Front Speakers not working

stickymatch · Post by **stickymatch** » 11 Jul 2010, 11:51

I am trying to determine why the front speakers do not work in my '98 S70? They are in the doors but have not worked since I purchased the car. I swapped the original HU (sc813) with an sc816 and it made no difference. There is no amp connector to plug into the HU and neither HU came with the plug to cover the amp connector hole on the HU. Any ideas?

Post by **vjaneczko** » 12 Jul 2010, 10:51

Are the speakers’ factory originals? Have you tried swapping them with known good ones - maybe from the rear?

Grab a multimeter and check for resistance - since you're checking speakers, there should be some but it'll be a small amount. If you gently push on the speaker cone you should see the resistance fluctuate. It depends on how many speakers you have. Also, you should/may have 4 speakers up front; two in the dash and two in the doors. If you have 4, each side is wired in series to give 8 ohms to the headunit.

I don't think there's a cover for the amp connecter so you shouldn't worry about it.

Post by **jblackburn** » 12 Jul 2010, 11:13

I bet the magnets have fallen off of them. They used "environmentally friendly" crappy glue in the 98's, and that's why the door panels/speaker magnets fall off all the time. Pull off the door panel and have a look.

FCPEURO · Post by **FCPEURO** » 12 Jul 2010, 13:05

+1

I would be the speakers themselves are the real issue. I would swap them out for a good set and call it a day.

Post by **BEJinFbk** » 12 Jul 2010, 14:29

vjaneczko wrote:Are the speakers’ factory originals? Have you tried swapping them with known good ones - maybe from the rear?

Grab a multimeter and check for resistance - since you're checking speakers, there should be some but it'll be a small amount. If you gently push on the speaker cone you should see the resistance fluctuate. It depends on how many speakers you have. Also, you should/may have 4 speakers up front; two in the dash and two in the doors. If you have 4, each side is wired in series to give 8 ohms to the headunit.

I don't think there's a cover for the amp connecter so you shouldn't worry about it.

Actually, the speakers are 8 ohm and wired in parallel to show the deck 4 ohms.
No biggie, just clarifying to avoid further confusion. Do the dash tweeters work?

And +1 on the amp connector. There's no cover provided or needed if it's unused.

ChiNorm · Post by **ChiNorm** » 14 Jul 2010, 09:15

That 4 ohms is the impedance, not the DC resistance, which will be close to zero even on a working speaker. OTOH, if you see infinite resistance, the voice coil has melted and the speaker is dead.

Put a 1.5 volt battery across the speaker terminals, it should make a pop noise and the speaker should move toward the front or back every time the battery is applied. No pop and no movement means dead speaker.

stickymatch · Post by **stickymatch** » 14 Jul 2010, 14:41

BEJinFbk wrote:
vjaneczko wrote:Are the speakers’ factory originals? Have you tried swapping them with known good ones - maybe from the rear?

Grab a multimeter and check for resistance - since you're checking speakers, there should be some but it'll be a small amount. If you gently push on the speaker cone you should see the resistance fluctuate. It depends on how many speakers you have. Also, you should/may have 4 speakers up front; two in the dash and two in the doors. If you have 4, each side is wired in series to give 8 ohms to the headunit.

I don't think there's a cover for the amp connecter so you shouldn't worry about it.
Actually, the speakers are 8 ohm and wired in parallel to show the deck 4 ohms.
No biggie, just clarifying to avoid further confusion. Do the dash tweeters work?

And +1 on the amp connector. There's no cover provided or needed if it's unused.

Yes. The dash tweeters work perfectly. If I am going to stay with OEM speakers will front speakers from any s70/v70 year (98 - 2000) work?

Post by **vjaneczko** » 14 Jul 2010, 15:09

Most likely; they’re standard 5 ¼ inch speakers.

It would be better to buy a good pair of aftermarket speakers than to pickup OEM’s. If you’re headed to a junkyard, you’ll only be getting old speakers! The paper cones and motors tend to wear out over time, making them quite unpleasant.

Post by **BEJinFbk** » 14 Jul 2010, 15:42

vjaneczko wrote:Most likely; they’re standard 5 ¼ inch speakers.

It would be better to buy a good pair of aftermarket speakers than to pickup OEM’s. If you’re headed to a junkyard, you’ll only be getting old speakers! The paper cones and motors tend to wear out over time, making them quite unpleasant.

I disagree. And Double Dog Dare ya to go with a side by side comparision should you ever have the opportunity.
If you can hear a difference, my hat is off to you.

If a speaker is not ripped, torn or visibly compromised and the voicecoil is OK ( no buzzing, etc), It should be FINE.
Not to mention that a stocker will be an 8 ohm unit that's impedence matched to the existing dash tweeters.
After markets will be 4 ohm, take a bit of weasling to install, and will shift the soundstage balance around.

And let's remember, the existing speakers may be OK. I'd break those panels open and assess before spending money.