jtrosencrantz

All:

My (newly purchased) 1999 Cherokee Sport has the factory stereo still in it. This includes a cassette and CD player. The problem I am having is that only the rear speakers are working. I know that the previous and only owner never attempted to modify the stereo, so I am hoping that someone from this forum can steer me in the right direction in terms of solving the problem.

Thanks.

Jamie

98jeepsrt6

Hello,
Well the first thing i would check are the wire going to the speakers. I have heard that water gets inside the door and drips on the wires connectors for the speakers, and over time they get corroded. Next would be to check which stereo system you have that came with the jeep. Infinity or any other. Do you know if theres and amp under the back seat(my 98 had the amp there, not sure about yours). Check the connections at the amp. I have some greasy crap build up on my connectors causing the amp to short out.

This may be a dumb question but how is the fade/balance ****. is it set in the right position.

randman

Same here...I picked up one from this forum, cassette and CD.. Plugged it up and the right front, and right rear worked, after a few mins only the front right works...

Water in the door doesn't explain the rear not working...

PJsJeep

The rears are working for him, the fronts are not.

randman

I know his are... and that would account for my left front not working...just wondering why the rear do not...

Thought perhaps if anyone had insight it would be good...

freegdr

alot of people will remove new steros and put the factory back , keeping the better steros if the wires dont pan out check the wiring

freegdr

this will help in that area just search you year http://www.the12volt.com/

jtrosencrantz

OK, here are some responses to the questions:
1. According to the owner's manual, the Jeep is equipped with an "AM STEREO & FM RADIO WITH GRAPHICS EQUALIZER, CASSETTE TAPE PLAYER AND CD PLAYER."
2. The radio has a Chrysler logo on it, but no mention of model.
3. The radio has a "Speaker Balance Control" stick that would be used to control balance and fade, but only the rear speakers are producing sound, regardless of setting.
4. There is no amplifier under the rear seat.

Is it common for both front speakers to fail at the same time? Also, are there speakers in the sides of the rear doors?

Thanks.

Jamie

98jeepsrt6

Ok you say there is no change in sound when you fade to the front speakers.. the rears dont go out? If this is the case then it could be possible that the fader is broken or bad.. Not sure

You seem to have the normal factory radio and speaker then.. My bet is that your wire are corroded or broken at the same place somewhere behind the radio, or at the hinges of the door.. as wires get old the become britle and can sometimes snap, the door jam would be where it could break.

Start by checking the speakers themselves.. hook them up to your house stereo at low volume just to make sure they work. If so then you have a wiring problem.. Trace the wire from the door until you reach the radio harness behind the radio.. You will lose track at some point during your hunt but dont worry, if you cant see it i doubt its broken in that spot.

But thats all i can do for you here, the rest is on your own. Trace what you can find, and if you any other questions post em up and we will do our best to help you out.

freegdr

target has the cuyre new speakers and radio

98jeepsrt6

x2

jfiedler

only my rears worked too, i used my can opener and opened the door panels, remover the speaker and found that the wire had broke on both sides at the plastic clip. removed clip, found some new ones, and with a little wire and some electrical pliers, had both sides working in about an hour or so. also check your wiring fron the kick panels through those rubber boots, mi wires were very cracked and brittle. i just used some electrical tape to insulate each one and that wrapped them together. hardest part is getting the door panels off.

jfiedler

no spreakers in the rear side doors of mine. i believe thats what the sound bar is doing

nickl

I had the same snag on my '99 pass front.

Try this:

Pull the door panel off, follow the wires back from the speaker towards the jamb (push the rubber boot into the door). You will find 2 wires (1 from the tweeter the other from the speaker) merging into a piece of clear shrink tubing and coming out as one wire towards the kick panel. Work that piece of shrink tubing back & forth. I could get the speaker to cut in & out doing that.

I then snipped that whole section out & crimped a new piece of wire in. I had to force the 2 wires from the door into a regular crimp connector as I could not find a 2 into 1 connector. Speaker works great now!

If this still doesn't fix it, move a rear speaker into its place as shorting can cause the speaker to quit. 2 problems caused by 1!

Let us know what happens as many have this problem.

dilljeepo

Yeah take off the door inside panel and pull out the speakers, then cut the wires then solder the wires directly onto the speakers, no faulty connections. Both my front ones didnt work, thats all I did.