Hey everyone. I'm new to the group and just recently bought a 1993 Bonneville SE. I really enjoy the car - tight suspension, plenty of pep, looks sharp, nice interior, etc.

My rear speakers are not working at all. The car is so new that I haven't bought any type of service manual for it. Since I don't know much of anything about how the audio in this car works, I was wondering if this situation has a possible common or familiar fix, or do I just need to spend an hour or two and trace it down.

Another problem I'm having with the audio is that the high frequencies (about 8k mhz and up) appear to be dropping out intermitently on the RADIO (just like what you might expect from a tape deck with dirty heads or pinch roller). I've jiggled with the EQ sliders, thinking some dust may be the culprit, but it appears to make no difference. This one stumps me! Is there a separate amp for high frequencies? If it were a loose wire, only one side would go out, not both. i don't know...

I have the standard GM AM/FM Cassette with EQ and 5 preset radio buttons and no Dolby (why not?) feature. it sounds pretty decent when it'* working correctly, but I need rear speakers, and that radio top end to act normal.

Thanks for any help that might come my way!

SciFiArtMan

well the obvious is, are the rear speakers there and hooked up? (you can see this from the trunk)

IMO, the best sound you will get is by getting an aftermarket headunit.

Well I have to assume they are present, as I bought this from a little old lady who was the original owner (don't have the car here right now to check, but I will this evening). As for the hooked up part, that'* obviously my next step. I can't imagine this previous owner disconnecting the speakers, so I was wondering if the speakers could easily have become disconnected in the trunk area by loading/unloading luggage and such, or from under the dash somehow?

I was hoping this might be a common problem of some sort. And what about the hi-end drop out on the radio? That one makes no sense to me!

Yes, of course the best sound would come from a new system, but I'm just trying to get all I can out of this setup for now. The basic sound is acceptable to me for the moment, but I need rear speakers and a stable top-end!

Thanks!

SciFiArtMan

Sounds like the HU lost the rear channels....and it also sounds like the HU is on its last leg of the high freq sounds are distorting....

if the speakers are ok, a 75 dollar headunit will be your best bet until you have time/funds to really upgrade.

Well the high frequencies are not distorting, they sound just fine, but they are dropping out, i.e., sudden loss and then return of treble tones. This tends to occur randomly every couple of minutes or so. Since I see people referring to a Head Unit, then I take it there is a separate amplifier, and since there are separate tweeters and woofers then there is a crossover somewhere, in the amp section? All this being true, then maybe I have a problem in the crossover?

Gee, i'm a little tapped after making this purchase. Hope I can get this unit working better!

SciFiArtMan

the audio systems are a little weird- to say the least.....the 6 speaker system has tweets and 5.25, midbass drivers in the doors, and the back has 6x9'*

the HU has an internal amp, and then the front speaker wires split into 2 and the tweetes have a bass blocker to prevent the low freq. from coming through and the 5.25 take care of the rest

Im still betting on the HU........

unless you have the Bose system you will not have any external amps. And even on the Bose the external amp does not deal with the high notes.(I'm pretty sure)

The crossover "pieces" are glued to the back of the 5 1/4" speakers up front. IDK what symptoms it would cause if they were bad or overheating.

Well if the "crossovers" were malfunctioning I would most likely only lose highs on one side, not both since they are separate for each speaker.

I have the standard 6 speaker setup as 1993 SLE described (assuming my rears are there). So the "crossovers" are just simple hi-pass resistor/caps. Sounds like I'm just gonna have to crawl around and find out what'* what in there. I suppose there'* some info here on how to service/install/remove the car audio and door panels for Bonnevilles here. Tell me I'm not gonna have to completely remove the dash assembly to access the rear of my stereo! I've just got more important things to do on the car than trace the entire audio system down piece by piece. Oh well, no one said it would be easy...but just once I wish it would be!

Thanks!

SciFiArtMan

you can access the rear speakers by removing the grilles, on the back deck...its really easy.....

as for the door panels there are clips, and 3 10mm bolts and a hex to remove