Troubleshooting your home stereo speakers is the first step to resolving what may turn out to be a simple problem. It's always a good idea to run a few basic diagnostic checks on electronic equipment before hauling it off to a repair center or a landfill. Speakers by definition create a fair amount of noise and vibration, which can eventually lead to minor problems. You might not be hearing sound from one of your speakers, but a quick check may show a loose wire as the culprit. Follow this guide to troubleshooting home speaker systems.
Check the sound levels throughout the system
For many people, their home stereo doubles as a home theater setup, so the equipment gets an extra workout by playing music and movies. Fortunately, the amplifiers and receivers used for home theater are almost always equipped with a test feature that allows you to check speaker performance and set the volume levels all from the remote control. If you are having speaker troubles, there's the first place to start. From the remote control for your amp or receiver, press the TEST button under the audio section. You will hear a "white noise" test signal starting with the left front speaker, moving on to the center speaker, the right speaker, and back to the rear speakers. If you have an extra set of stereo speakers connected to the Speaker 2 outputs, be sure to test them as well. If you hear no sound from a particular speaker, try adjusting the volume on the amp or receiver during the test phase. If this doesn't resolve the problem, continue to section 2.
Check the connections
If you enjoy loud music or a vigorous home theater experience with the sounds of powerful explosions, roaring dinosaurs and aircraft screeching through space, chances are your speakers are getting quite a workout. Speakers produce vibrations as part of creating the audio, and sufficient vibration can work loose a speaker wire. Check the connections, making sure the left and right speaker wires are firmly seated in the connectors on the back of each speaker. One loose wire, and the speaker will fall silent.
A word of caution: be sure the power is turned off while you check speaker connections. If a loose wire accidentally crosses another bare wire, which is quite possible where the wires connect to your speakers, you run a high risk of blowing one of the speaker cones or shorting-out the amp that powers your speaker.
Next, check the speaker wire connections to the back of your amp or receiver. Again, make sure the power is turned off. Reattach and secure any loose wires, making sure no bare wire can touch another.
If this doesn't resolve your problem, proceed to section 3.
Check the wires, fuses, and circuit reset buttons
Unless you have speaker wires threaded behind your walls, inspect all speaker wires for kinks, twists or a possible break. Walking over wires beneath carpet, or vacuuming against wires running along the wall over time can crack and break a speaker wire. Replace with new speaker wire if necessary. If you have wires installed behind the wall, disconnect the speaker, attach a piece of speaker wire and connect the other end to the appropriate channel on your amp, then test to see if the old wire was the problem.
If your speakers or amp are equipped with replaceable fuses, check the fuses to see if one or more may have blown.
If your speakers or amp have a circuit breaker reset button, press the button to reset the speaker and test.
If all of these measures fail, connect your speakers one at a time to an amplifier you know to be working. The problem could be a blown circuit in your old amplifier or receiver.
Continue to section 4 if you still cannot find the problem.
Inspect the speaker cones for damage
Carefully remove the grille or cover from each speaker and make a visual inspection of the speaker cones -- the woofer, mid-range and tweeter, if you have three-way speakers, or a tweeter and woofer for smaller or less expensive speakers. Any rips, splits or tears in the cone material is an obvious sign of a problem. If the speaker has been making a buzzing or humming sound underneath the main audio, your problem is almost certainly a torn speaker cone. Electronics stores sell speaker cone repair kits that consist mainly of a liquid adhesive that you paint onto the rip in an effort to reseal the cone. This may not always work, depending on the severity of the damage.
If these troubleshooting efforts fail to isolate the problem, you may have internal electronics damage in your amplifier or a speaker. Then it's time to take the equipment to a repair center or shop for a replacement.
Tags: your speakers, speaker wire, check speaker, home theater, loose wire, speaker cones
