Hi, Im posting in regards of my friends 2004 Impala SS. He has a radio issue right now that
no one seems to know the problem of. The problem is that the radio works just fine, and the
cd player as well, But we are getting no sound from any speakers what so ever. It worked
well for along time when he got the vehicle but then it just started cutting out on him and now
its just silent. No sound at all. I have searched high and low and alot of people have had this
problem with the impala radios and alot resort to saying its the rear factory amp in the trunk.
But that is not the case for us because we have tried another factory amp and have no luck.

I read that it could be a possible ground to one of the speakers. So my question is whats the
best way to check this and what will the multimeter read if the speaker wiring is correct.

Or is it something other then this? Any suggestions or ideas to correct this will be greatly
appreciated. The dealership wants 90$ per half hour of labor to diagnose this problem and
do not have the funds to spend that, so whatever you think can help us please let us know.

Please any information in regards to this problem will be appreciated and i will keep everyone
here upto date on the progress i get from your suggestions.

Thanks Duane

 

sounds like a grounded speaker lead to me. Pull the radio, and with your multimeter, attach one probe to ground, set the meter to BEEP when theres continuity, and probe the speaker wires. If one is grounded, the meter will beep when your probe the wire. Do the same back at the amp.

 

What can cause that speaker lead to get grounded? The factory radio
has never been removed from this vehicle. And until yesterday either
had the amp. Being its a 2004 i wouldnt assume the casing got dried
out and cracked but i guess that could be possible. Or do you think
that somewhere throughout the wiring something shifted and could be
pinching the wire??

And as far as the multimeter probing goes, should i probe right into the
casing of the wire or should i probe from the metal pin connector right
from the plug that comes off the back of the radio???

Thanks in advance.

 

I usually probe the wires from the back of the connector. Try not to probe from the front so you don't bend the contacts.
If it turns out to be a grounded speaker lead, a common area for the wires to rub is under and around the rear seat. You'll want to remove the rear seat bottom and back to fully inspect and re-route the harness so it doesn't hapen again.

 

radio 25 bucks at junkyard. Easy fix. just try it and see

 

Used radio from the junkyard is 100$ Because the imapala is a SS model.
So it has all the options. Once my buddy gets off work ill try what shawn
said and if that dont work i think the junkyard option will be the next thing
we try.

Thanks

 

If the radio and cd player are working but there is just no volume, I give it a 90% chance that a speaker lead is grounded

 

Ok i tried probing the rear speakers with a meter and removed both fuse panels
on the passenger and drivers side dash. I then pulled each fuse to make sure there
was none popped. And no the whole system is in a twitching frenzy. It makes no
sense.

If i turn the car over it wont even crank now. The needles twitch up and down, the
lights flash and the dash cluster makes wierd buzzing sounds in a on off sequence.
And if i even try to turn on the 4 ways the system glitches, or if i try to lock the doors
from the button inside the car or even from the remote it glitches. The whole system
is freaking out and im at a total loss as to what happend. I unhooked the battery for a
good half hour or so and hooked it back up, And then when i unlocked the door manually
with the key and opened it the horn started going off and the whole system was freaking
out again. Im not sure if its a security thing now with the passlock or what, but i am in
need of some desperate help. This is a major computer issue it seems but at the same time
it was working fine before just not the radio, then i pull fuses and now its freaking out.
I even went through each fuse a second time to make sure it was seated properly, and
nothing. So if you can give me any ideas on what this may be please let me know, I feel
at fault for this on my friends car because now it is doing this, But in all honesty i didnt
do a damn thing besides check the fuses. So im stumped. Please someone help.