Speaker problem after disconnecting battery?

[freshprince2421]

I had this exact same problem!

Turns out that a wire pair from the amp to a rear mid speaker had shorted together. The wires got crimped after I removed/reseated the rear panel while working on the rear window. I assume the amp has a protection circuit that prevents the mid/hi channels from exiting their standby mode when there is a fault. I also expect that the shorted wires for the OP were on either of the two channels the HK amp doesn't power.

This probably doesn't help the OP, but if anybody finds this via google or whatever, check your wiring!

I forgot to update, but that was exactly what happened! One of the rear door panel screws pinched a dangling speaker wire, after a few hundred miles it sawed through the wire and shorted the system.

So for anybody installing BSW speakers (or swapping out door panels) be mindful of where your wires hang 🤷♂️

[tcp]

I had this exact same problem!

Turns out that a wire pair from the amp to a rear mid speaker had shorted together. The wires got crimped after I removed/reseated the rear panel while working on the rear window. I assume the amp has a protection circuit that prevents the mid/hi channels from exiting their standby mode when there is a fault. I also expect that the shorted wires for the OP were on either of the two channels the HK amp doesn't power.

This probably doesn't help the OP, but if anybody finds this via google or whatever, check your wiring!

[NealfromNZ]

Bmw hifi is a 10 channel amp, 6 channels on front speakers for 1 for mid bass , 1 for mid 1 for woofer , 2 channels on rear card mids and 2 on rear praces shelf

hk from memory is 8 channel 4 to front doors 1 one for woofer 1 for mid and tweeter via a passive cross over then same at rears.
Pluging in hi amp if confirming wiring and tweeter function. ( bit it’s also sending mid music which isn’t good for the tweeter and can over drive it)

so on the original amp I’d looking carefully at the pins inside the amp connector and make sure the pins are straight. The thin pins are doing the mid range and tweeters. Then on the main connector going into the amp make sure the the quad lock connector hasn’t moved apart. I’d start at the amp and speaker / Head unit connector first.

edit , the tuner module will turn off amplifier and aerial amp when the battery voltage is too low to make more power available to run car. You mentioned disconnecting battery. Is it in good and charged condition ?

[freshprince2421]

Update:

I ordered a used replacement amp from eBay (same Lear branded non-HK E46/2 as original). After installation tweeters and rear panel mids are still not working. Pretty surprising considering I tested my dad's HK amp and the tweeters worked as normal (rear mid's still didn't work). Any ideas before I bite the bullet and succumb to the stealership? 😪

[freshprince2421]

1. Test the drivers. Multimeter or as simple as aa battery should give an idea. Touch your speaker terminals with the battery contact and yiu will see if cones move or Twitter makes a clicking sound.
2. Test the amp. You will need a multimeter fir that. Connect it, power up ant check for a voltage at the corresponding terminal going to speakers. Supposed to be as close to zero mV as possible ( let’s say below 500mv). If it check out nicely you can connect either speakers they do work instead of those that do not, or swap it to the other car and see if there is a sound.

Well I know the front tweeters work based on using my Dad's HK amp on my non-HK car to test. I'm not electronically inclined so I just swapped in an appropriate replacement amp from eBay. No improvement there. Although given it is used, it could be faulty as well, though less likely

[rbg]

1. Test the drivers. Multimeter or as simple as aa battery should give an idea. Touch your speaker terminals with the battery contact and yiu will see if cones move or Twitter makes a clicking sound.
2. Test the amp. You will need a multimeter fir that. Connect it, power up ant check for a voltage at the corresponding terminal going to speakers. Supposed to be as close to zero mV as possible ( let’s say below 500mv). If it check out nicely you can connect either speakers they do work instead of those that do not, or swap it to the other car and see if there is a sound.

