1989 speaker problems
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Instructor
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1989 speaker problems
In my 89 my speakers have a loud "static" sound as soon as radio is turned on. When driving I can still listen to music and it SEEMS like the back right speaker is the culprit. My questions are
1.) is there a way to just test this back speaker and amp WITHOUT having to take all the carpet out
2.) If I unplug the rear plug to the speaker and turn on the radio, and say the sound is normal and not static. Would that mean that this speaker or amp is done for and is there a way to tell which one.
I want to fix my music asap but the weather is great now so if I have to take the entire carpet out I will wait till winter. Thanks for any and all information. anything helps.
1.) is there a way to just test this back speaker and amp WITHOUT having to take all the carpet out
2.) If I unplug the rear plug to the speaker and turn on the radio, and say the sound is normal and not static. Would that mean that this speaker or amp is done for and is there a way to tell which one.
I want to fix my music asap but the weather is great now so if I have to take the entire carpet out I will wait till winter. Thanks for any and all information. anything helps.
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2018
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From: Mays Landing, NJ
If you have the original Bose each speaker has its own amp. The best option would be for you to access each speaker and disconnect one at a time to determine what changes happen. Could be something as simple as a bad ground or one or more of the amps have bit the dust. Did the issue just happen? Details help.
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this is what I am looking at. I just purchased the car and previous owner said it was an amp issue but I wanted to look into it more (1989 6 speed manual z51). If I unplug that speaker would I need to do anything else or is that enough to test if this is the bad speaker?
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2023
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If you have the original Bose each speaker has its own amp. The best option would be for you to access each speaker and disconnect one at a time to determine what changes happen. Could be something as simple as a bad ground or one or more of the amps have bit the dust. Did the issue just happen? Details help.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 6,228
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From: Clifton Park, NY ............Clearwater, FL ... 85 Original Owner
this is what I am looking at. I just purchased the car and previous owner said it was an amp issue but I wanted to look into it more (1989 6 speed manual z51). If I unplug that speaker would I need to do anything else or is that enough to test if this is the bad speaker?
Try wiggling radio ***** to see if you can make the speakers sound staticky
you can also swap speaker to the side that has no static
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wiggling the *****? What do you mean by this. What I really want to know if I unplug the speaker in photo I put above and start the car and test the audio will that cause and problems since the amp is still in the car. In my mind if I do that and the sound is normal then the problem is in the speaker or amp but will have to figure that out after. Any ideas?
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 6,228
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From: Clifton Park, NY ............Clearwater, FL ... 85 Original Owner
wiggling the *****? What do you mean by this. What I really want to know if I unplug the speaker in photo I put above and start the car and test the audio will that cause and problems since the amp is still in the car. In my mind if I do that and the sound is normal then the problem is in the speaker or amp but will have to figure that out after. Any ideas?
if the radio is defective, wiggling the volume and slider ***** can cause static
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I don’t think the radio is defective. A speaker or amp may be and that’s what I am trying to figure out. Seems like I can unplug the speaker to see if it’s damaged. Thanks.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2004
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From: Clifton Park, NY ............Clearwater, FL ... 85 Original Owner
you could just swap the speakers first. The amp can't be accessed
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Drifting
Joined: Nov 2018
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From: Mays Landing, NJ
First thing to do is look for the amp for that speaker. As others have said,, it looks like the Bose speaker but it isn't attached to the normal enclosure. that the amp is normally attached to. Pull the speaker out and see what else is in that cavity.
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2024
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From: Phoenix, Arizona
Remove the 3 screws holding the speaker and pull it off the enclosure. You'll have two quick connecters on the back of each speaker. Tedious but not hard. You could disconnect 3 speakers at a time and just cycle through them until you find your culprit.
When you do - id recommend doing the amp rebuild yourself, if you have a soldering iron. Capacitors are cheap and takes maybe 45min per amp.
When you do - id recommend doing the amp rebuild yourself, if you have a soldering iron. Capacitors are cheap and takes maybe 45min per amp.
Last edited by ramahon; Jul 29, 2025 at 03:30 PM.
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the amp is in there just hard to get to unless I take out the entire housing. From what I understand is that plug is what connects the speaker to the amp, and the amp is plugged into the wiring harness. So if I unplug that plug shown in photo then the amp and speaker will be disconnected. If I start the car and turn on the radio (when that’s unplugged) will test to see if that speaker/amp setup is the problem. If the music is clear when unplugged. Thoughts?
Thread Starter
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Remove the 3 screws holding the speaker and pull it off the enclosure. You'll have two quick connecters on the back of each speaker. Tedious but not hard. You could disconnect 3 speakers at a time and just cycle through them until you find your culprit.
When you do - id recommend doing the amp rebuild yourself, if you have a soldering iron. Capacitors are cheap and takes maybe 45min per amp.
When you do - id recommend doing the amp rebuild yourself, if you have a soldering iron. Capacitors are cheap and takes maybe 45min per amp.
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2024
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From: Phoenix, Arizona
yes when I took the 3 out I was able to grab the speaker and take it out of that enclosure. The amp is a little harder to get to but yes I would be able to disconnect those connection but the question for you is do I have to do both? Or could I just unplug the main plug in photo since that’s the amp plugging into the speaker. Or should I do both?
When I did mine a few months back, I had 1 that was horribly static but the others (when isolated) were meh too…ended up refreshing all. Amp should be screwed to the enclosure in some form or fashion. Isn’t a hard job just a little tedious with the board “glue” around the capacitors.
Last edited by ramahon; Jul 29, 2025 at 08:12 PM.
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Didn’t even see that connector hiding. Yes, you can just do that one.
When I did mine a few months back, I had 1 that was horribly static but the others (when isolated) were meh too…ended up refreshing all. Amp should be screwed to the enclosure in some form or fashion. Isn’t a hard job just a little tedious with the board “glue” around the capacitors.
When I did mine a few months back, I had 1 that was horribly static but the others (when isolated) were meh too…ended up refreshing all. Amp should be screwed to the enclosure in some form or fashion. Isn’t a hard job just a little tedious with the board “glue” around the capacitors.
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2024
Posts: 216
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From: Phoenix, Arizona
just focused on the back two speakers for right now since I don’t have the doors off and it seems like the static and issues are still there. I think the front right speaker produces no sound, the front left has static, and the backs both have static but sound. I also notice that the treble and bass settings mess with the sound too. If I have both those all the way up the sound is gone but half way it’s on. Seems like it may be more than just the speakers so I don’t know what to do at this point. I got some outer door seals on way and will need the door panels to be taken off so I’ll be able to get into those speakers for more testing. To me tho it seems like it may be more than just those things, but I don’t know much about sound systems to be honest. Going to try this test again when the door panels are off to fully test each speaker one by one. How hard/easy is it to get off the door speakers? I have taken off the panels before on my 84 but never the speakers. Same kind of plug?
I wouldn’t call the process hard or easy, just a process. On my ‘89 I had 1 enclosure out in less than 10 minutes. There was a YT video I had watched prior to and next to me to reference. Will find it shortly.