Repairing stereo equipment may require a lot of detective work to find the problem.
Repairing stereo equipment is as much about identifying the problem as it is fixing it. Finding what is wrong may take more time than the repair. Many variables need to be considered, including fuses, connective wiring, speakers and the cleanliness of your CD disc reader. A few tips can help you identify and fix any problems.
Instructions
Identifying and Fixing Your Problem
1. Locate the fuse housed in the back of your stereo. Typically, fuses are designed as brightly colored, see-through tabs with small wires that run through them and are plugged into a terminal near the speaker wiring. Remove the fuse from the terminal with a firm pull, and hold the tab up to a light. If the wire which runs through the fuse is broken, then your fuse is blown and should be replaced with a fuse of the same voltage. If the wire is not broken, then there is nothing wrong with your fuse, and you can return it to its terminal.
2. Stereos have functions to adjust the proportion of sound in your speakers.
Locate the knobs on your stereo labeled "Fade" and "Balance." These knobs are used to adjust the output of sound so that it comes out of the speakers on only the left or right (done via balance) or in the front or back (done via fade). Use these knobs to push the sound out of each speaker individually by adjusting all of the sound to the back or front, then simultaneously pushing the sound out of the left or right. If one or more of the speakers is rattling, crackly or not working, you have a faulty speaker.
3. Listen to each speaker carefully for any sign of unclear or crackly sound quality using the Fade and Balance functions as in Step 2. If you hear any sort of problem, then use your voltmeter to test your speaker's connection. You can do this by touching one end of the voltmeter to either the (-) or (+) terminal of the speaker and touching the other end of the voltmeter to the respective terminal on the stereo receiver. If the meter does not indicate a completed circuit, then your speaker has a bad connection, and you should run a fresh speaker wire.
4. Remove the protective grate that covers the front of your speaker (typically these can be pried off with a flathead screwdriver, though each speaker's design is different). Look closely along the outer rim of the speaker's face for any sign of a tear or hole. If you find any problems, then cover the hole with a small amount of duct tape, making sure that the hole is sealed as sufficiently as possible. Repairing a blown speaker in this fashion will stop any rattling caused by tears in your speaker's cone.
5. CD players have disc readers that can often be hindered by dirt or dust.
Insert your CD lens cleaner into your CD drive, and allow the disc to play for 3-5 minutes. Lens cleaners are designed to clean any dust or dirt that may accumulate inside of your CD player, causing it to skip or freeze when attempting to play a CD. Once the disc cleaner has run for an ample amount of time, you should be able to play CDs without any significant skipping.
Tags: your speaker, each speaker, then your, broken then, Fade Balance, left right, Repairing stereo