Heres a tricky situation for you. Lets see if anyone can figure this **** out.

SubarusRmyThing · 09-17-2009, 11:35 PM

So heres the scoop. I searched for EVER to find a nice baja turbo that was completely stock and unmolested by some ****ing idiot who didnt know what they were doing. nothing i hate worse than buying a used car and having to fix someone else problems. What a joke that tuned out to be on me. ha. ha. ha.....

So i bought a 2005 baja turbo 5spd. of course the nice factory 6 disk changer. i was pretty excited. had it for about 4 months and then pretty soon after hitting some bumps the sound would short out. Hit one bump, no sound, hit another sound might come back on, hit another, no sound again. get the drift? Stereo didnt shut off or anything, only the sound did.

i was like wtf... thats just great.

So figured since all 4 speakers were going out, and the deck wasnt shutting off, i figured it was just a short in the deck.

So i bought a brand new nice fancy, 7" indash touch screen, dvd, nav, bluetooth, ipod, tv, you know the works.
Pulled the old stereo out today and find Sub woofer wire spliced into the harness in like 4 spots... Im like

.......

So out comes all the seats, door panels, carpet, dash, everything, took it ALL OUT. What i find is Kicker speakers in the doors (kinda cool right?) that are wired with sub woofer wire. Completely bypasses the car harness, just goes straight from teh speakers, and runs into the harness about 1" after the plug. And let me tell you, it was the worse splice job ive ever seen in my life. Im like great... so much for my unmolested car. i can see all the problems coming my way already.

Anyways so i plug my new deck in to see if everything works, didnt feel like doing any rewiring right now. Deck turns on, but no sound. Things are running about par... So i said **** this, i ripped out all that ****ty ass wiring, and hooked the speakers back up to the factory wiring, got rid of all the little blue splice clamps and had everything back how it should. Plug the deck back in... STill no sound. so first thought was maybe some how i got some negative and positive wires crossed. So i unhook everything except one speaker. I tried one speaker. no sound, switched the wires, no sound.

next thought was, well maybe he had problems with the car wiring, and thats why he did his own... So i skipped the car harness my self, and wired that speaker straight to my deck. No sound, switched the wires around, no sound. okay what gives right? Bad speaker? sure maybe. So i grab a set of speakers i had laying around, im 90% positive they work. Tried everything all over again. NO FREAKING SOUND!

I am completely 100% STUMPED.

Someone please shed some light on me lol. We all know how bad it sucks to not have tunes while driving.

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NutBucket · 09-18-2009, 12:13 AM

Did you check the stock wiring to make sure it actually is intact? It could be broken somewhere behind/under the dash hence the PO running new wires to the doors.

SubarusRmyThing · 09-18-2009, 12:38 AM

well the foot of it you can see looks good. but then it goes into the big wire loom of course. and you dont see it again untill it hits the doors..

from what i can tell it looks good.

Audiosavvy · 09-18-2009, 12:39 AM

First of all, take a few shots and relax.

Second, what model and size are the speakers, and what spacers were used to mount them? My first suspicion is that you have a speaker terminal making contact with the metal of the door and shorting out. Kicker speaker terminals are in a retarded spot, and this is somewhat common in tight spaces such as your door panel.

NutBucket · 09-18-2009, 12:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SubarusRmyThing

well the foot of it you can see looks good. but then it goes into the big wire loom of course. and you dont see it again untill it hits the doors..

from what i can tell it looks good.

Try to ring it out with a DMM. Even if it looks ok with that measurement there could still be some broken insulation causing intermittent shorts.

Sounds like someone tried to teach themselves wiring on your car.

Aaron'z 2.5RS · 09-18-2009, 12:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SubarusRmyThing

next thought was, well maybe he had problems with the car wiring, and thats why he did his own... So i skipped the car harness my self, and wired that speaker straight to my deck. No sound, switched the wires around, no sound. okay what gives right? Bad speaker? sure maybe. So i grab a set of speakers i had laying around, im 90% positive they work. Tried everything all over again. NO FREAKING SOUND!

