new radio...need help troubleshooting problem.

[cwiert]

hi. when i bought my 928, the only operating speakers were two speakers up front in the doors and they were operating via RCA cables out of the radio and into an amp. i added a sub in the back and rewired it so the RCAs went to the amp and then to the sub. I hooked it up so the radio's speaker wires went directly to the speakers. But it didn't work. I wasn't getting any power from the speaker wires. I chalked it up as a bad radio and bought a new radio and new rear speakers yesterday (so now i have 4 speakers, 2 in the doors, 2 behind the seats).

I hooked it up the same way (rca to the subs and the radio's speaker wires to the 4 speakers) and everything worked fine. I took the car for a ride, made it about a block and i lost all 4 speakers again...but not the sub. I drove home and every once in a while i hear the speakers go on but then they go off again in a minute or two. All wire connections were checked and double checked. everything is tightly connected. i have no idea what's causing this. the fact that the old radio did this and now this brand new one is doing it makes me think something in my car is causing this. and ideas at all??? i know, strange, right?

[lm6y]

You physically ran new speaker wire to each speaker? Or used the factory wiring? Some older radios, and the cars of the same era used a common ground system. IE, all speakers, and radios used the chassis ground of the car. Newer head units use separate grounds for the radio, and a separate ground for each of the speakers. When you hook up a non-common ground radio to a common ground system, it acts like what you describe.

[cwiert]

hmm... i think that might have been the problem. my car had a factory amp that isn't being used anymore. i ran new wires from the radio to the old speaker wires that came out of the old factory amp. i figured that would be easier and save me time. so much for that theory. i rewired directly and it seems to be working now. thanks for the input.

[lm6y]

Glad to help.