Resolved 1G Speakers randomly not working

[XC92]

The speakers on my 1G DSM are randomly not working. The rears haven't worked in years. I pulled the radio out today and tried to pull and reinsert the 2 connectors on the rear, and that helped a bit, but I still can't get audio to all 6 speakers consistently (2 dash, 2 doors, 2 rears). Jiggling the wires and connectors got various speakers to cut in and out, but, again, inconsistently. I yanked all the terminals out of the connectors and they all look fine, as do the crimps and wires, and the male spades in the radio.

Is this a common issue with old 1G DSM's? I can't find anything wrong with the connectors, so I'm thinking that the problem is downstream, and that my jiggling the connectors to get some speakers to work actually yanked at something downstream. Before I pull everything out, which is going to be a pain in that tight space, any clues as to where the problems tend to lie? If it's a common thing then I'll know where to look. Otherwise I'll just take it one step at a time till I figure it out and solve it. But any advice would help.

 

[Sirius1995]

does it have infinity sound system, and do you have aftermarket radio?

 

[XC92]

does it have infinity sound system, and do you have aftermarket radio?

Nah, it's the stock radio/cassette/equalizer offered on the '92 Talon TSi's. Never swapped it out because I'm not a high end audio person and with the aux-in jack I was able to play CDs and later MP3s and the 6-channel sound was good enough for me.

But I'm starting to suspect that the problem is further up on the harness because after I plugged everything back in I noticed that the dome lights and auto door lock weren't working, so I must have disconnected something else. There must be some junction under the dash where things aren't properly connected.

It's just that it's so tight in there and hard to get to in these cars. I might have to remove the seat and/or dash just to get to what I need to get to. I might put it off though till I remove the brake and clutch pedal assembly, which I have to do for unrelated reasons (infamous clutch pedal slop issue needs to be fixed).

 

[XC92]

Never mind, figured it out. The male terminal spades on the radio had desoldered from the circuit board. They weren't properly soldered at the factory and 30 years of vibrations knocked them loose. So I resoldered them and all 6 speakers now work properly. As for the door locks and dome lights not working, totally different cause. Turns out that they share a common 15A fuse under the dash and it burnt out. I replaced it and all is good now. Now if I can only figure out why the driver's door re-locks whenever I use the key to unlock it, before I can open the door.

 

[bab96a]

Never mind, figured it out. The male terminal spades on the radio had desoldered from the circuit board. They weren't properly soldered at the factory and 30 years of vibrations knocked them loose. So I resoldered them and all 6 speakers now work properly. As for the door locks and dome lights not working, totally different cause. Turns out that they share a common 15A fuse under the dash and it burnt out. I replaced it and all is good now. Now if I can only figure out why the driver's door re-locks whenever I use the key to unlock it, before I can open the door.

Newbie here. How do you get to that circuit board to check it out. My rear speakers don’t seem to get any power to them.

 

[XC92]

Newbie here. How do you get to that circuit board to check it out. My rear speakers don’t seem to get any power to them.

I just removed the unit, took off the rear cover, exposed the circuit board, saw the broken solder joints, and resoldered them, one by one. If you can solder you can do this.

 

[steve]

I've had to do this to several Mitsubishi radios. By the time I saw your thread you had figured it out. This might be a good place to use silver solder for it's added strength.

 

[XC92]

I've had to do this to several Mitsubishi radios. By the time I saw your thread you had figured it out. This might be a good place to use silver solder for it's added strength.

I think I used standard solder but it's held up so far. Honestly I should get a newer and better head unit as I've literally never used the cassette player and 6 presets per band is pathetic. Its two saving graces are the equalizer and aux input jack.

But it's nearly 2025 and the audio world has moved on, massively. Something that can natively handle MP3 and such, Bluetooth, speakerphone, maybe a dashcam feed, etc. Not at the top of my list of priorities though. Still have a few odds and ends to deal with before the car is 100%.

 

[steve]

I'm sure using regular solder will last longer than your interest in that radio. I tend to be the fix it once type of guy and that often leads to overkill or digging deeper fixing everything I find than is required and also results in unfinished projects littering the landscape.

 

[luv2rallye]

also results in unfinished projects littering the landscape.

Yep, sounds like our houses look the same...

 

[XC92]

I'm sure using regular solder will last longer than your interest in that radio. I tend to be the fix it once type of guy and that often leads to overkill or digging deeper fixing everything I find than is required and also results in unfinished projects littering the landscape.

I've learned through experience that triage is the smart approach, and radios just don't rank with say brakes, transmissions and suspensions.