I am completely 100% STUMPED.

Someone please shed some light on me lol. We all know how bad it sucks to not have tunes while driving.

Sounds like your new HU is toast to me.. If you wired a speaker directly to the HU harness and got no sound, either it's a setting somewhere or it's toast...

NutBucket · 09-18-2009, 12:48 AM

Maybe he toasted it when he hooked it up to the existing f'd up wiring?

Aaron'z 2.5RS · 09-18-2009, 12:49 AM

That's what I'm thinking...

SVXdc · 09-18-2009, 12:55 AM

I think modern HUs are a little hardier -- a shorted or open speaker line probably wouldn't blow the output stage. Maybe touching +12V to the wrong place would.

Did the HU appear to be working (other than no sound)? Does it have line outputs you could check to see that it's still being a radio or CD player?

+1 on checking the continuity on the speaker wires.

SubarusRmyThing · 09-18-2009, 07:14 PM

Well first off, thank you EVERYONE for the responses. Between all of you i figured out the problem.

Audiosavvy - You were on the right track, if only i woulda stuck on your track. I had both from door panels off, and the front speakers were fine. Not even close to grounding out, so i was like naaa thats not the problem. Something eles...

So my next thought was to check the continuity since that seemed pretty obvious. I didnt know why i didnt do that in the first place. First door i tried, nothing. Second door, nothing, third, nothing.... So i figured okay.. something massively wrong under the dash in the wiring... And figured besides the fact this guy sucks ass at wiring... maybe he was kinda smart and thats why he had all brand new wires ran. So i said screw it, ill just do what he did, BUT, im clipping the plug from the car so its not attached at all, because it was obviously grounding its self out or something. Once i cut the plug from the car and wired it to the deck harness and into the front speakers, the fronts were working. So was like okay. heres the fun part, i get to rewire the entire stereo system now! yippie... not.

So i spent the day doing that. Got the interior stripped out, the front end all wired threw the looms and everything, took my time, did a professional job with everything. Tested the front, everything worked. Then was like okay... Time for the back.

and i figured well i really dont wanna pull the back panels off and the piller panels off and run new wires threw those, ill just use his wiring since that part wasnt the worst...

Ran the wiring, hooked it up. NO SOUND AGAIN ANYWHERE!

boy was i pissed. So then i was like okay. unhook it, im ripping out the rear panels.

Thats when i got the most pissed off about a car that i have ever been in my entire life.........

Audiosavvy. You were 100% correct. I pulled off the left rear door panel, and one of the speakers that was only held up my 1 freaking bolt, the bolt broke. The speaker fell. And grounded out the entire system......

I just spend all last night, and all day today ****ing with this god damn car, spending money on new stereo equipment, rewiring everything, and blah blah blah, all to find out the only problem was a speaker that wasnt properly supported, fell down and was grounding out. That was the ONLY problem....

But oh well, **** happens. i have tunes again, i have a bad ass new head unit im in love with. I guess it all turned out a happy ending right?

Thanks for the help everyone. Ill post some pictures later of my mess

Quote:

Originally Posted by SVXdc

I think modern HUs are a little hardier -- a shorted or open speaker line probably wouldn't blow the output stage. Maybe touching +12V to the wrong place would.

Did the HU appear to be working (other than no sound)? Does it have line outputs you could check to see that it's still being a radio or CD player?

+1 on checking the continuity on the speaker wires.

your absolutly right about new age decks. especially when it comes to decks like mine. You should see the inline fuse built right into the harness for the machine. its massive! lol If you short this thing out, Im suprised your still alive... haha

anthony_delprete84 · 09-18-2009, 11:18 PM

nice ride by the way. what u got in mind for future mods? Im still in a pickle with my car audio and no one told me to take a shot

Chp_Stix · 09-19-2009, 12:46 AM

gald you found the problem, when i read your OP I would have called the same problem, that is a typical response from a deck when I speaker grounds out, the amp shuts down to protect itself.

nice ride BTW i want to see pics!!

