Stereo Issue

[brandynmill]

So I've had this problem intermittently for the last several months and it's progressively gotten worse. It started out with the sound on my radio going in and out. It would return if I would turn my car off then turn it back on. Then it started going out for longer periods of time before coming back on (several days). Most recently it went out of a few days, following that I replaced the battery & ever since replacing the battery the stereo has now began making a very loud static-like noise regardless of if the stereo was on or off. As a result I had to pull the fuse (which also controls the power locks & overhead lights in the vehicle). I thought it could be the amp however after speaking to a tech at Mazda I'm pretty convinced this is not the case. Any idea what could possibly be wrong & how to fix it?

[blackms3_71]

Originally Posted by brandynmill So I've had this problem intermittently for the last several months and it's progressively gotten worse. It started out with the sound on my radio going in and out. It would return if I would turn my car off then turn it back on. Then it started going out for longer periods of time before coming back on (several days). Most recently it went out of a few days, following that I replaced the battery & ever since replacing the battery the stereo has now began making a very loud static-like noise regardless of if the stereo was on or off. As a result I had to pull the fuse (which also controls the power locks & overhead lights in the vehicle). I thought it could be the amp however after speaking to a tech at Mazda I'm pretty convinced this is not the case. Any idea what could possibly be wrong & how to fix it?

Pull the radio and check the wires. Do the same for the amp.

[brandynmill]

I cannot locate the amp to check it. I have even called Mazda and it is not where they say it is: under the driver side rear seat or near the spare tire on the same side, it's also not under either of the front seats.

[blackms3_71]

Its under the divers seat. Take a pic.

[frothy]

Do you have Bose?

If so, the amp should be located behind the rear seats. It has a plastic cover hiding it.

Pictures here: how to: single amp install w/bose

If you don't have Bose, you're probably searching for something you don't have...

EDIT: Do you have anything aftermarket added to your stereo?
iPod adapter or anything like that?

[brandynmill]

It is 100% not under the rear seat & I honestly don't know if I have a Bose system. If it's not a Bose system is there another place the amp may be? I've added nothing to the vehicle that was not there when I got it (no ipod adapter, nav, etc.).

Here's a photo of the under the driver's seat as taken from the rear.

[frothy]

Your speaker grills would have "BOSE" emblazoned on them if you had the Bose system.

Your stereo would also display "Bose Sound" on the screen when you first start your car.

No Bose, no amplifier...

You'd have a direct feed from the stereo to the speakers.

[jerseymazda]

Do you have the Bose system?

[brandynmill]

Ok, no Bose on the speakers. So the issue is more than likely a bad connection on the back of the radio?

[frothy]

No idea... Could be any number of things.

Your problem is with ALL of the settings, right? "CD", "Satellite", "Aux", etc... Not just "Radio"?

When you say it still makes noise with the stereo off, it's completely powered down, correct? Not just muted or with the volume at the lowest setting?

All of the speakers emit the noise? Or is it just certain ones?

[brandynmill]

The noise is with all of the setting, CD, AUX, everything.

The noise (static/POPing) occurs whether the volume is high or low or if the audio system is On or off. The only way I got it to stop was to pull the fuse.

I just had the battery changed last week & that's when it began occurring. Prior to that the radio had no sound at all for about a week.

All speakers emit the noise.

[frothy]

I almost suspect the issue lies within the stereo then.

If it were me, i'd pull the stereo from the car, along with a speaker, and see if I could get the two running independently from the car to troubleshoot. You'd have to figure the wiring out of course, but really all you need is a 12 volt source (car battery, jump box, computer power supply...) some speaker wire and some alligator clips to pull it off.

If the stereo still sounded like shit, you'd know the issue was with the stereo itself.

From there, i'd crack the stereo open and search for blown capacitors or bad solder joints...


That's what i'd do. Don't do it if it's beyond your scope...

[brandynmill]

Ok, thank you so much for your insight.