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Old 08-03-2022, 05:56 PM #1
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11 LE JBL w/ Nav - Troubleshooting speakers: amp vs wiring? (Secondary: bass boost)

Essentially, I’m looking for next troubleshooting steps for figuring out what is “wrong” and what can I do about it. Particularly as a car audio newbie. I’m willing to do a lot of reading and learning but I’m not sure where to turn next.

Following is the description of the “problem” to the best of my ability. Then, the back story (and secondary question) I’ll save to the end to keep this from being TL;DR.

PROBLEM:
Over the last month or so, the dash speakers started cutting out (in tandem). I have not detected any reduction in the quality of the sound...when they ARE producing sound.

I began to detect a pattern that they would cut in and out when there was some sort of impact/jostling (e.g., driving over a pothole). I learned I could get them to cut back on by finding another pothole to drive over. Not the sharpest knife, I know….

This has gotten progressively worse over time with the speakers out more often than in... A call to Crutchfield (more on that later because there IS something I plan to buy so I wasn’t just using them for tech support) lent support to the theory that it was electrical; and the advisor suggested I check the speaker connections at the amp. Cue much wailing and gnashing of teeth at the prospect of disassembling my 4runner (WITH 3rd row seats may I add. They seemed like a good idea at the time we bought the car but ugh). Eventually the problem finally became worse than the solution, so after I found 97BlackAckCL’s awesome thread showing the disassembly process: Third row seat removal to access rear panel pocket, subwoofer install (and complained for another week about how there was no way I could do that), I got the panel off and inspected things to the best of my ability.

FINDINGS:
No obvious damage to amp or connectors.
Apparently the rear hatch speakers are ALSO cutting out in sync with the dash speakers. Oops. I didn’t notice, I don’t sit back there.
Fiddling with the white connector on the amp (N14 on the diagram linked in this post: https://www.toyota-4runner.org/1624697-post2.html) recreates the “cutting in and out” problem. However, that’s when I mess with the WIRES not the connector. If I am reading the diagrams correctly, those wires are for the battery and ground.
Cranking the volume way up can also recreate the problem (and usually happens right on bass-heavy beats. But seeing as how the amp sits right next to the sub, I think it’s all still in the realm of “vibration” being the trigger, right?).
There’s been progressive worsening of the problem over the last week. There’s also more likely to be popping/crackling at times (which I understand also points to electrical signal problems).

QUESTION:
Recommendations on what to evaluate next and how?

FOLLOWUP QUESTION:
Obviously this will depend on what the final “problem” is determined to be….
but...
I started reading these forums a while back because I was hoping to “add some bass.”
Overall I have been pretty content with the JBL system. But bass is my stress management tool and….I’ve depended on it more and more since Covid. The JBL system with sub isn’t lacking, per se. Just - if some is good, more is better, right? I just wanted a small step up in terms of thump. I really didn’t want to overhaul the whole system.

Can’t be that hard, right?

Again and again, I saw comments about replacements of JBL system components being all-or-nothing (HU along with speakers) because of the challenge in mixing and matching).

AND I saw what a pain it was going to be to try and access that area anyway (*points to 97BlackAckCL’s thread).

AND I don’t want to reinvent the wheel. I just want my JBL OEM system to thump a little more. And the JBL Sub still works fine. I think.

BUT NOW
The condition of the amp is in question?

First order of business is to figure out what is “wrong” (speakers cutting in and out) Then figure out solutions. But I wanted to put all this out there (that I am interested in subwoofer addition or upgrade) in case it influences possible solutions to the problem.

ALSO, while I’ve got everything disassembled, IF I were going to add anything, I would think now would be the better time to do it (*points to 97BlackAckCL’s thread hahah), right? But I have 2-legged and 4-legged passengers in my vehicle regularly, so I can’t leave it uncovered for long.

