Boooom! Your new speaker just stopped making good sounds? It is disturbing to hear your car speakers crackle when listening to your favorite songs. It’s even more annoying when you remember you recently installed the speakers, which was an expensive job altogether.
Well, in this article, we’d explain why are car speakers crackling and how you can fix it. Car speakers crackling is mostly caused due to “overpowering” – when you power the speakers with a high voltage amplifier fuse that exceeds the manufacturer’s specification. Of course, there are other reasons why speakers crackle. Read on to know more.
Why Are Car Speakers Crackling and How to Fix This?
Speaker crackling can be caused by pretty different reasons. Explained hereunder are some of the commonest ones and how to handle each.
1. Overpowering the Speakers
This is the main culprit that makes car speakers crackle or burn out. In the quest to “get the most” out of car speakers, some audio enthusiasts tend to overpower their car’s speakers, which causes the speakers to either blow out or start to crackle. Pushing speakers over their limits is one way to get them to sound poorly.
Solution
Don’t use higher amp fuses just because you want to add more power and boost the sound reproduction of your car’s speakers. Always make sure you buy high-quality speakers from reputable manufacturers.
2. Damaged Speaker Cones
Speaker cones, also called diaphragm, play an important role in ensuring that you hear good sound reproduction from a speaker. Diaphragms are the thin, cone-shaped membranes of a speaker responsible for sound production.
While these are designed to last very long, they can become damaged over time due to wear and tear, humidity, or exposure to extreme temperatures. Apparently, any crack or tear in the speaker cones can cause crackling or buzzing sounds.
Solution
If you’re sure the speaker cone is the problem, then you should get it replaced. Well, in most cases, it might be better off to buy a new speaker instead of trying to repair or replace a damaged cone.
3. Loose Connections or Wires
A slight mistake in your car stereo’s wiring can cause the speakers to produce appalling sounds. Similarly, loose wire connections can cause crackling sounds. This is why you should always engage a professional auto electrician to handle any electrical connection service on your car.
Solution
Check the speaker wires, and the connections to the amplifier and head unit. If you find any loose cable, fix it properly into its fitting. If the connection is not properly done, redo it or have a professional electrical handle it this time.
4. High Volumes
Some speakers seem to produce crackle sounds when you tune them to the highest volumes. This is because the speaker parks are inferior, or the impedance isn’t stable at high volumes. If this is the case with your car speakers, the fix is pretty easy.
Solution
Reduce the volume to mid-levels so you can keep enjoying the balanced sound. But if you love playing your songs loudly, then you probably would need to buy a new set of speakers to replace the crackling ones.
Diagnosing Speaker Crackling
To find the actual reason why your car speakers crackle as sound is reproduced, here are some useful tips that can be of help.
- Pay attention to the speakers to monitor where the crackling is coming from.
- Test with different audio sources – CDs, Bluetooth, radio, streams, etc. – to confirm whether the crackling sound is being produced by the speakers themselves rather than the audio input.
- Use a multimeter to verify that the speakers’ impedance matches the recommended specifications provided by the manufacturer.
How To Prevent Speaker Crackling
You can actually try to prevent your car’s speakers from getting blown or producing crackling sounds. Hereunder are some maintenance tips you should consider:
- Make sure to use the appropriate amplifier for your car speakers; the amplifier shouldn’t produce excessive power to the speakers.
- As much as you can, try to avoid excessively high volume levels
- Protect the speakers from heat and moisture
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Speaker Crackling Damage My Car’s Audio System?
When your car speakers start to crackle, it is a clear sign of an underlying issue in the audio system, and you should treat the issue with urgency. While speaker crackling may not damage the audio system immediately, letting it linger for a longer time could potentially lead to further damage.
Can a Faulty Head Unit Cause Speaker Crackling?
Yes, of course, a faulty head unit may be the reason why your speakers stopped producing balanced and crisp sounds. Apparently, the head unit is the main component of cars’ audio systems, so its failure will definitely cause anomalies in the entire system.
Should I Replace All My Car Speakers If One Of Them Is Crackling?
If you confirm that it is just one of the speakers that’s crackling, there’s no need to replace all your speakers. You can simply replace the problematic one and keep enjoying good sounds. But then, if all your car’s speakers are already too old, it’d be best to replace all of them at once.
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