what an unbelievable difference! - kappa 3.5 dash speakers

[Dispense]

Anyone having issues with the speakers making popping/static noises at some point and the stereo turning off the speaker outputs?

Checked my wire connections. All is fine. Maybe just a bad speaker? Its like my stereo is getting overloaded and turning off the built in amp. And the volume is only at like 20ish.

I was having that exact problem. All wires and connections were fine.

What I had found in my case, if the speaker was tilted ever so slightly towards the windshield it would crackle and power would be cut to both dash speakers. So I just put some cushion underneath the back edge and haven't had a problem since (2 days).

 

[iDRiVaT4R]

I was having that exact problem. All wires and connections were fine.

What I had found in my case, if the speaker was tilted ever so slightly towards the windshield it would crackle and power would be cut to both dash speakers. So I just put some cushion underneath the back edge and haven't had a problem since (2 days).

Hmm. I'll have to try that. I'm pretty sure my passenger side speaker is flat but I'll double check. It even makes the cracking noises when the stereo is off and using Bluetooth.

 

[Brad2064]

so i have had my kappas in for a month now, but i was driving in my runner today and the speakers just shut off, all of them. the radio still functioned and looked normal, but no matter the input (ipod, fm, xm, bluetooth) no sound. then it would randomly come back, whatever it is, is affecting all speakers, not just the front kappas. all connections were chcked and everything is good and tight. any suggestions?

 

[bzizzi]

If you look earlier in this thread I had the same thing happen to me.I can almost guarantee that you have a loose wire going into your speaker crossover.I ended up soldering both wires togeather then screwing them down in crossover.Never had it happen again !! The wires coming from your 4r are small 18ga and the screw can easily miss one.The reason for the two wires I believe is the hands free phone radio cut off or the Party mode.You also might have turned the screw down into insulation.None the less, you have a bad connection !! I do not like screwing down against bare wire, if you tighten screw down too much it will crush copper strands and they will actually break off over time.Either solder them or crimp them into a connector and tighten screw down onto a pin connector.

 

[Brad2064]

Thanks for the reply. I will look into it tomorrow. You think this could cause it to work for a month and then suddenly quit and go in and out? Thanks

 

[4RunningDetroit]

At the start of this thread I was almost certain that I was going to complete this mod, but after reading all of the issues (crackling, speakers cutting out, etc.), I'm starting to doubt whether this mod is worth all of the issues - bass blockers and soldering...this is going over my head.

 

[Tengu]

At the start of this thread I was almost certain that I was going to complete this mod, but after reading all of the issues (crackling, speakers cutting out, etc.), I'm starting to doubt whether this mod is worth all of the issues - bass blockers and soldering...this is going over my head.

Oh, don't be skeered. The bass blockers are just like adding one more thing on the +.

+ wires twist connect to bass blockers, then connect to + input to speaker/crossover

Soldering is not required, just good practice, and it'll help the twisted wires weld together. Really though, you aren't soldering a circuit board. You are soldering two wires together. The braided wires soak up the solder, and boom done, next one.

 

[bzizzi]

At the start of this thread I was almost certain that I was going to complete this mod, but after reading all of the issues (crackling, speakers cutting out, etc.), I'm starting to doubt whether this mod is worth all of the issues - bass blockers and soldering...this is going over my head.

It is really simple, we worked all the bugs out for you, just do what we did and you will not have a problem.

 

[bzizzi]

Thanks for the reply. I will look into it tomorrow. You think this could cause it to work for a month and then suddenly quit and go in and out? Thanks

Mine only lasted two days and then cut out. Took speakers back out and checked connections and had to look close but found loose wire and Soldered

 

[Toyko]

Ooh crap, I’m having similar issue with my speakers. I installed them Saturday and everything was great. The next day I was driving with my family, boasting about my speakers and how great they sound, and all of a sudden they stopped working completely. When we got to our destination I restarted the car and everything was back to normal, except now the right speaker has noticeable crackling noise that drives me nuts.

 

[iDRiVaT4R]

When I get back home I'll take the speakers out and solder the connections and hope for the best. On the way to Vegas I lost my sound about 7 times. No sound makes the 300 mile trip less pleasant.

 

[Dispense]

Just FWIW and I know I talked about this earlier.

I originally thought it was my connections too, but my speaker is positioned so there is no strain on the connections at all. I had also trimmed and wrapped some electrical tape to buffer the screw setting and only used a very light pressure to secure the single wires into the cross-over. With the truck on, I wiggled the wires pretty aggressively and could not duplicate the cracking/popping and loss of power at all.

It seems as if the speaker itself was making contact with something it shouldn't, causing to to malfunction. Tilting the speaker even 2-3mm towards /away from the passenger seat was the only way I could reproduce my symptoms.

I have no idea what the origin of the problem is, but stabilizing the speaker itself solved my problem.

Hopefully you are able to solve your problem!

 

[Ryan_S]

Mine stopped working the next day after I installed them as well. Turns out the speaker basket was touching the body metal on the passenger side.

Took the speaker back out and made some insulation out of an old washer fluid jug. You can see it in white in this picture. Works great now.

 

[iDRiVaT4R]

That makes sense Ryan in my case as the scratching noise would occur as I hit bumps in the road. I also wiggled the wires when I had the speaker out and couldn't recreate the sound.

 

[Brad2064]

i took the speakers out today and checked connections but nothing was loose. i disconnected and soldered the ends and reinstalled. Turned it on and they worked, so i thought perfect i fixed it. On my way to work however they cut off again, came back on about 5 minutes later. Not sure what else to try.

 

[4RBob]

i took the speakers out today and checked connections but nothing was loose. i disconnected and soldered the ends and reinstalled. Turned it on and they worked, so i thought perfect i fixed it. On my way to work however they cut off again, came back on about 5 minutes later. Not sure what else to try.

did you see Ryan's post just above?

 

[Dispense]

Mine stopped working the next day after I installed them as well. Turns out the speaker basket was touching the body metal on the passenger side.

Took the speaker back out and made some insulation out of an old washer fluid jug. You can see it in white in this picture. Works great now.

Awesome! I figured as much but had a hard time figuring out what was making contact with what, difficult to see in that little corner.

Thanks!

 

[Toyko]

Mine stopped working the next day after I installed them as well. Turns out the speaker basket was touching the body metal on the passenger side.

Took the speaker back out and made some insulation out of an old washer fluid jug. You can see it in white in this picture. Works great now.

Ryan, I came to the same exact conclusion as you did. My connection was OK but I noticed that as soon as I would push the speaker just a little towards the windshield it would start crackling and it would stop when I pushed it away from the windshield. That’s when I noticed that the speaker was touching the metal body. I used the white foam from the speaker’s box for insulation and so far the crackling has stopped. I tried to push the speaker both ways and didn’t hear any noise. It's a ghetto fix but it works.

 

[iDRiVaT4R]

Thanks again Ryan. Right before I left Vegas I ripped my Orbit gum box in half and shoved it in between the speaker and metal body part. Speakers worked perfectly the whole trip.

 

[Ttn333]

How are you guys placing these speakers in? I am unable to replace the cover because its hitting the speaker plastic ring.