Door speaker stopped working?!

[ChrisGTS]

Hey everyone, I could use some advice on this. Today, my stereo was working totally fine. I parked the car, came back 20 minutes later, and my left door speakers simply weren't working. All the others are functional. My stereo is all stock except for the addition of an Infinity Basslink in the back, added about a month ago.
If you have any ideas about what the problem might be, and how to fix it, I'd appreciate it.

 

[GTSnake]

maybe loose connection? Check door speaker connections or amp connection in the trunk. Also the check pre amp connection behind the head unit in the dash.

 

[garolittle]

My hood speakers have never worked.

 

[RobHook]

This is a common problem with older or heavily used Vipers. The problem is that the wire loom that goes through the doors has to bend constantly and the wires eventually break. The left door gets opened and closed much more often so it breaks more often, of course. It's happened to my car twice now. As a matter of fact, I have the new wires sitting in the garage ready to be installed. Take it to the dealer or order the harness if you're a dyi'er. Not a difficult thing to install at all.

--Rob

 

[Fast Viper Dan]

Rob may be right, That is what happened to my "99". This happened after a year and half (7500 mi.). Next, the window will not work.

 

[ChrisGTS]

Thanks guys. It makes total sense that the wires to the door must have come undone or broken, since the only thing that happened between the speakers working and not working is that I opened and closed the door. I also checked the connections to the amp in the trunk and they look ok. So, off to the dealer it goes!

Oh, yeah, and my hood speakers are messed up too -- all I can hear coming from up there is a bunch of valvetrain noise!

 

[garolittle]

My hood speakers have never worked.

I crack myself up.

 

[Daniel Cragin/DC Performance Inc]

Rob is correct, the door wiring can be a problem :

Symtoms could be one or all of the following:

Speakers wont work
Door will not open from inside or outside
Mirror will not adjust

 

[ChrisGTS]

I just wanted to thank everyone for their advice on this. You guys were right -- there was a wire broken in between the car body and door. Fixed under warranty, now everything's working great. My Viper Tech (J.D. Farmer) said he had seen this same issue 2 other times recently.

 

[DesertSnake]

I just had this problem too. Hasn't been fixed cause I'm waiting for other parts to come in before I take it back to the Tech. They never call me back and tell me when things are ready

 

[sbkim]

This is really interesting... and I thought it was a blown speaker. Can this be fixed at home with new wires??? or does it require a new wiring harness? Thank you

 

[Got_Vnum]

This is really interesting... and I thought it was a blown speaker. Can this be fixed at home with new wires??? or does it require a new wiring harness? Thank you

Its better to replace the whole harness. Once one wire goes, the rest will follow. You dont want to be stuck with your window down when it starts to rain. I had mine done at DC Performance, it was around $200 if memory serves.

 

[Randy]

This is really interesting... and I thought it was a blown speaker. Can this be fixed at home with new wires??? or does it require a new wiring harness? Thank you

Its better to replace the whole harness. Once one wire goes, the rest will follow. You dont want to be stuck with your window down when it starts to rain. I had mine done at DC Performance, it was around $200 if memory serves.

When I bought by car (used) last year, it had a couple of things wrong with it: driver side electric mirror not working, light on the lock not working, and backup lights not working. I thought they were all related, and that bad assumption slowed down my fix of it until just this last month, when I read something about these door wires in the forum.

Sure enough, two wires were broken - clean as if someone had gone into the harness and clipped them. I detected the breaks by pulling out the ends of the rubber cover from the door and body and pulling on each wire in turn, and two wires were completely loose. (Turns out the backup lights were a bad backup light switch in the tranny, $27 and easy to replace).

Now, in my case, I fixed the broken door wires by just soldering in some new wire. However, that is a very good point that the rest are likely to go.

OK, to ask a question probably nobody knows - why are these wires so brittle? I never had any problem like this in my '95 with 70,000 miles on it when I got rid of it in 2003, and the bend is less than many other cars I see out there with doors that open wider. Did Dodge switch to a crappy wire manufacturer in the late 90's?

 

[sbkim]

Well, as ususal you guys were right on. I pulled the rubber sleeve and sure enough two wires were cut - prob the speaker wires. The rest of the wires look OK but I am planning to have the entire harness replaced.

 

[Got_Vnum]

OK, to ask a question probably nobody knows - why are these wires so brittle? I never had any problem like this in my '95 with 70,000 miles on it when I got rid of it in 2003, and the bend is less than many other cars I see out there with doors that open wider. Did Dodge switch to a crappy wire manufacturer in the late 90's?

Your '95 had power windows and locks? WOW Just messing with ya. It could be the routing of the wires causing stress/strain. The wires could also be rubbing against the tops of the corrugation of the tube on the inside. Ive really only heard of this happening on the drivers side door, probably since its used more. A heavier gauge wire or better wire insulation would have been nice, but hey, Dodge spent the bucks where it counted.

