Audio Systems: Blown out audio outputs? please help, power supply circuits, output amplifiers

Question
wassup Cleggsan,
   I know a little bit about connecting car stereos but I recently made a mistake in connecting one in a 1995 dodge caravan. i stupidly hooked the battery cable from the cd player to a ground wire that was originally connected to the factory stereo. Anyways when i turned it on there was a pop inside the stereo and smoke came out. I rehooked everything jus right after that mistake and the stereo turned on but there was no sound in anyone of the speakers. I've researched online to what the problem can be and some websites point to the audio outputs. My queations is Is there any other thing that could be causing the problem? and if not, Do blown out audio plugs mean that my stereo won't work any longer? How can I fix the problem?

Answer
Hi,

Where there is smoke there is fire! The fire you have is internal damage to the unit. It could be the internal power supply circuits, the audio output amplifiers or anything in between.  The circuitry has many stages and parts. The only way to know for sure is to remove the covers, put is on the bench and start testing it. Often, when a component is burnt you can find it easily by smell or visual inspection. Replacing that bad part will often cure the problem but sometimes there are consequences into other parts of the circuit.

You will need an assesment by a competent tech who can tell you exactly what is blown and what needs to be repaired.  But, don't be alarmed if the final word coming back is the repair is greater than the cost of a replacmenet.  Or, most techs will recommend their rule of thumb which is that if the repair is greater than 50% of the value of the unit you should apply the money towards a new unit rather than fixing up an old unit. Of coures, that does not take into account the hobbiest or student who has a yearning to find out what the problem is and take the challenge of getting it going again.  

So, Wassup?  Whacha gonna do?  You have to decide.

C