Thanks if you made it this far and have any pointers, I'm happy to hear them!
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Last edited by dauphin; 08-03-2022 at 06:55 PM.
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Old 08-03-2022, 06:07 PM #2
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Here's one option:

JBL-Equipped 4Runner Systems - OEM Audio Plus

Edit: Looks like they offer full replacements for the JBL system now.
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Old 08-03-2022, 07:01 PM #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Whippersnapper02 View Post
Here's one option:

JBL-Equipped 4Runner Systems - OEM Audio Plus

Edit: Looks like they offer full replacements for the JBL system now.
Uh.....
I wanted to start with diagnosing and fixing....with the goal of -keeping- my existing system. Didn't want to do a full replacement (and $3K is like 10x my budget hahah). Like, wires? Connectors? At worst, amp? (OEM amp I think was under $400 (resale))

I guess the $1K+ enhancement would give me what I'm looking for (as far as bass boost) but that's more than I got quoted for parts AND install for something similar locally. And doesn't fix the initial problem that prompted the post (electrical not speaker problem).
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Old 08-03-2022, 07:31 PM #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dauphin View Post
I guess the $1K+ enhancement would give me what I'm looking for (as far as bass boost) but that's more than I got quoted for parts AND install for something similar locally. And doesn't fix the initial problem that prompted the post (electrical not speaker problem).
Most likely will be a truck box with the amp screwed to the back. It will work but it won't be clean.
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Old 08-03-2022, 11:39 PM #5
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Does the Party Mode switch work? Because it seems like quite a coincidence for that stuff to wig out in sync. I'd be tracing the problem back from there.
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Old 08-04-2022, 01:59 AM #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Whippersnapper02 View Post
Most likely will be a truck box with the amp screwed to the back. It will work but it won't be clean.
LOL. Not-clean isn't an exclusionary criteria whereas out-of-budget is LOL. I wish I had just gone ahead and done the sub addition around my birthday last year when I contemplated saying "that's my present to myself" LOL. Finances were a lot better then . When things get better again I can perhaps look for a prettier solution.

My head is spinning from all the threads I've read. Has anyone -added- a sub to the existing (working) JBL system? (Not that I actually have a currently working system, anyway, but as far as setting goals....)
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Old 08-04-2022, 02:10 AM #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 131North View Post
Does the Party Mode switch work? Because it seems like quite a coincidence for that stuff to wig out in sync. I'd be tracing the problem back from there.
That's an interesting line of thinking. Oddly enough, it works fine. I think. I didn't study its operation -prior- to having the problems I'm having.

As I understand it, the Party Mode switch modifies the sound to the door speakers ("transfers the EQ to the rear") and boosts the rear hatch speakers. I couldn't hear much of a difference when switching modes, although maybe, yes, the door speaker bass was a little bit reduced.

Knowing that, are you still saying I should trace it back to the Party Mode switch? Also that doesn't account for the -dash- speakers cutting out. Party Mode supposedly doesn't affect those?

Is it not of interest that the problem is triggered when I wiggle the battery/ground wires?? Am I looking for a short or something elsewhere?
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Old 08-04-2022, 12:27 PM #8
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If both dash speakers cut out / on at the same time, I would suspect the source . Either where they are connected to the head unit, or an internal issue with the head unit itself. I'd pull out the head unit far enough to check the connections physically and the wiggle them with the system on to see if you can recreate the problem. Also look for damaged wiring, connectors etc.
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Old 08-04-2022, 02:58 PM #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flyrv9 View Post
If both dash speakers cut out / on at the same time, I would suspect the source . Either where they are connected to the head unit, or an internal issue with the head unit itself. I'd pull out the head unit far enough to check the connections physically and the wiggle them with the system on to see if you can recreate the problem. Also look for damaged wiring, connectors etc.
Sadly, this doesn't apply to the JBL (w/Nav) audio system. The SOURCE for the dash speakers is at the amp in the rear cargo area next to the subwoofer. None of the speakers communicate directly with the HU.

It took me forever to piece things together from the forums because the JBL (w/Nav) is different from other 4Runner audio systems (and this also varies from one gen to another). See the JBL w/ Nav wiring diagram I linked in the first post.

