Chrysler Voyager RADIO - ONLY 1 SPEAKER WORKING

TOOTECHNICAL

MEMBER
2002 CHRYSLER
3.3L
V6
FWD
AUTOMATIC
185,000 MILES

I looked all over the web and found no one with a similar problem to mine. Perhaps someone has a clue to this problem:

The factory installed am/fm radio - no CD or cassette player, has what seems to be 6 speakers. I say this as there are 2 speakers on top of the dash board, 2 speakers on the driver and passenger doors and 2 speakers in the rear. I cannot tell if the 2 dashboard speakers ever worked as I never really noticed when all speakers were working.

The problem? Only - just one of the six speakers are working. The driver side door is the only speaker working. Yes, I have tried the balance adjustments to see if they were not centered. I am not a person who blasts the speakers, so there is no way I could have blown them out. So how could 5 speakers just one day decide not to work. I'm sure if I blew a fuse, all speakers would be dead. Does each speaker have its own fuse? Is it possible I blew 5 out of 6 fuses on the same exact day and time?

I am not a mechanic, so please don't ask me to start tearing things apart. I'm an old disabled guy who can only do minimal work. If it is required of me to bring it in to a pro, then I thank you for that advice. However, before I go through all that, I'm just going to rid myself of this vehicle.

Thank you in advance for your help.

2 Replies

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,752 POSTS

I'm not sure about what you want to do. I can help with what I would do at a shop, but that requires taking things apart.

I'm surprised to find just an AM / FM radio, but just so I don't overlook anything, there are some models that have short circuit detection built into the output circuits. If the wires going to one corner of the vehicle are shorted, all four circuits will be shut down, however, if one speaker wire is grounded, THAT short will bypass part of the protection circuit, so the circuit with the problem will actually work, at least at lower-than-normal volume.

A good place to look for shorted speaker wires is between the door hinges. The next step is to remove the driver's door panel or the speaker grille, whichever is necessary, to remove that speaker, and its mate in the other door, and switch them side-to-side. If the working speaker still works on the right side, you could indeed have bad speakers. If the non-working right speaker works on the left side, that points to wiring problems.

The next thing to look at is if there are small remote amplifiers mounted on the speakers. If there are, those often develop broken solder connections. The dash speakers will have just crossover networks built into small black plastic housings. Either of these may start working by simply holding the speaker upside-down or sideways, or when you flex the amp or crossover unit.

I just got done repairing both rear lift gate speakers and one dash speaker in a '94 Caravan. I used to do these for dealers around my state too.