[freshprince2421]

So I finally had time to look into things. Upon further examination, I have no sound from the front door tweeters and rear door mids. Only sound from front door and rear shelf woofers. Car does have an amp which I disconnected then reconnected with no change. I ended up testing the Harman Kardon amp out of my dads 02' 330ci convertible (absolute PIA to remove as it's tucked down in the rear door card, not the trunk). Miraculously the front door tweeters came back to life and I thought everything was fixed. I then discovered that the rear door mids were still not working.

I guess I somehow shorted my amp while the battery was disconnected? I'm still confused why the rear mids would still not be working, perhaps because my dad's amp is for Harman Kardon equipped cars? Seems weird since his vert has rear door speakers as well... any thoughts????

[Icecream]

Amp I believe is on driver's side so seems really unlikely. The only other thing I can think of is I also installed driver's side rear bolster (finally got around to replacing top clip that was broken). I know there is some wiring behind it but seems more likely this is battery related?

as zing said, there are cables behind the bolster (I also don't know if you have an amp back there with just the business cd but there are power and audio cables in there so remove the bolster and inspect. See if you bumped, tugged, snagged, crimped some wire while you were under the bolster. Unless you shorted something with the terminals the chances of the amp going bad at exactly the same time as a battery disconnect is extremely unlikely (stranger things have happened though). Do you have the stock sub in the rear shelf btw?

[zing]

Any radio wiring from the trunk will run behind the driver side rear seat bolster. most of the power wires will run along the passenger side. however, those wires are nicely tucked away and you'd have a hard time damaging anything there. Also, Im not sure if you actually have a amp at all. I believe the business cd radios power the speakers directly from the headunit (could be wrong on this). An easy check is to take the left trunk carpeting off and see whats behind there. If you do have an amp (black box) try unplugging it and plugging it back in. Since it seems as though you didnt do anything to cause this, if everything else seems ok and the headunit is running the speakers, its possible that the headunit has just given up and that you need a new one.

Need a little more description on your sound issues. same issue from all speakers?

[freshprince2421]

Strange coincidence. Is it at all possible you shorted something or bumped the amp while you were back there? Try bumping it a little while playing music. This is last resort (and unlikely to do anything but....) maybe disconnect the battery and cycle the key on/off and try again.

Amp I believe is on driver's side so seems really unlikely. The only other thing I can think of is I also installed driver's side rear bolster (finally got around to replacing top clip that was broken). I know there is some wiring behind it but seems more likely this is battery related?

[Icecream]

My business CD radio only allows me to adjust bass, treble, and if I hold the Tone button, speed adjustment. All are set to standard and sound quality is horrible. Its so muted and distorted that it is unlistenable.

Any other ideas? Prolly going to pull and evaluate the amp.

Strange coincidence. Is it at all possible you shorted something or bumped the amp while you were back there? Try bumping it a little while playing music. This is last resort (and unlikely to do anything but....) maybe disconnect the battery and cycle the key on/off and try again.

[freshprince2421]

The TONE button on the On-Board Monitor will do the trick.

-Ted

My business CD radio only allows me to adjust bass, treble, and if I hold the Tone button, speed adjustment. All are set to standard and sound quality is horrible. Its so muted and distorted that it is unlistenable.

Any other ideas? Prolly going to pull and evaluate the amp.

[t3ddftw]

How do I restore them? OEM radio bass & treble haven't changed.



Forgot to mention system is standard (Non-HK) so no sub-box. Although I previously replaced speakers with Bavsound Stage 1

The TONE button on the On-Board Monitor will do the trick.

-Ted

[freshprince2421]

You probably lost your equalizer settings. This makes a huge difference in sound if you know what you are doing.

How do I restore them? OEM radio bass & treble haven't changed.

Dumb question but is the sub-box powered on in the control stack? The EQ settings is also a great lead

Forgot to mention system is standard (Non-HK) so no sub-box. Although I previously replaced speakers with Bavsound Stage 1

[t3ddftw]

Dumb question but is the sub-box powered on in the control stack? The EQ settings is also a great lead