So in my first post I documented my attempts to check the physical connections (no visible damage to wiring or to connectors at amp) and record of what recreated the problem (wiggling the wiring/connector which contained the wires for battery and ground ONLY) at the source (JBL Amplifier).

Also, I want to emphasize that the liftgate speakers AND the dash speakers cut out in sync.

I fiddled around a little bit more before lunch so I'll post an update on that shortly.
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Old 08-04-2022, 04:56 PM #10
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UPDATE:

So I'm not sure if I did the multimeter testing correctly but I -think- I did. Here's what I determined (and I may be misremembering, so if something sounds not-right, consider it user error and I'll remeasure):

On the connector in question (N14, the one with wires connected to battery and amp), I got good ? (12V) readings from the battery input (so power is getting -to- the amp.

I got connectivity from the battery to the ground on the amplifier end (so there's not (serious) interference within the amp in signal from battery to ground?

With the battery/ground connector connected, I got 2-3 for the output to one of the dash speakers (that's what they're rated, right?). So signal is going out TO the dash speakers.

While I thought I had "fiddled" with all the connectors, I'm not sure if I actually -disconnected- all of them from the amp. Just the battery/ground one (which seemed sensible to not worry about the others, as the battery/ground connector fiddling was the part that recreated the problem (dash and liftgate speakers cut out).

During this testing process, I took out all three connectors (N 12, 13, 14 in diagram) and reattached them.

And now I can't recreate the problem (speakers going out). Ha. But the real test will be waiting a few hours and/or going for a drive. I'll update again once I go for a short drive on whether I seem to have "fixed" it by pulling/re-attaching all -3- clips. Gonna feel like a dummy if that's the case.
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Old 08-05-2022, 12:43 PM #11
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UPDATE 2:

Well, all speakers worked my entire drive-about yesterday. Yes, I feel like a dummy for not actually PULLING every single one of the clips out and reattaching but I wiggled them....and stopped "testing" when I could recreate the problem when wiggling the ground/battery connector.

Also of note: battery was a bit sluggish each time I started. Ugh that could have been a piece of it too? Gonna check it today.

Can I just say how GLAD I am to have my system fully functioning again?!?!? Maybe some of you aren't that impressed with the JBL system but I'm pretty content.

That said, more bass is still on my wish list. I'll dig a little deeper to see what I can find but based on forum search tool, this is the only thread where someone is also aspiring to ADD a subwoofer to the JBL system. And they left us hanging, too XD.

Adding Mono Amp & 10" Sub to JBL 15 Speaker

If the dash/liftgate speakers continue to function I'll probably start a new thread to ask for advice on the sub addition. Thanks to everyone who posted here!
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Old 08-05-2022, 02:35 PM #12
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Glad to hear you got your speakers working... fingers crossed the issue doesn't come back.

I also have a 2011 LE and coincidently in the middle of an audio upgrade as well. Regarding fulfilling your bass needs, I guess it depends if you plan on adding an amp or not. I found this thread with suggestions on 2ohm DVC subs if you don't intend to add an amp: JBL Speaker Only Upgrade Install/Write-up

Here are my suggestions if you do plan to add an amp:
  • Focal P20 FSE
  • Audison APS 8D
  • Image Dynamics IDQS8
I ended up going with the Audison because it was cheaper than the Focal and suited the stock JBL enclosure's airspace limitations better than the IDQS8.

Keep us posted with what you decide to do!
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Old 08-09-2022, 11:42 AM #13
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@justxroro , thanks for those pointers. I will take a look at the article and linked speakers. I would love some input on the details of deciding which route to go to add bass, so I think I'll post one final time here and then start a new thread specific to the bass boost .

FINAL UPDATE:
Since my last update, all speakers have continued to work fine. I guess I'll say I'm lucky that there were no other electrical/connection/amp issues that actually required replacing/rewiring because that was intimidating. Of note, my battery crapped out in the middle of this final round of test drives, and has now been replaced. Was it part of the problem? I don't know. But now I can move on to bigger and better things LOL. (BASS)

Thanks again for all the pointers and help! See y'all around!
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