V6TurboTA · 09-19-2009, 02:07 AM

wow... Glad you got it sorted, but man that sucks.

Thank god we have access to these guys

SubarusRmyThing · 09-19-2009, 05:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anthony_delprete84

nice ride by the way. what u got in mind for future mods? Im still in a pickle with my car audio and no one told me to take a shot

Thanks. I really need to get my utec, 4" down pipe, and full exhaust so i can put on my VF39 ive had sitting around for ever, and get a protune. Thats in the future. I really want a set of megan racing coils, and a set of STi BBS's, along with a nice set of brembo's. And obviously a 6spd tranny lol. but thats all a LONG ways out. and a LOT of money. probably wont happen till the car is paid off in 4 years. Need to get my front windows tinted to match the back, CF hood. PAINTED! i hate cf unpainted most the time. Switching to front mount IC, intake of course when that happens, and i dunno, bunch of stuff. it will all happen, just not sure in which order yet lol. Also going to do some polyurethane liner work on it in misc places. I own my own business, and a service i offer is spray in bedliners, so i want to do some cool things with the baja to help promote that and its unlimited number of uses.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chp_Stix

gald you found the problem, when i read your OP I would have called the same problem, that is a typical response from a deck when I speaker grounds out, the amp shuts down to protect itself.

nice ride BTW i want to see pics!!

Ill try to take some recent ones tomorrow. But heres a couple from the first day i bought it, and the first 3 mods i did in the first 5 hours of ownership haha.

Perrin Upper and Lower Intercooler hoses.

De-ambered head lights and Rallitek LIcense plate frames

STi REAL carbon fiber pedals. not walmart knock off ****.

ANd this is a VERY ****ty photoshop of what im going for

Ill take some pictures tomorrow, of the deck and all around shots.

02CWRX · 09-19-2009, 05:40 AM

That overall look is awesome. I love how its a rear wheel photochopped into the front, and the caliper is in the way wrong spot, haha. I picked up my Brembos for my STi swap the other day, and I was joking about how just putting a rear caliper on the front would probably be an improvement, so its especially funny to see it photochopped like that to me.

~T.J.

Chp_Stix · 09-19-2009, 06:43 AM

nice man! STi swap FTW

Arctic Cougar · 09-19-2009, 08:00 AM

have you tested all the wiring with a multimeter? I found the first basic rule in troubleshooting to be the most helpful...Step 1: check the setup.

sounds overly simplistic, I know...but, even as an electronic technician, I catch myself skipping that step and regretting it a LOT!

without actually sitting down in the car and looking at the hack work done, I can't really give you any accurate advice. if you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to address those. but as a general blanket piece of advice, I'd say focus on getting the stereo wired back in through the factory wiring...start with figuring out what the issue is (if any) with the factory harness.

The Satch · 09-19-2009, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arctic Cougar

have you tested all the wiring with a multimeter? I found the first basic rule in troubleshooting to be the most helpful...Step 1: check the setup.

sounds overly simplistic, I know...but, even as an electronic technician, I catch myself skipping that step and regretting it a LOT!

without actually sitting down in the car and looking at the hack work done, I can't really give you any accurate advice. if you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to address those. but as a general blanket piece of advice, I'd say focus on getting the stereo wired back in through the factory wiring...start with figuring out what the issue is (if any) with the factory harness.

have you actually read the thread?

feint05 · 09-19-2009, 04:03 PM

Brand New Decks Have Problems Too Sometimes

Aaron'z 2.5RS · 09-19-2009, 04:42 PM

LOL@testing 3 corners of the car, re-wiring, only to find out that 4th corner was the problem...

It's a beyoch sometimes, but the lesson learned is sometimes more valuable than the time money spent...!!!

Congratz on finding the issue...

