I just got this car about a month ago, everything was running great, then last week the slave cylinder died or broke, and I had to get it repaired. When I got the car back, I immediately noticed that the sound from the right door speakers cut out when I hit a bump, then they randomly started playing again. Since I picked the car up on monday, its been playing like this all week, randomly working and not working.

I can get the speakers to work if I max out the volume, but as soon as I lower the volume, i hear crackles until it cuts out. If I turn off all the speakers, I hear a basal level of volume coming from them.

I dont know what to do here... as I said, I had zero issues with the audio system for the time I had this car until I took it to the shop, but what they fixed as a transmission issue. Are there any audio components in that area?

It almost sounds like either the amp is dying, or there is a loose contact somewhere.

Anyway Im really upset about it (i've almost had nothing but issues with the car since I got it) and I dont know what to do. If I take it to the shop, they'll probably say 'we didnt touch it'. What can I do or should do first?

 

It is realistic to assume your problem with the CES is related to the last repair (which your shop apparently accomplished successfully). That repair certainly involved your car’s electrical system, so there are numerous possible causes for the problem you now have. You may have a damaged H/U or damage to external amps (if you have these installed), or simply a loose wire or connection.

A couple of possible causes:

• Initiating work on the car’s electronics before disconnecting the battery (not so good since it means something may be damaged)
• Wire(s) and/or connection(s) loosened during the repair process (a relatively easy fix)

Here are some threads that describe a similar problem:

https://my350z.com/forum/audio-and-v...n-and-out.html

https://my350z.com/forum/audio-and-v...-cuts-out.html

https://my350z.com/forum/audio-and-v...tting-out.html


I doubt your shop will take responsibility for this problem.

Question: Does your car have the stock Clarion system, Bose upgrade, or an aftermarket setup?

--Spike

 

i went to a car audio place, they said about the same thing that either it's a loose wire or a dying amp.

What Im wondering is do you think the center dash console (with the a/c unit and head unit) have to be removed in order to do transmission work? that is the only way in which these guys could have messed with any wiring...

 

Yes, the center console and interior shrouding on the center tunnel are removed during transmission repair. With that said, I doubt the shop will accept responsibility for problems with the car’s radio.

It’s probably a loose connection, and that is easily and inexpensively fixed. My advice is pick your battles, and save this effort for something else.

--Spike

 

It's not necessary to touch anything inside the car to R & R the slave cylinder, except the clutch pedal during bleeding. So, I can't say it sounds like the shop is responsible. If the shifter had to be replaced, or the gearbox had to be pulled, that would be a different story.

The connectors on the back of the radio are just about impossible to leave loose, as there is a locking tab which keeps them tight. But, if that little tab is broken off, the plug can wiggle out a bit and might make a weak connection. Having said that, remember there is also a connection to the speaker inside the door panel, and the wires pass through that rubber conduit to the door, so those are two more potential problem areas. And if you have the Bose, there are also connectors between the radio and the amp.

When the right-rear channel failed in my '08 (non-Bose OEM system), it turned out to be a bad channel in the radio, and the symptoms were similar to what you described. It failed slowly over maybe a week or two.

 

So dcains, i didnt just have to have a new slave cylinder replaced, the clutch pedeal 'broke', they had to drop the transmission completely out of the car in order to reconnect clutch pedal to the clutch in the transmission. I broke that lever/pulley system somehow when the slave cylinder went out.

Anyway after i picked my car up, I immediately noticed the stereo cut out on the right channel in the right door... but as I said, it was intermittent. Just while driving TODAY I noticed a high pitched engine noise that is noticable as the engine revs up like a whistle but it happens ONLY WHEN the right door's speakers also cut out. I noticed this twice today that the engine started whistling along with the speakers cutting in and out. As soon as the right speakers start working again the engine whine also goes away. I am now also confident that the speakers in the door cut out (sometimes they sizzle before going out) and back in with no discernable patten, and I've isolated to being independent to and not related with hitting road bumps.

So I think this is due to alternator whine which is what i am experiencing, which is causing both these issues by a bad ground loop somewhere in the car.

So now my question is, when a repair place does any type of transmission work (including dropping it in and out, etc), is introducing a ground loop problem possible? Do you guys think this could is the likely issue?

finally if this is the issue to blame, when is the time to get them to look at the car (their work), when the whine is present (which happens completely at random) or just take it in now, and explain the problem?

