Hey guys, picked up a 2001 Magna Sports manual two weeks ago, first car, pretty happy with it apart from the remote not working and the speakers cutting out.

So when I got the car initially, sound was working fine, but on days where it's been left out in the sun, the sound come through the speakers for about a second when I start up the car, then just cuts out. It'll come back occasionally, like if I hit a small bump, or slam the car door, but those no longer work.

Carhead friend of mine says he's got a friend that has a Magna and has the exact same issue. He said it was something to do with the relays or something, but I don't know shit about cars so I can't confirm or deny this.

The car is completely stock (at least for now, heh), so stock headunit and speakers. Headunit is fine when this is going on, so it seems to be the speakers only.

Anyone have any ideas? Probably will be getting a better headunit shortly, but I'm not sure if that'll fix it.

PS. My first post, woo.

I have the same problem with my Pioneer headunit, speakers cut out, headunit keeps on going. I think it's a dodgy earth or overheating problem, going to pull it all apart in a few weeks to try to sort it out. I'll let you know how I go

Are your speakers stock? Given that bumps and whatever seem to trigger the issue, it's gotta be at least partially the fault of something loose, but it's odd that it only happens on hot days.

My parents have a 2001 TJ Exec - has the single-CD "Hi Power" stock head-unit with an AUX JACK on the front panel. They had a similar problem, a bit more intermittent than you seem to be having. We pulled dash apart several times, checking that head-unit was plugged firmly to car loom etc -always "seemed" to fix it, but would recurr very quickly. They travel unsealed roads all the time.

Eventually we came to conclusion that part of the head-unit was rattled-apart, circuit board broken or dry solder joint etc. Because they had no need or love of after-market audio, we got the same stock head-unit cheaply off EBay, swapped it in and its been fine ever since. Was cheaper to buy replacement than to bother with investigating a fix for the original unit. If you swap for a stock one, make sure you get the new security code - the unit will not operate after being disconnected (even flat battery etc) without a 4-digit code being entered.

Just because the display panel of head unit still operates, don't think the complete unit is OK - could be problem in the amplifier stage of head-unit etc.

With the Symptoms you have described, Do the Speakers come back on once the Aircon is used ?
Is it the rear speakers cutting out or all of them ?

I am going to say it is likely there is a short in the wiring to one of the speakers inside the doors..
This would explain the bump/Door closing problems.


What many people forget is the stock standard head units have appauling anti-skip qualities and can cut out at the slightest jolt..
Replace with an Entry level aftermarket headunit and the problems seem to vanish..

With the Symptoms you have described, Do the Speakers come back on once the Aircon is used ?
Is it the rear speakers cutting out or all of them ?

I am going to say it is likely there is a short in the wiring to one of the speakers inside the doors..
This would explain the bump/Door closing problems.


What many people forget is the stock standard head units have appauling anti-skip qualities and can cut out at the slightest jolt..
Replace with an Entry level aftermarket headunit and the problems seem to vanish..

Okay, I installed a new headunit and new front speakers but the speakers still cut out today cause it's fairly hot.

Aircon doesn't seem to do anything, but it definitely works on cool days.

I'm stumped. Any other ideas? Should I take it to a mechanic or a car audio installation place?

Remove and check all your fuses, one at a time. Might just be a fuse that is broken and bump/temp sensitive.

Will do tonight, although I thought the speakers didn't have fuses?

Will do tonight, although I thought the speakers didn't have fuses?

The speakers themselves don't, they cut out because the radio is cutting out. The radio has 2 power feeds, one is on permanently to feed the memory settings, and the other is only on when the radio is on. It is possible the second main power feed has an intermittent fuse problem while the first feed keeps the display alive. Worth checking, anyway. I don't know where the radio fuse is, I'm new to the TJ too. lol Should be in the footwell though. Maybe locate it and replace it and see how it goes? The fuse box is close to the driver's door, and slamming that may be enough to "fix" the fuse, as you have experienced.

If that doesn't work, try the radio with a CD playing, CD in and using the radio, and using the radio with a CD out, and see if the problem only occurs in one combination. It may be an internal switch in the head unit acting up. In that case, remove and get an aftermarket unit.

The speakers themselves don't, they cut out because the radio is cutting out. The radio has 2 power feeds, one is on permanently to feed the memory settings, and the other is only on when the radio is on. It is possible the second main power feed has an intermittent fuse problem while the first feed keeps the display alive. Worth checking, anyway. I don't know where the radio fuse is, I'm new to the TJ too. lol Should be in the footwell though.Maybe locate it and replace it and see how it goes?

Ah, I see. Yeah, the headunit works fine otherwise, just no audio. And I've noticed that the audio works for a split second when turning the car on sometimes as well, if that's diagnostically useful. I think the fuse box under the hood, will investigate tonight, thanks.

2 fuse boxes! One under the hood, one at driver's right foot level. Start there. Hang on . . . .

A quick piccy. lol

http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac19/rons105/DSCF3968.jpg

. . . the audio works for a split second when turning the car on sometimes.

This tells me its a connection/electrical problem. An electronics problem inside the head unit would make it not do this, it would not work at all - ever.

Some head units have their own fuse in the back of them, I don't know about the standard TJ unit though. Would be worth checking this fuse, if it exists, if everything else turns up nothing. They are known to go brittle with age and cause intermittent problems on Sony units.

Okay so I had to move my car and I was wondering what the flashing PROTECT on the headunit meant and I looked it up. The speakers have a short circuit somewhere and the unit will flash until it's fixed. So something's shorting.. which makes it less likely to be fuse and more likely to be wiring in general... which is bad because that means it's anywhere in the car :/

EDIT: Yeah so it's definitely not head-unit related since I got the front speakers and the headunit replaced.