SubarusRmyThing · 09-20-2009, 01:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 02CWRX

That overall look is awesome. I love how its a rear wheel photochopped into the front, and the caliper is in the way wrong spot, haha. I picked up my Brembos for my STi swap the other day, and I was joking about how just putting a rear caliper on the front would probably be an improvement, so its especially funny to see it photochopped like that to me.

~T.J.

haha yeah like i said the photoshop sucked! i couldnt find a good picture of BBS's with the caliper in the right spot for the front haha. so it got rear!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chp_Stix

nice man! STi swap FTW

Nice thing about the bajas, is they basically have a STi short block. Same block, pistons, rods, heads, yadi yada. All it really needs is the vf39 turbo, and a different intake mani with a more performance based tune and your talking sti numbers.

When i get my exhaust, and tune done, im aiming for 300 whp. But to achive that, ill probably sell the vf39, and find something a tad bigger. My buddy has a bug eye making 340 whp right now, maybe ill try to get him to sell me his turbo and upgrade. Im sure he will be getting bored in the near future haha.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arctic Cougar

have you tested all the wiring with a multimeter? I found the first basic rule in troubleshooting to be the most helpful...Step 1: check the setup.

sounds overly simplistic, I know...but, even as an electronic technician, I catch myself skipping that step and regretting it a LOT!

without actually sitting down in the car and looking at the hack work done, I can't really give you any accurate advice. if you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to address those. but as a general blanket piece of advice, I'd say focus on getting the stereo wired back in through the factory wiring...start with figuring out what the issue is (if any) with the factory harness.

wow dude.... wow. Heres a monkey for your troubles.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron'z 2.5RS

LOL@testing 3 corners of the car, re-wiring, only to find out that 4th corner was the problem...

It's a beyoch sometimes, but the lesson learned is sometimes more valuable than the time money spent...!!!

Congratz on finding the issue...

**** happens! But a good lesson! your absolutly right.

Snap a few pictures today, as promised, Was at the drag races all day, so only got a couple, but here ya go.

Pictures from my mess lol.
Damn that ****ing speaker!

But it has paid off!

Aaron'z 2.5RS · 09-20-2009, 01:23 AM

Nice Baya...

Now, paint that sucker all one color and proceed with your master plan..!!

Baya STi...!!!

Back Road Runner · 09-20-2009, 10:00 PM

Haha, great story. My first guess would have been the right one.

If an entire system cuts in and out, it's a speaker, learned long ago from experience.(not my fault

).

It doesn't matter. It's good to run fresh wire and correctly anyways, despite the hassle.

The Bajas are neat cars. It's strange so few were sold. I'd own one if they started making them a few years earlier and dropped into my price range.

09-17-2009, 11:35 PM	#1
SubarusRmyThing * Banned * Member#: 203031 Join Date: Feb 2009 Chapter/Region: NWIC Location: The Dalles, OR Vehicle: 2005 Baja Turbo White/Silver	Heres a tricky situation for you. Lets see if anyone can figure this out. So heres the scoop. I searched for EVER to find a nice baja turbo that was completely stock and unmolested by some **ing idiot who didnt know what they were doing. nothing i hate worse than buying a used car and having to fix someone else problems. What a joke that tuned out to be on me. ha. ha. ha..... So i bought a 2005 baja turbo 5spd. of course the nice factory 6 disk changer. i was pretty excited. had it for about 4 months and then pretty soon after hitting some bumps the sound would short out. Hit one bump, no sound, hit another sound might come back on, hit another, no sound again. get the drift? Stereo didnt shut off or anything, only the sound did. i was like wtf... thats just great. So figured since all 4 speakers were going out, and the deck wasnt shutting off, i figured it was just a short in the deck. So i bought a brand new nice fancy, 7" indash touch screen, dvd, nav, bluetooth, ipod, tv, you know the works. Pulled the old stereo out today and find Sub woofer wire spliced into the harness in like 4 spots... Im like ....... So out comes all the seats, door panels, carpet, dash, everything, took it ALL OUT. What i find is Kicker speakers in the doors (kinda cool right?) that are wired with sub woofer wire. Completely bypasses the car harness, just goes straight from teh speakers, and runs into the harness about 1" after the plug. And let me tell you, it was the worse splice job ive ever seen in my life. Im like great... so much for my unmolested car. i can see all the problems coming my way already. Anyways so i plug my new deck in to see if everything works, didnt feel like doing any rewiring right now. Deck turns on, but no sound. Things are running about par... So i said this, i ripped out all that *ty ass wiring, and hooked the speakers back up to the factory wiring, got rid of all the little blue splice clamps and had everything back how it should. Plug the deck back in... STill no sound. so first thought was maybe some how i got some negative and positive wires crossed. So i unhook everything except one speaker. I tried one speaker. no sound, switched the wires, no sound. next thought was, well maybe he had problems with the car wiring, and thats why he did his own... So i skipped the car harness my self, and wired that speaker straight to my deck. No sound, switched the wires around, no sound. okay what gives right? Bad speaker? sure maybe. So i grab a set of speakers i had laying around, im 90% positive they work. Tried everything all over again. NO FREAKING SOUND! I am completely 100% STUMPED. Someone please shed some light on me lol. We all know how bad it sucks to not have tunes while driving. Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

