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Way back last year while stranded in Monument Valley I noticed something amiss with the stereo sound. Then a few months back on a long weekend outing I discovered why. The right stereo speaker was out. Last month at the Colorado rally the GD technicians were able to help me diagnose. I learned how to pull the stereo out and they traced it to a dead wire to the speaker. Unfortunately they could not pull the colorplast. It was up to me or the dealer, and I want not going to pay the dealer to find the problem. The tech use a multi meter to determine what was up
So a few days ago I opened up the inside.
With the stereo out I started backtracking. I pulled and disconnected the speakers and used a jumper wire between the connectors. I then checked resistance behind the stereo at the crimp connectors there for each speaker. Right showed the wires were connected, left was an open circuit.So somewhere I had a broken wire as the GD technicians had done. I was able to determine that the wires ran diagonally across the ceiling to bath living room wall. In the above picture you can see a black rectangle on the wall. This is my solar controller, I pulled it and found a bunch of colored wires running up the wall, but not the speaker wires. There is a sewer stack (vent) in the wall blocking access and view tot he left (area behind mirror). What I was trying to do is access the wire and try to find where the break was. I will mention here that I was impressed with the quality of the wood used in the wall
I was going to empty out the basement to get behind the wall and find the wires there, but got to thinking (very dangerous for me) that somewhere there had to be connections between the slide wiring (my fridge, stereo and TV are in the slide) and the main trailer and the logical place would be near where the cable bundle from the slide enters the trailer. So I decided to drop the colorplast (belly material) However this was not going to be easy with the gas line, sewer hose tube, steady fast bar, and scissor jack. I had already moved the spare tire. So on my back in the sun I got busy and was able to drop (roll back) the belly pan and what greeted me was - well in a word frustrating,
In the mess I did find the speaker wires I was looking for. I should mention that all the wiring is color coded and the stereo had a diagram for what is what. The right speaker was black and gray (could be different on other units). I found the butt splices for the left speaker connections. In testing I found one was open, but in addition the wires were crossed.
You can see what the factory person did. One should be gray in and out and the other black in and out. I cut them out and went back with wire nuts and taped connections. I know not the perfect connection to use here but I used what I had. So folks know these connections use a metal piece inside and when closed it cuts the wire insulation making contact with the wires, One of them did not connect. I think the wires were not fully seated when the crimp was made.
With the repair complete I now had a working right speaker. Then I reassembled the mess. I did separate and sort wires and bundle best I could and tucked everything back up in the belly. Then I resealed everything with black foam sealant - trying to be careful, but I still ended with it on me. I let it cure and hour and then went to work securing the belly back in place. I had a heck of a time getting the scissor jack back, until I fully opened it up so it stood against the frame while I lined up the holes. Everything is back together and working.
Lessons learned. I should have caught this at the PDI and so should the dealer (they replaced the stereo before I took delivery) The Factory should have caught this too.
For GD - there is a simple test you can do before wiring the speakers to the back of the stereo. Put a jumper across the speaker connection and test for a good circuit.
Hope this helps others.
So a few days ago I opened up the inside.
With the stereo out I started backtracking. I pulled and disconnected the speakers and used a jumper wire between the connectors. I then checked resistance behind the stereo at the crimp connectors there for each speaker. Right showed the wires were connected, left was an open circuit.So somewhere I had a broken wire as the GD technicians had done. I was able to determine that the wires ran diagonally across the ceiling to bath living room wall. In the above picture you can see a black rectangle on the wall. This is my solar controller, I pulled it and found a bunch of colored wires running up the wall, but not the speaker wires. There is a sewer stack (vent) in the wall blocking access and view tot he left (area behind mirror). What I was trying to do is access the wire and try to find where the break was. I will mention here that I was impressed with the quality of the wood used in the wall
I was going to empty out the basement to get behind the wall and find the wires there, but got to thinking (very dangerous for me) that somewhere there had to be connections between the slide wiring (my fridge, stereo and TV are in the slide) and the main trailer and the logical place would be near where the cable bundle from the slide enters the trailer. So I decided to drop the colorplast (belly material) However this was not going to be easy with the gas line, sewer hose tube, steady fast bar, and scissor jack. I had already moved the spare tire. So on my back in the sun I got busy and was able to drop (roll back) the belly pan and what greeted me was - well in a word frustrating,
In the mess I did find the speaker wires I was looking for. I should mention that all the wiring is color coded and the stereo had a diagram for what is what. The right speaker was black and gray (could be different on other units). I found the butt splices for the left speaker connections. In testing I found one was open, but in addition the wires were crossed.
You can see what the factory person did. One should be gray in and out and the other black in and out. I cut them out and went back with wire nuts and taped connections. I know not the perfect connection to use here but I used what I had. So folks know these connections use a metal piece inside and when closed it cuts the wire insulation making contact with the wires, One of them did not connect. I think the wires were not fully seated when the crimp was made.
With the repair complete I now had a working right speaker. Then I reassembled the mess. I did separate and sort wires and bundle best I could and tucked everything back up in the belly. Then I resealed everything with black foam sealant - trying to be careful, but I still ended with it on me. I let it cure and hour and then went to work securing the belly back in place. I had a heck of a time getting the scissor jack back, until I fully opened it up so it stood against the frame while I lined up the holes. Everything is back together and working.
Lessons learned. I should have caught this at the PDI and so should the dealer (they replaced the stereo before I took delivery) The Factory should have caught this too.
For GD - there is a simple test you can do before wiring the speakers to the back of the stereo. Put a jumper across the speaker connection and test for a good circuit.
Hope this helps others.
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