QuestionI installed an aftermarket pioneer in my 97 toyota tercel. i used a wiring harness. i wired all the wires up right. the cd player turns on and works. there is just no sound coming through the speakers. a slight noise will come through the right speaker. but just a scratching noise. i cant hook up the antenna wire because the cd player doesn't have that jack plug in. what do i do?
AnswerHi Jon,
Can you tell me the model number of your Pioneer CD player? I've never seen one without an AM/FM antenna jack, so I'm wondering if there's another part to the system--some in-dash mobile video players come in two parts.
Usually, if you have a problem where you're getting no sound, it comes down to one of three things: a factory amplifier, a shorted speaker wire, or a defective head unit. I don't believe the Tercel was available with a factory-amplified system, so I'd look for a speaker wiring problem.
The easiest way to test for a shorted speaker wire is to use a digital multimeter with a continuity function. Unplug the head unit, and first inspect all the speaker wires for a evidence that one has been pinched, or for missing insulation or an uninsulated connection. If you don't find one, then attach one of your meter's probes to the metal dash structure in the head unit cavity. Set the meter for continuity testing, and use the other probe to test each of the speaker wires. If you find a speaker wire that shows continuity with the dash metal, that's a sign that the wire is shorted to the vehicle's chassis somewhere along its length. If there's not a short right behind the head unit, then the most likely trouble spot is at the speaker itself. For example, if you have after-market speakers, a terminal may have come loose and touched a metal vehicle component. Sometimes you'll have a defective speaker that has an internal short.
If you don't find any continuity to chassis ground, then set the meter for "resistance" and test each speaker wire pair. To do this, touch one probe to the negative speaker wire, and the other probe to the positive wire, of each speaker output. In each case, the resistance reading should be 3 ohms or higher. If you find a much lower resistance, then that's an indicator of a bad speaker.
If you don't have a meter, you can try disconnecting all the speakers from the back of the deck, then re-connect them one at a time. If the first speaker doesn't work, disconnect it and try the second. If no speaker works, then chances are you have a bad deck. However, if the first speaker works, then continue to re-connect the other speakers until you find the one that's shutting down the head unit's output.
A shorted speaker wire, or a speaker with a shorted voice coil, can kill the sound to all the speakers as it makes the deck's internal amp shut off. That's the most common cause of a no-sound condition in a head unit.
Hope this helps!
Brian
