original equipment; not interested in any after market replacements.

Thanks in advance.

 

[kylecm85]

If you replaced the amp. Then it might be the radio itselfnot sending out signal. Or you might have a bad speaker. If you can get to the amp easily and have a multimeter you can test the ohm loads on the speakers. They should be in the 4 ohm range. If one or more of them meter nothing or really high then it is most likely a bad speaker.

 

[bc14227]

Thanks for the response. I'm not a mechanic and don't have a multimeter handy. So I'll just have to get one or have a local car stereo shop test the speakers for me. I'm hopeful that it is just a bad speaker vs the radio itself.

Is there another simple way to test the speakers without a multimeter?

 

[kylecm85]

not without taking the door panels off since the car has an amp in it. You can use a 9 volt battery if you no what the wire colors are going to the speakers coming out of the amp. but that is alot more than you might want to get into.

Also have you checked the fuse that powers the amp it may have blown if the other amp went bad.

 

[Frogman]

Could be a bad preamp on the head unit... If there is even one.

And I second the Fuse idea.

 

[bc14227]

Thanks all. I know this was bass_ackwards, but after installing the second amp and getting no sound, I checked every fuse in the box to the left of the steering column. They all checked out good. I replaced all of them anyway, since most were original and probably ready to go bad.
Still no sound. So at this point I'm of a mind that my original amp is still good!

The pre-amp idea is a new one for me. If there is one, and it is bad and inside the radio casing, I'm done with this.

This morning I removed the plastic speaker covering of the front door driver side and removed the speaker - see link below for a picture. I found it has an attached two-pronged electrical female receptor (no exposed wires). Two wires from inside the door leading to the speakers are encased in a male electrical receptor that slides into the female receptor. If this is true for all speakers, I do have a real challenge using a 9 volt battery to test each one.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1989...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

The amp has a cable attached to the right side with a single wire, part no. E8VF-14588-CD. However, there is no cd player installed, so the CD does not represent anything. The cable attached to the left side has multiple colored wires and no part no. Again, these attachments are via snap-in female and male receptors.

My next move is to buy a multimeter and try testing the speakers as Kyle first suggested. It is going to take at least a couple days to get this done. Will keep you informed. Sorry for the long-windedness.

Thanks again.

 

[bc14227]

Well, I bought an 11 range, 4 function multimeter and tested the door speaker that I had removed. Using the ohm continuity (sound) setting I got the test sound and a reading of .6. Moved to the 200 setting, the reading was 6.5. Got to the speakers in the trunk. Used the same settings as above on both speakers and got the same readings.

I then tried removing the carpet underneath the dash to see if I could get to the indash speakers and ran into a problem; couldn't get pass a problem screw.

Decided to give up on the whole idea. Not worth the time and energy.

Therefore, problem not resolved.

Will continue to enjoy the car without a radio.

 

[bagge72]

Well since it is a factory amplified system, the speakers might not be 4 ohms. I would check the magnet of the factory speaker you already have out a lot of times they will print on the speaker what the ohms rating is. For factory amplified systems they will sometimes use 8 or 6 ohm speakers. The easiest way to see if your amp is putting out a signal would be to unplug all the speakers in your car, and just hook up a test speaker you know works, to each connection and see if it is getting any sound (make sure all of the factory speakers stay disconnected when you do this). If that speaker isn't getting any sound that leaves two major things to check, and that is your factory amp, and your radio. If you have already replaced your amp I would think that it has to be the radio.

 

[abe_lincoln78]

What you are describing is very common. The head units in those things will all eventually just quit. This happened to both of my Towncars and both of my brothers first two mark VII's. Your best bet is to get yourself a good after market radio and a bypass kit for your amplifier. The speakers are JBL similar to what they've used in other applications. You will probably find them to be 4 ohm.

Also to note, you can run the after market unit through the power amp in your trunk and it will work, but you will probably like the sound better straight from a high quality head unit.

 

[kylecm85]

Just replace the headunit and it will fix the problem .Your speakers are fine if they have continuity and are reading around that range they are a 4 ohm speaker and they make a bypass harness for your car the part number is metra 70-5514. I know they dont work on mark viii's but should work on your car.