P38 Distorted Stereo Sound

BuddyP38 · Thursday at 13:45

Hi all, new to the forum. Bought a 2000 P38 in December and carrying out some little jobs!
The majority of the speakers were shot, it’s got the 3 front, 2 rear, 2 subs config and volume on the steering wheel which I believe makes it the high end option. Changed the front subs and mids for focal speakers, nice fit and good quality.
It fixed the right hand sound quality, sounds great….but the left is all distorted. Connections are correct (+\-) swapped the door amps as they are interchangeable and tried the good speakers on the left but still muffled. I got a multimeter which I am a novice with btw and got the same output from the speaker wires left and right - does this point to a head unit issue? I really want to keep the standard alpine head unit so any advise on what I might look at next would be appreciated as I have exhausted the little knowledge I have!
Cheers all!

kermit_rr · Thursday at 14:00

getting the connections wrong won't make any distortion, but it will sound 'flat' as the phase is off (cone moves in when the other cone moves out). if you have moved the door amp and the issue doesnt move, have you moved the speaker? it could be duff.
otherwise its likely a connection issue, check the connectors in the left hand A pillar, by your left foot at the bottom

BuddyP38 · Thursday at 16:00

Thanks for the rapid response. Yes I already tried the good speakers on the left (distorted side) and it’s not duff speaker/s but hadn’t checked the connectors in the A pillar. Just had a look and 3 or 4 pins are showing signs of corrosion. What’s best, cut and solder? Thanks

kermit_rr · Thursday at 16:06

Cut and solder them all, one at a time, is ideal

BuddyP38 · Thursday at 16:15

kermit_rr said:
Cut and solder them all, one at a time, is ideal

Will get it done in the next few days and report back! Cheers

Datatek · Thursday at 16:43

BuddyP38 said:
Will get it done in the next few days and report back! Cheers

Insulate with glue filled heat shrink.

Mark Piercy · Thursday at 17:38

Just join them all together, an amazing result

romanrob · Thursday at 17:39

Also worth inspecting the connections behind the dash. I chased a distortion for ages and just found a loose connection there

BuddyP38 · Thursday at 18:41

Datatek said:
Insulate with glue filled heat shrink.

Ordered some for delivery tomorrow, cheers for the tip

BuddyP38 · Thursday at 18:43

romanrob said:
Also worth inspecting the connections behind the dash. I chased a distortion for ages and just found a loose connection there

Fingers crossed it’s the ones in the footwell. Thanks for the advice, may come back to you if the first fix doesn’t cure it

Mark Piercy · Thursday at 18:45

BuddyP38 said:
Fingers crossed it’s the ones in the footwell. Thanks for the advice, may come back to you if the first fix doesn’t cure it

It may be worth checking behind the other kick panel incase there is corrosion on the other connectors to prevent any future issues

BuddyP38 · Friday at 00:09

Mark Piercy said:
It may be worth checking behind the other kick panel incase there is corrosion on the other connectors to prevent any future issues

Thanks, will do

BuddyP38 · Friday at 14:59

BuddyP38 · Friday at 15:02

I have soldered and insulated the joints on the connector, the problem is still there. Does the other connector have any bearing on the speakers or is that the one for the EAS?
So do I now do the right hand one?

BuddyP38 · Friday at 15:07

I have only just noticed the left hand rear door has the same level of distortion so it’s all 5 speakers on the left side of the car

kermit_rr · Friday at 15:20

That yellow trunking looks like SRS.. be careful of that, you don't want to set an airbag off
I didn't know that was there

Flossie · Friday at 15:29

kermit_rr said:
That yellow trunking looks like SRS.. be careful of that, you don't want to set an airbag off
I didn't know that was there

Seat side impact airbag on later models perhaps?

BuddyP38 · Friday at 15:44

Flossie said:
Seat side impact airbag on later models perhaps?

It’s got an SRS tag on the seats so probably right there. I steered clear of everything when I was making good the wiring, good to know what it is though!

kermit_rr · Friday at 15:55

The general rule is.. if it's yellow, treat as SRS
if you're unsure disconnect the battery and leave for 30 min to discharge before proceeding any further

aj1954 · Friday at 16:21

BuddyP38 said:
I have only just noticed the left hand rear door has the same level of distortion so it’s all 5 speakers on the left side of the car

That points to a problem with the left channel of the amp.

P38 Distorted Stereo Sound

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