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09-18-2009, 12:13 AM	#2
NutBucket Scooby Specialist Member#: 90804 Join Date: Jul 2005 Chapter/Region: SCIC Location: Marina Del Rey Vehicle: 2005 SWP Legacy GT Cannondale M200/R700	Did you check the stock wiring to make sure it actually is intact? It could be broken somewhere behind/under the dash hence the PO running new wires to the doors.

09-18-2009, 12:38 AM	#3
SubarusRmyThing * Banned * Member#: 203031 Join Date: Feb 2009 Chapter/Region: NWIC Location: The Dalles, OR Vehicle: 2005 Baja Turbo White/Silver	well the foot of it you can see looks good. but then it goes into the big wire loom of course. and you dont see it again untill it hits the doors.. from what i can tell it looks good.

09-18-2009, 12:39 AM	#4
Audiosavvy I declare Shenanigans! Moderator Member#: 150794 Join Date: Jun 2007 Chapter/Region: SCIC Location: The taint of California Vehicle: 2.3 built bugeye In it to win it	First of all, take a few shots and relax. Second, what model and size are the speakers, and what spacers were used to mount them? My first suspicion is that you have a speaker terminal making contact with the metal of the door and shorting out. Kicker speaker terminals are in a retarded spot, and this is somewhat common in tight spaces such as your door panel.

09-18-2009, 12:48 AM	#7
NutBucket Scooby Specialist Member#: 90804 Join Date: Jul 2005 Chapter/Region: SCIC Location: Marina Del Rey Vehicle: 2005 SWP Legacy GT Cannondale M200/R700	Maybe he toasted it when he hooked it up to the existing f'd up wiring?

09-18-2009, 12:49 AM	#8
Aaron'z 2.5RS Scooby Guru Member#: 1026 Join Date: Mar 2000 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Hickigan Vehicle: 00' RS/WRX Stg4 Mindless Self Indulgence	That's what I'm thinking...

09-18-2009, 12:55 AM	#9
SVXdc Scooby Specialist Member#: 25837 Join Date: Oct 2002 Chapter/Region: South East Location: Atlanta, GA Vehicle: 1996 SVX L AWD Laguna Blue Pearl	I think modern HUs are a little hardier -- a shorted or open speaker line probably wouldn't blow the output stage. Maybe touching +12V to the wrong place would. Did the HU appear to be working (other than no sound)? Does it have line outputs you could check to see that it's still being a radio or CD player? +1 on checking the continuity on the speaker wires.

