Expert: Cleggsan - 8/3/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hi, I recently bought a used 1999 Mazda Protege with about 120k miles just to get me through college, and it runs fairly well except for the sound system. I don't know very much about cars, but I am fairly certain something is wrong with the speakers. When I go to turn on the radio, most of the time nothing comes out of the speakers, and for a small portion of the time the radio occasionally comes out of the drivers side door. Never out of the passenger side. Sometimes I will be driving and sound will randomly start coming out of the speakers. There is a CD player in the radio which I have tried to use, however everytime I try to put a cd inside, it just pops back out. This is the radio that came with the car. Please help!!

ANSWER: ONE: The cd player most likely has gone bad.  They only way to repair is just replace the whole unit.  That will cost less than repairs.  The thing that goes bad in car units is the laser diode and tracking system; they are very expensive repairs - more than the cost of a new one.  After all the radio is 10 years old.  They just don't last that long.

TWO:  The voice coil wires are shot on the speakers.  They all need to be replaced.  The reason they come on from time to time is the vibration and jiggling of the car as it goes down the road will cause the wires to tough enough to make connection - until they go off again.  

THREE:  You should do the "outfit my car" sequence at

www.crutchfield.com

where you can find out what fits your car - both head unit and speakers.  You don't have to buy from crutchfield, but if you do they will send installation instructions and wiring harness for your car.

Hope this helps.
C



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Ok, Thanks. I have a couple followup questions though. I am honestly not that concerned about the cd player for now. Money is tight and I use radio for my mp3 player anyways. But when I do replace it, what would be a cheap but efficient radio unit to replace it with? Secondly, the voice coil wires? Like I said I don't know much about cars, but how much do those cost to replace? And are they somewhat easy to replace? Thanks.

Answer
That is why you should to to crutchfield.com - to find out the units that will fit your car; space, mounting, etc.  But head units run from $20 to hundreds.

Replacing speakers requires:
ONE:  Removing them from their current mountings spaces.  Which involves popping door panels or pulling covering materials away or going underneath the trunk to drop them out, etc.  All depends on how they are mounted.

TWO:  Buying new speakers that will fit the mounting spaces and holes AND work with the power rating and impedance of the head unit.  Most audio amplifiers nowdays are for 4 ohm speakers.  But, the "outfit your car" will tell you that. The depth dimension and hole mounting are important to match so the new speaker will drop in.

Speakers can be from a few dollars each to much, much more depending on your choice.

But all these things can be answered for you by going to crutchfield.

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/autoinfo/autoinfo.asp?lp=%2fapp%2fCar%2fMyCar

The above is where you start.

C