My Car Stereo is Producing Weird Sounds – Common Car Stereo Problems, Symptoms and Solutions

Purchasing high-quality components for car stereo is a good way of avoiding some common car stereo problems. How to diagnose car speaker problems is a crucial interest if it stops suddenly working. However, any car stereo will sooner or later experience problems.

There are generally three major causes of car audio problems. Of course one is old age, and the problems thereof are inevitable, just like with humans, lol. The second cause is components that are not correctly matched, which inhibits production of high quality sound. The final cause, which happens to be quite common, is incorrect installation, sometimes known as the infamous “user error.”

Whether it is a receiver problem, a speaker-related problem or anything in between, we have you covered. We narrowed down the long list of possible car stereo problems to the most common seven and set them out below. We include what we hope are simple, helpful troubleshooting and solution ideas for each of the common problem.

Car Radio Is Switched On But Not Working

Your car radio will fail to work properly when there is a problem in any of the power sources or in any part where current passes through. No power, no music. Some of the car radio has power but no sound. What could cause this type of issue?

Wiring is one of the issues that might cause your car radio to fail. The radio is connected to the power source and speakers through wires that are mostly found underneath the dashboard. If there’s a problem with the wiring, the radio will definitely not work.

Blown fuses are another common culprit. Like many other electrical systems, car radios use fuses to prevent damage due to power upsurges. If the fuse is blown, the car’s audio circuit is broken and the radio cannot turn on.

Finally, don’t forget to consider that a ground connector fail might be the source of your audio woes.

Symptoms to look for

• Radio fails to turn on – wiring problem or blown fuse
• Car radio turns off after a few seconds at irregular intervals – there’s either a power or ground connection problem.
• Car radio display and sound goes on and off together – head unit might not be getting enough power
  Radio goes off when negotiating a corner or passing a bump – a connector at the back of the unit is likely loose
• What to do when car radio is not working

Check whether the fuse is blown using a multimeter. To do this, follow these steps:

• First make sure that the system’s power is off.
• Set your multimeter to ohms.
• Touch the metal caps of the fuse with the multimeter’s testing leads and see whether or not a reading is recorded.
• If the multimeter shows a reading, the fuse is not blown; if there is reading, your fuse has blown.

If you suspect a ground connection is the reason your car stereo isn’t working, check to make sure the connection is not loose or rusted. If either if the case, replacement or repair will be needed to get back on track with your tunes.

Newly Installed Head Unit has No Power

If you are finding that power cuts out in your recently installed aftermarket head unit, it’s highly likely that the head unit is not receiving 12V.

Another cause for a powerless head unit could be that your amplifier has switched into protection mode. This can happen in one of two ways. One, the power produced by the alternator is too much for the amplifier and the amp has to protect itself from damage. Two, the battery is unable to provide the audio system with constant voltage.

Symptoms to look for

The most common symptom for this problem is the head unit is just what you would expect, the unit cuts out intermittently or loses power altogether.

What to do when your head unit has no power

Use a voltmeter to check if the power wire is sending 12V to the head unit. It the power wire is doing so, then the problem is with the head unit itself. Hopefully that is not the case. Before you give up on the unit, check these possible solutions:

• Change out the power wire
• Check for blown fuses and replace if necessary
• Check the battery

Keep Your Car Stereo (and Yourself) Humming Along

The stereo is the heart of your car’s sound system. Without it, your in-car entertainment is rarely enjoyable. For music lovers, especially, driving a car without tunes is unimaginable. The bottom line is that lack of proper maintenance can result in your car stereo having problems like those described here. To ensure your sound system is working the way it should, consider a full diagnostic of the system.

When you know how to identify and solve common car stereo problems, you reap the best reward of all, superior sound and a quality ride.