 

^^ It might be a simple as a shorted negative speaker lead. This would explain why the speaker cuts out, and why you have the additional noise at the same time. A negative speaker wire touching the car’s chassis results in the speaker cutting out, and will create a ground loop.

Try disconnecting the right speaker lead. If the noise goes away, it is probably a short.

The juxtaposition of your transmission repair with the audio failure may lead you to believe that the two are related, but no one can say that with certainty.

--Spike

 

Really tough to diagnose something like this from a distance, but maybe Spike is on to something? Alternator whine has a very specific sound, BTW. Its pitch will increase/decrease with the engine rpm's, rather than just being a constant frequency.

 

it does do exactly that, the pitch increases and decrease with the engine rpm's. whistle was the wrong word, when i googled alternator whine, the description matched what I think is happening.

 

Check what Spike said, sounds like a better possibility. But, it's hard to disconnect just the right speaker, as they're all on the same plug. You''l probably have to cut the wires inside the console (leave plenty of slack so you can re-splice them, and use a meter to check both wires for a short to ground.

 

it is both the right door speaker and the tweeter. when they go out, i hear only hiss coming from the right woofer and tweeter. If i turn off all the other speakers, and max out the volume on the right speakers (setting the balance and fader to front right), i can hear music coming from both right speaker and tweeter, along with the alternator whine.

i dont have a meter to check for a short, nor do i know which of those wires connect to the speaker on the door.

when they screwed around with the transmission, is it possible they did something to the wiring to cause this issue, or didnt ground some part of the transmission thats causing all this?

 

This should be the correct colors:

Right Front Speaker Wire (+): Yellow/Red
Right Front Speaker Wire (-): Red/White

Without a meter it's tough to check if one of the wires is shorted to ground. I would think you could get a cheap volt-ohm meter at Radio Shack or Harbor Freight for <$20.

Hard to say what may have happened during the transmission repair, but the radio wires seem too far forward to really be in the way.

If you have to turn the volume up all the way to hear the alternator whine, that may be normal, btw. At normal levels that noise would be all but inaudible. You may just have a blown channel in the amp, which is probably a stronger possibility.

 

i can hear the alternator whine at ANY volume, as long as the speakers arent playing.

I can hear music/sound from speakers if I turn the volume all the way up (when they are not getting the regular signal from the stereo).

why would a blown amp channel cause alternator whine?

 

I see, I thought you could only hear the whine at max volume.

I know you're looking for a remote diagnosis, and hopefully an easy solution, but I'm out of guesses. You're going to have to get a meter and check for shorts, check for loose connections, and if all that fails, you're going to have to start replacing parts one by one to isolate the problem.

 

^^ I agree. Tracking this down won’t be fun and requires testing the wiring and then the components.

I think it’s a short. The first thing to check is the speakers’ wiring.

--Spike

 

I went to the repair shop that worked on my transmission. They said that they simply removed the screws around the shifter and 'dropped' the transmission from below, so there was no need for them to open the center console or any place else to work on the car. So naturally they wont take responsibility and say it's just a coincidence that this happened. I cant really find any argument with their logic, because there doesnt seem to be any speaker/audio wires running down the side of the transmission.

regardless, I dont have the tools, nor the time or the knowledge of how to take apart doors/components to figure out where/if there's a short.

are you all saying its more likely that its a short than the amplifier just dying?

 

At this point, I'm inclined to agree with the guys at the repair shop. Still no way to tell what your problem is, though. Sorry.

 

The best I can do here is a guess… so here is my guess…

Dropping the transmission put a strain on a harness, or at least a wire. Possibly a grommet was displaced and a wire was scrapped, or maybe a wire pulled loose (but not disconnected). This resulted in exposing a negative lead to the chassis and an unwanted ground, or a positive or negative lead that was loosened.

The fix is tracing the wiring from the harness to the offending speaker, looking for a short. This won’t be simple since you report the problem is intermittent. It’s probably better to simply run a new wire. Of course, this requires a moderate disassembly and some amount of expertise. If this is beyond your expertise, I would hire a Professional Installer to do this. This is an easy project for a PI.

--Spike