bjsully29

Car Stereo problems – Driver’s-side Car Door Speakers, Front & Rear suddenly stoppedworking; LEFT Tweeter in Dash still working but thin scratchy sound. RIGHT sidespeakers dash tweeter and front/rear door speakers still working and work just fine.


This just happened yesterday (2/9/2016) or was discovered yesterday, after Jeep sat in driveway for 2 weeks during extreme coldweather (less than 12 degrees) and blizzard snowstorms. How do I troubleshoot and where do I get best deal on buying replacement speakers fron & rear plus dash tweeters. I am on retirement fixed income and tops Ican spend is $200-$250. I have friendwho can help me take car doors apart and put them in when weather gets better in March / April. What essential tools do I need. Where do I begin, how do I troubleshoot, and where do I shop for best deal on car door and dash tweeter speaker replacement? The Car Stereo Amplifier unit with Am/FM radio, Sirius Radio and CD Cassette player work just fine.


Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks!
Brooks Sullivan

dave1123

Just my opinion, but it sounds like the left channel of your amp went out. You should troubleshoot that before you go ripping the doors open. I'm not an audio tech, but try hooking a known good speaker into the left channel amp output. You'll have to know the ohm value of the stock speakers first.

I DO know the dash tweeters are unusual size and people make adapters for them.

bjsully29

Thank you Dave for your quick and well thought out response. I was trying to avoid messing with the amplifier and taking apart the dash on this jeep. Maybe the better question for me to ask is where can I buy a whole new after market system and how much? Like everything else while I'm on my forced heart SSA disability retirement I may have to wait on this until I turn 66 and can convert to full Social Security. Then I can get a part time job somewhere and save the $1000 and pay an Car Audio Shop to do the work. Or in the meantime while I wait I can take the Jeep dash apart and the car doors apart and try and troubleshoot the problem and try to do the repair. Most say the car's too old and I should replace the whole car audio system, speakers, amplifier and all. I got 2 1/2 years before I turn 66 so I certainly have the time to contemplate - Lol. Again, thanks for your advice!

dave1123

Again, I'm not an audio tech, but my 97 ZJ had the amp under the rear seat and the previous owner had bypassed it and cobbled the wires up to play the radio without it. It sounded good enough for me. It was an Infinity Gold system and the wires were just twisted pigtails and the amp looked blackened like it caught fire or something. My 2000 WJ has a factory radio with 6 speakers and IDK if it has a separate amp or not. It's an AM/FM, CD, cassette system. It sounds good when I crank my AC/DC discs!

I know where you're coming from though. I was on SSDI until my normal SS kicked in. I am a toolmaker, but I lost my job because I couldn't stand on my feet for 8 hours at a time. I'm getting by now delivering newspapers 3 days a week where I sit on my A$$ for 4 hours at a time. LOL!

Tell you what. Try opening the rear door and putting a new speaker in it and see if it makes a difference. You can get one from a wrecking yard cheap. If it does, you'll know if its the speakers or the amp. The rear door is easy to get to the speaker. Go to wjjeeps.com for info on how to work on your jeep. Lots of good info there. Your jeep ain't too old! My 2000 has 187K miles on it and runs like it's supposed to. It's worth less than $1000 on the market, but I'm going to keep it until I can't fix it anymore. After all, it's a 4.0! One of the most reliable engines ever made.

bjsully29

Hi Dave!

Once it gets a little warmer I will try your suggestion of replacing the rear door speaker on the left/driver's side to see if the left channel of the radio/amplifier still works. I also saved the how to work on your Jeep web link you sent me.

Thanks for your help!

dave1123

Not a problem, glad to help. The WJ is something I DO know about after owning one for 4 years and fixing a bunch of stuff. People say the transmissions in these are junk, but with proper maintenance and no abuse, they are fine. I've got 187K on mine and it still shifts perfect, doesn't slip, and the pan and filter are clean every time I've dropped it to change fluid. There are 2 things I always do that help. On startup cold, shift to neutral and allow the pump to circulate the fluid to help warm it up and expand the seals, and don't stop a forward or rearward roll with the shifter; as in changing gears instead of braking. The clutch packs were not designed as a brake! I DO, however, use a lower gear for hill descent with no problems. I have a rural road that is twisty and curvy and 30 mph limit that I use quite frequently and I use 2nd gear in both directions.

Your 4.7 is another point that requires proper maintenance, especially the cooling system. Those engines are sensitive to overheating problems that turn into other major problems. Just take care of it.

I've got another link for you if you're so inclined. Go to pacificcoastmanuals.com and download a Factory Service Manual for your jeep for $7.99 + tax. It's 93MB of pdf files and is worth every penny. It explains every system on your jeep and how to diagnose problems with them, even wiring diagrams and disassembly instructions. It blows Haynes right out of the water! BTW, there IS a section on audio systems!

Fred/N0AZZ

Is the unit you now have a factory installed unit in your 04 WJ? If so my amp (a 04 WJ Overland) is mounted under the rear seat also the head unit is an Alpine with the 10 disc CD changer in the cargo area.


BTW welcome to the forum and 2 old guys in the same boat as you lol.

bjsully29

Hi Fred! Yes it is! If I find that the Left door speakers AND the left audio channel are both found to be bad I want to buy an entire audio system similar to what I have to replace the whole thing! My question to you is where is the best place to buy such a system (out on the web that is), and how much will it cost me etc.? I've seen similar door speakers that I can buy for $200 to $250, and I can buy a car stereo amplifier AM / FM/ Sirius Satellite radio CD / Cassette replacement at Best Buy or whenever for $250 to $300. I'd want to do better than $600 overall for the replacement audio equipment if I can because I will also have to pay someone an additional $300 to $400 to actually install it.

I've looked thru my Jeep Grand Cherokee Haynes Repair Manual (years 1993 - 2004) to see how to remove the old broken audio system,
and then replace the audio system myself. It's complicated but I think I can do it with some technical help. Any thoughts on this? Ah yes... things to do in your retirement on very limited income. And BTW, buying another car is not an option and I don't want to drive the rest of my days without a working radio.

Thanks for any further advice on this!

Brooks

heathl

If you find the dash speakers are trashed which a lot of them are you can get aftermarket replacements from eBay that fit perfect for about 30 bucks and they are easy to replace, the back panel on the dash just pops off and two screws hold the speaker. The brand I got were power bass. There are several eBay stores that sell them just search for best price and lowest shipping.

bjsully29

$30? - I will check out the aftermarket Tweeters on eBay. Thanks Heath!

Fred/N0AZZ

Was that the labor cost at Best Buy for the Geek Squad to install it there for the head unit and 6 speakers?

bjsully29

Jeep 2004 Grand Cherokee - blown door audio speakers; how do you get door panels off using panel removal tool? I don't see where on the door panel on front door or rear door to start prying the panel open to get at the speaker. Sorry I feel kind of dumb about this but am afraid I will break the door panel trying to pry it off the door. Manuals / instruction provide no pictures or details of how to get the door panel off. I have pictures of front and rear doors and tools I'm using but don't know how to upload them into this thread. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks! Brooks 804-363-0528


Front Door image... I uploaded all the Car Door Images but they didn't go here for some reason.

bjsully29

Jeep Car Door images...


Forum won't let me post the Door photos. I can email them to somebody who responds.


Brooks

dave1123

Go to wjjeeps.com and they'll show you how to take it apart. Don't forget the screw in the arm rest and the ones behind the latch handles.

94zj318

I'd say it's your left channel... you should check the wiring harness going into the amp (under the rear seat), and then check the door speaker wiring.