Radio not working

Tiny
JATHEJACKSON
  • MEMBER
  • 2003 SUBARU LEGACY
  • 4 CYL
  • AWD
  • MANUAL
  • 52,000 MILES
The sound in our 2003 subaru legacy went away a speaker at a time. At first the front left speaker stopped, then all but the right rear. Sometimes they would all work again on rare occasions. First thing I did was pull the dash and doors apart and check plugs and look for shorts. Then replaced radio. Still nothing. Checked all fuses both under hood and on drivers side. Still nothing. Ideas? I read that there is an amp somewhere in the car but don't know where. Please help.
Thursday, December 16th, 2010 AT 5:08 PM

17 Replies

Tiny
RASMATAZ
  • MECHANIC
  • 75,992 POSTS
Sounds like the amplifier located behind center of dash
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Thursday, December 16th, 2010 AT 6:33 PM
Tiny
JATHEJACKSON
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I may have missed it but I did not find one back there when I had the dash apart. I'll check again in a few days. Thanks for the reply. Could you point me in a direction to a picture of what this one looks like?
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Thursday, December 16th, 2010 AT 6:47 PM
Tiny
RASMATAZ
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Also check under the passenger's seat-need to remove it

Do you know which one you have?

Radio Circuit, W/ Macintosh Audio System
Radio Circuit, W/O Macintosh Audio System
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Thursday, December 16th, 2010 AT 6:56 PM
Tiny
JATHEJACKSON
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I'm not sure which one it is. However, the green "amp" wire does run under the carpet in that area. I'll pull the seat and the carpet out and have a look.
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Thursday, December 16th, 2010 AT 7:02 PM
Tiny
RASMATAZ
  • MECHANIC
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Did you locate the amplifier and fix the problem
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Monday, January 10th, 2011 AT 7:32 PM
Tiny
JATHEJACKSON
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  • 4 POSTS
Pulled both seats, center console, and carpet. No amp. I am going to have to cry uncle on this one. Taking it in on the 18th. Thanks anyway.
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Monday, January 10th, 2011 AT 9:10 PM
Tiny
RASMATAZ
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Okay -why don't you just rewire the new unit and use the existing speakers-you should go this way
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Thursday, January 13th, 2011 AT 10:56 AM
Tiny
MWS
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
  • 2003 SUBARU LEGACY
2003 Subaru Legacy

Radio and CD produce no sound in any speaker. Replacement of sound system does not produce sound. Is there a fuse for the sound system? A critical wire to check?
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Tuesday, January 26th, 2021 AT 11:17 AM (Merged)
Tiny
MHPAUTOS
  • MECHANIC
  • 31,937 POSTS
Hi there,

Did you check the amp fuses?


https://www.2carpros.com/forum/automotive_pictures/61395_Capture_11.jpg


mark (mhpautos)
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Tuesday, January 26th, 2021 AT 11:17 AM (Merged)
Tiny
MWS
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I have not tried that yet - but I will soon - thanks for the tip!
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Tuesday, January 26th, 2021 AT 11:17 AM (Merged)
Tiny
MHPAUTOS
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Let me know if it fixes the problem,

mark
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Tuesday, January 26th, 2021 AT 11:17 AM (Merged)
Tiny
MWS
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
I should have asked - is there an easy way to tell if the amp fuses are the problem? Would that necessitate anything else that would not be working? Or is the only way to tell if the amp fuse is bad simply to replace it?
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Tuesday, January 26th, 2021 AT 11:17 AM (Merged)
Tiny
MHPAUTOS
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You can easily test the fuse with a volt meter or a test light, this will take a few sec, as long as power is flowing through the fuse it will be fine.

Mark
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Tuesday, January 26th, 2021 AT 11:17 AM (Merged)
Tiny
MWS
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
Thank you. I just noticed that the radio does appear to be tuning - the LCD display turns on. Still no sound and replacement of radio does not fix the problem. So, now I am guess it is not the fuse or the radio. I also doubt all the speakers could have died at the same time. Is there a single wire which could disrupt the sound system between the radio and the speakers? Or am I missing something? I'm sorry for repeated questions, I just took the car from a relative that passed away so I am not familiar with it.
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Tuesday, January 26th, 2021 AT 11:17 AM (Merged)
Tiny
MHPAUTOS
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If the Amp is not powered up you will get no sound, it is independent of the radio, the radio can still have power, but if the amp is off line nothing will happen, check the amp power fuse.

Mark
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Tuesday, January 26th, 2021 AT 11:17 AM (Merged)
Tiny
HAWAIIAN75
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
My car has no amp or a relay sbf8 spot but all my speakers do not give sound?
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Tuesday, July 30th, 2024 AT 4:34 PM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 54,137 POSTS
If you don't have an amp chances are the radio head unit itself is probably bad. Here is the wiring diagrams so you can see how the system works and which fuses to check. Check out the images (below). Let us know what you find.
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Wednesday, July 31st, 2024 AT 10:07 AM

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