Hey all, new to the xj scene and need some help. Just picked up a 1998 limited and I’m having an issue with the stereo. No matter how high you turn up the volume the only speaker that works Is the drivers door tweeter.(still very low volume)
previous owner did install an aftermarket stereo, which I have swapped with a different one to rule out a bad unit.
I have checked all of the fade and balance settings also.
Being that this is the “limited” trim, I was wondering if there is something (like an amp) that could be causing my problem.
Any info/ suggestions are appreciated, TYIA!

The Infinity stereo option used an amplifier, which is located under the rear seat, driver's side...

thank you, I’ll check into that’s. Another thing worth mentioning is that the previous owner replaced the drivers door with a door from a “sport” trim. Could this be a factor?

It's very common on these vehicles for the wiring going into the door to fatigue after all these years and fail. This is more than likely your issue. I have no knowledge of the OEM Infinity amplifier, but generally you bypass the OEM amp and wire an aftermarket head unit directly to the speakers. Much easier than trying to get the amp and the new head unit to play nice together. Who knows though, maybe the OEM Infinity amp just takes high-level speaker inputs from the head unit, in which case it would work fine with any aftermarket head unit.

The door change itself wouldn't cause the issue, but the PO fatiguing the wires, or hooking up something incorrectly, may...

Okay, thank you for the response. Others have told me similar things about the door wiring. I’m going to start there


QUOTE=Jim Malcolm;3721982]It's very common on these vehicles for the wiring going into the door to fatigue after all these years and fail. This is more than likely your issue. I have no knowledge of the OEM Infinity amplifier, but generally you bypass the OEM amp and wire an aftermarket head unit directly to the speakers. Much easier than trying to get the amp and the new head unit to play nice together. Who knows though, maybe the OEM Infinity amp just takes high-level speaker inputs from the head unit, in which case it would work fine with any aftermarket head unit.

The door change itself wouldn't cause the issue, but the PO fatiguing the wires, or hooking up something incorrectly, may...[/QUOTE]

That's actually on the Grand Cherokees (WJ's and ZJ's)... the Cherokee XJ had two amplifiers with the Infinity system, and they were both "Horseshoe-Shaped" units that sat beside each front door speaker and connected to it via a wiring harness. They DO typically go bad (probably due to water intrusion inside the front doors)... the left side amplifier powers the three left side speakers, while the right side amplifier powers the three right side speakers. It's a weird setup, and they ALSO used it in the 2002-07 Liberty KJ as well. This is kind of how Bose did the systems in the early systems in the 80s and early 90s Cadillacs and Chevy C4 Corvettes. I would assume you can just disconnect the amps and wire the speakers directly into the stereo (you can ALSO use the amps with aftermarket speakers OR an aftermarket stereo).

-Vince