Regarding the reverse switch, thats a rite of passage when buying a used Viper.

 

[Randy]

OK, to ask a question probably nobody knows - why are these wires so brittle? I never had any problem like this in my '95 with 70,000 miles on it when I got rid of it in 2003, and the bend is less than many other cars I see out there with doors that open wider. Did Dodge switch to a crappy wire manufacturer in the late 90's?

Your '95 had power windows and locks? WOW Just messing with ya.

Hmmm... You're right - of course thats why I didn't have this problem in the '95 - there were *no* wires going to the door. (Oooops, sheepish look). But, my main question stands, though - Its a strange problem to have; one I've never had with any other car I've owned (including my Durango).

Regarding the reverse switch, thats a rite of passage when buying a used Viper.

Well, its evidently a rite of passage when buying a used *Gen II* Viper, as, since I fixed the problem and spoke to others, it is indeed evidently a common problem with Gen II's - one person I know has had to replace it three times already in his '96 GTS. Gen I's evidently used a better reverse switch? (Probably the same one - perhaps it just dropped in quality over the years).

 

[Randy]

You're right - of course thats why I didn't have this problem in the '95 - there were *no* wires going to the door.

Wait a minute - Gen I's have speaker wires going to the doors, right? I retract my sheepish look (I never originally said anything about *which* wires never broke in my '95, just that they didn't break).

Nyah.

 

[Got_Vnum]

You're right - of course thats why I didn't have this problem in the '95 - there were *no* wires going to the door.

Wait a minute - Gen I's have speaker wires going to the doors, right? I retract my sheepish look (I never originally said anything about *which* wires never broke in my '95, just that they didn't break).

Nyah.

Almost had you there Randy Did the older RT's have the same corrugated rubber tube going into the door? Its been a *long* time since Ive driven one, I dont remember.

 

[Greg]

Crap... sounds _exactly_ like what I'm experiencing right now (been like that for a few days now): lost my left speakers, all of a sudden.

I still have my power window though (it's a 01 RT/10).

-- Greg

 

[Got_Vnum]

Crap... sounds _exactly_ like what I'm experiencing right now (been like that for a few days now): lost my left speakers, all of a sudden.

I still have my power window though (it's a 01 RT/10).

-- Greg

Take it to the nearest Sears Auto Center and get it fixed under warranty! Just messing with you Greg, still have your earlier post in my head. Just let us know what city youre in and someone will tell you which dealer in your area is reputable. Thank God I have DC Performance nearby. Dan Cragin, Chris, Kevin, Ryan and Tony ROCK!!!

 

[RobHook]

The Gen I's have the same setup and the same problem. The part number for the harness is different though, of course.

One other side-effect of this is that the electric seat belt retractors will not work in an accident if the wires are broken. There is a mechanical retractor too but they're really flimsy on the GEN I cars. If you have this problem, fix it. It's about more than a speaker not working.

--Rob

 

[Greg]

Crap... sounds _exactly_ like what I'm experiencing right now (been like that for a few days now): lost my left speakers, all of a sudden.

I still have my power window though (it's a 01 RT/10).

-- Greg

Take it to the nearest Sears Auto Center and get it fixed under warranty! Just messing with you Greg, still have your earlier post in my head. Just let us know what city youre in and someone will tell you which dealer in your area is reputable. Thank God I have DC Performance nearby. Dan Cragin, Chris, Kevin, Ryan and Tony ROCK!!!

I'm in San Jose, CA.
Any good dealerships around for warranty work?

-- Greg

 

[sbkim]

Well, I had the harness replaced under warranty today. I told them to wrap the wires (inside the rubber surrounds) with some tape but they didn't. Do you guys think wrapping the wires with some electrical tape might help with breaks? Or does it not matter since the wires will still be under stress when you open and shut the door?

Thanks!!!

 

[Randy]

Well, I had the harness replaced under warranty today. I told them to wrap the wires (inside the rubber surrounds) with some tape but they didn't. Do you guys think wrapping the wires with some electrical tape might help with breaks? Or does it not matter since the wires will still be under stress when you open and shut the door?

Hmmmm... Well, perhaps wrapping it limits the flexing of the wire - evens it out along the length of the wire, instead of one weaker area taking all of the flexing, which is likely what causes the problem. I've not wrapped mine, but I can see the reasoning behind thinking it might help. Don't know if it really does, though. I know its going to be a royal pain to try to wrap it with the harness installed, though - you can't get that boot to move THAT far to either side, at least not enough to be able to get to the center of the booted area.

 

[sbkim]

Randy - I agree, it will be nearly impossible to wrap it now without pulling out the harness. Damn that dealership for not listening to me!! Oh, they also used 1/4 of my gas fixing the harness...sigh.