09-18-2009, 11:18 PM	#11
anthony_delprete84 Scooby Specialist Member#: 88254 Join Date: May 2005 Chapter/Region: TXIC Location: Spring, TX Vehicle: 2004 STI Aspen White Garage SLeezy	nice ride by the way. what u got in mind for future mods? Im still in a pickle with my car audio and no one told me to take a shot

09-19-2009, 12:46 AM	#12
Chp_Stix Scooby Specialist Member#: 95195 Join Date: Sep 2005 Chapter/Region: W. Canada Location: Under the hood, in the seat! Vehicle: 1974 Rat Rod Bug back and white	gald you found the problem, when i read your OP I would have called the same problem, that is a typical response from a deck when I speaker grounds out, the amp shuts down to protect itself. nice ride BTW i want to see pics!!

09-19-2009, 02:07 AM	#13
V6TurboTA Scooby Guru Member#: 9090 Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: < of Boston Vehicle: 09 Forester Gump 02WRX->04STi->09Gump	wow... Glad you got it sorted, but man that sucks. Thank god we have access to these guys

09-19-2009, 05:40 AM	#15
02CWRX * Banned * Member#: 196013 Join Date: Nov 2008 Chapter/Region: NWIC Location: Woodinville, WA Vehicle: 2002 WRB WRX EJ207 6-Speed	That overall look is awesome. I love how its a rear wheel photochopped into the front, and the caliper is in the way wrong spot, haha. I picked up my Brembos for my STi swap the other day, and I was joking about how just putting a rear caliper on the front would probably be an improvement, so its especially funny to see it photochopped like that to me. ~T.J.

09-19-2009, 06:43 AM	#16
Chp_Stix Scooby Specialist Member#: 95195 Join Date: Sep 2005 Chapter/Region: W. Canada Location: Under the hood, in the seat! Vehicle: 1974 Rat Rod Bug back and white	nice man! STi swap FTW

09-19-2009, 08:00 AM	#17
Arctic Cougar Scooby Newbie Member#: 223815 Join Date: Sep 2009 Chapter/Region: AKIC Location: Fairbanks, AK Vehicle: 2005 WRX STi Black	have you tested all the wiring with a multimeter? I found the first basic rule in troubleshooting to be the most helpful...Step 1: check the setup. sounds overly simplistic, I know...but, even as an electronic technician, I catch myself skipping that step and regretting it a LOT! without actually sitting down in the car and looking at the hack work done, I can't really give you any accurate advice. if you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to address those. but as a general blanket piece of advice, I'd say focus on getting the stereo wired back in through the factory wiring...start with figuring out what the issue is (if any) with the factory harness.

09-19-2009, 04:03 PM	#19
feint05 Scooby Specialist Member#: 152984 Join Date: Jul 2007 Chapter/Region: SCIC Location: san diego Vehicle: 2004 jewbaru jewbuilt, polish tuned	Brand New Decks Have Problems Too Sometimes

09-19-2009, 04:42 PM	#20
Aaron'z 2.5RS Scooby Guru Member#: 1026 Join Date: Mar 2000 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Hickigan Vehicle: 00' RS/WRX Stg4 Mindless Self Indulgence	LOL@testing 3 corners of the car, re-wiring, only to find out that 4th corner was the problem... It's a beyoch sometimes, but the lesson learned is sometimes more valuable than the time money spent...!!! Congratz on finding the issue...

09-20-2009, 01:23 AM	#22
Aaron'z 2.5RS Scooby Guru Member#: 1026 Join Date: Mar 2000 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Hickigan Vehicle: 00' RS/WRX Stg4 Mindless Self Indulgence	Nice Baya... Now, paint that sucker all one color and proceed with your master plan..!! Baya STi...!!!

09-20-2009, 10:00 PM	#23
Back Road Runner Scooby Specialist Member#: 60082 Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Minnesota Vehicle: 2002 Forester Blue	Haha, great story. My first guess would have been the right one. If an entire system cuts in and out, it's a speaker, learned long ago from experience.(not my fault ). It doesn't matter. It's good to run fresh wire and correctly anyways, despite the hassle. The Bajas are neat cars. It's strange so few were sold. I'd own one if they started making them a few years earlier and dropped into my price range.