I've replaced my door speakers (Memphis coax in back, Infinity component in front) and will be adding an amp shortly. In the mean time I've got some kind of problem where the door speakers stop working, then start again. Sub keeps going no matter what. This has happened since the Infinity's went in last Friday. I thought it could be a terminal grounding out? Would that stop the front AND rear, but keep the sub going?

Worked fine all day yesterday (rotated one door speaker so the terminals are in the plastic cover rather than the open bottom) and just stopped at lunch time today (except, the sub which kept going). Turn it off, turn in on later and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but in any case the sub still plays.

What kind of thing causes this kind of problem?

sounds like a short in the speaker wiring. How solid are the connections between the wires/connectors and the speakers themselves?

sounds like a short in the speaker wiring. How solid are the connections between the wires/connectors and the speakers themselves?

I guess that could be it.... the Infinities came with REAL SMALL connectors on the tweeters and since this is temporary until I install the amp and run new wires I just sort of plugged the thing into a bigger female connector and it seemed tight.

Would this cause the rear speakers to go out also but keep the sub working? (The rear speakers are done with an adapter plug and should have good solid connections)

trombe, it sounds like the speaker terminals are somehow shorting out against the body of the car. This has happened before. Why the sub keeps going I do not know.

In most newer head units, the final amp has a self protect circuit. The subwoofer is powered by a low output (RCA's), and because this low is audio derived before the final amp in the head unit, it will continue playing. Because the problem is intermittent, your best bet would be to troubleshoot from the newest installation to the oldest. Did you buy speaker adapters? I can honestly say I don't know if they're needed or not, but sometimes they help. The only other 2 pieces of advice I can give you are to solder the new leads on, or use more electrical tape. 3M all weather is best for automotive applications.

Good Luck!

Are you still under warranty? I say get the dealer to fix it if you are...that'll save you the headache.

I had a problem like that in my last car and I tried to troubleshoot it for 6 months. In the end, I just bought a new aftermarket system and put it in.

In most newer head units, the final amp has a self protect circuit. The subwoofer is powered by a low output (RCA's), and because this low is audio derived before the final amp in the head unit, it will continue playing.

I thought ALL speakers came off the same factory amp.... don't they? (This is an EX...)

But you're right about going from newest installation to oldest. Must be something from the new door speakers.

I thought the subwoofer in the EX had a seperate amp to power the sub. Does it get it's audio from the four channels, or a seperate input from the head unit?

I made the mistake of thinking you had added an aftermarket as well, so my theory could be wrong, but I would still check speaker wiring.

All the speakers in an EX, including the sub, are driven by the one factory amp, which is only a hair larger than a pack of cigarettes and just about as deadly.