So after searching the web for why my front door speakers failed on my 2000 Mustang and not finding much help, I decided to have a go at it myself. The first thing I tried was unplugging the amps under the back dash 1 at a time to see if change was noticed. The one on the drivers side made no difference, so I removed it entirely, and plugged it in in place of the passenger side amp. at this point I only had sound from the front door tweeters, so I reconnected the passenger amp which restored my rear speakers. I decided that I was going to just pick up a salvage yard unit and pop it in...but I also decided to pop the bad one open and have a look see if I could spot the problem. I was expecting burned parts, or exploded capacitors, but to my surprise the problem was quite simple. It was just a broken solder joint as can be seen in the second attached image (I used thumbnail because I think it will be too big for the forum). The solder joint that is broken is circled, and if you look to the right of that joint you will see a good joint.
What I did:
I pulled out my soldering iron, and some solder wick, and removed all the solder, then making sure the part was flush with the board to prevent future vibrations from knocking it loose again I soldered it back in place using new good quality solder. I literally spent more time waiting for my soldering iron to heat up than I did actually doing the repair. The amp works great now, and I already had everything needed to make this repair.
I know there are plenty out there that will say Rip out the entire system and start from scratch, but I am not a major audiophile, and the original system sounds fine to me...in fact since kids ride in my car, it's probably better not to majorly upgrade the stereo in that car. This post is for those out there who would rather make the original system work than to upgrade.
What I did:
I pulled out my soldering iron, and some solder wick, and removed all the solder, then making sure the part was flush with the board to prevent future vibrations from knocking it loose again I soldered it back in place using new good quality solder. I literally spent more time waiting for my soldering iron to heat up than I did actually doing the repair. The amp works great now, and I already had everything needed to make this repair.
I know there are plenty out there that will say Rip out the entire system and start from scratch, but I am not a major audiophile, and the original system sounds fine to me...in fact since kids ride in my car, it's probably better not to majorly upgrade the stereo in that car. This post is for those out there who would rather make the original system work than to upgrade.