Okay so I had to move my car and I was wondering what the flashing PROTECT on the headunit meant and I looked it up. The speakers have a short circuit somewhere and the unit will flash until it's fixed. So something's shorting.. which makes it less likely to be fuse and more likely to be wiring in general... which is bad because that means it's anywhere in the car :/

EDIT: Yeah so it's definitely not head-unit related since I got the front speakers and the headunit replaced.

Definitely not a fuse problem then. Pity you didn't mention this earlier. lol

PROTECT mode is good, it stops the output transistors from going up in smoke and instantly destroying the HU. lol
You need to check all your wiring, a multimeter on the speaker pairs at the HU or speaker end will identify which speaker is shorting out. Also, I have had a HU protect itself because the speaker wire pairs were hooked up incorrectly at the HU end. Worth checking that the plug has been wired correctly and that there aren't stray strands of wire shorting out things.

Rear parcel shelf speakers are easy to check for shorts, unplug and put a multimeter on the plug. Also look for stray bits of metal attracted by the magnets. Front speakers need to have the door cards removed to check. Have fun!

Argh, I have to open up everything again? Maybe I'll take it to a professional this time haha. And the hard part is I have to do this while it's hot and shorting. It's all wired up correctly cause the speakers all work when it's not hot. Ideally the HU would tell me which speaker is shorting :/

Argh, I have to open up everything again? Maybe I'll take it to a professional this time haha. And the hard part is I have to do this while it's hot and shorting. It's all wired up correctly cause the speakers all work when it's not hot. Ideally the HU would tell me which speaker is shorting :/

It works when its cold because the HU isn't reaching critical temperature to activate PROTECT mode. I bet when its cold and working, if you crank up the volume and it will cut out. lol I bet the short is there all the time. lol If you installed the HU unit yourself you probably wired it up wrong. Check your speaker pairs for correct active/earth orientation. Get one wrong and you get the problem you have now.

Well I didn't do the install, just helped out two of my friends who've done a couple. We had it turned up for like five minutes to make sure it all worked. This same issue was around on the stock headunit as well so the chances of this being a wiring fault that we introduced is far less likely. Active/earth orientation?

Each speaker pair has a specific colour, one will have a stripe, that is the earth (-) connection for that speaker. The other, without the stripe, is the active, or signal, or (+) connection. Colour codes vary between different manufacturers though. Need to check manual.

Just use a multimeter on each of the 4 speaker plugs, with everything turned off. You will soon see where the problem is.

Oh, right. Yeah, we checked by having three pairs of eyes looking at the wiring diagrams and the installation guide for the headunit, then twisted the ends together, tested, then soldered. As I said, given that the old head unit and speakers had the same issue, it's probably somewhere else in the car.

Ok... So you have a New Headunit, and New Speakers,(2 or 4) and Original Wiring Correct!!

A short between Speaker wires looks promising.... Do you have access to a Multimeter?? If you dont, another thing you can try, is to remove the Headunit again, Disconnect all the Speakers, and connect a speaker directly to the Harness coming out the back of the Headunit!!

Let us know how you go!!

HEY guys I have been having the EXACT same problem as this. I installed a pioneer head unit about a year ago, and it worked great until the speakers cut out. over a bump they would play again for a split second, etc, so somewhere it seems two wires are shorting out. I have arrived at that conclusion because i reinstalled the factory head unit today and it was bitter/sweet to find out that it wasn't my pioneer head unit that was broken.

Anyway, I left my multimeter at work but i'll just have to find something else to do these diagnostics. I'm a 4th year electrical apprentice so i really ought to be able to figure these things out. its frustrating.

I might add that I used an iso-converter plug thingo to install the pioneer unit, for ease of reinstalling the original one again. this also ensured that the connections would be relatively good. other connections were made using screw down connectors, or soldering with heat shrink. so if the problem isn't on the factory plug, then it must be shorting out somewhere. the head unit has power and appears to work perfectly, just no sound comes out even when playing cds etc. lets work this out asap!

sorry forgot to mention i have a TL VR Limited, manual. what a great car it is eh

Two things to check.
(1) Unplug the head unit and probe the speaker pairs in the plug. They should all show 4 or 8 ohm. Any zero readings isolate the shorting cable. Trace the cable and repair the short, if this is not possible run a parallel speaker cable.

(2) If (1) shows up nothing, check that the converter unit is wired correctly. You will need to identify the wires on the car(4 speaker pairs, permanent +, ACC +, aerial power), and the output pins from the HU by looking at the HU manual. The converter may be wired incorrectly.

Shouldn't be too hard to fix.

ok i've found the problem! Hopefully this will help others.

One of the rear speaker terminals (Where the speaker wires connect to the speaker) became loose, and was only held on by the wire themselves. usually this terminal would be fixed to the speaker housing.

This caused the small (non-insulated) wires that go to the speaker coils to touch the housing. it will either cause the sound to cease entirely for the entire system or make a horrible crackling noise. I suppose this could have happened to any of the speakers (even more then one) in the system.

The pioneer head unit I installed, being much more powerful then the factory head unit, served as a major catalyst for this problem because its obvious that the excessive vibrating was the cause. When the crackling was occurring, i could see the speaker cone vibrating to such an extent that it was touching the housing and this has caused damage to the cone surface. luckily it still sounds good enough for me.

Its great to know that my head unit was not the problem because I love pioneer. its an f8000bt that I ordered from America.

The car is actually for sale now so I'm not sure if I'll reinstall it or not!
Merry Christmas guys/girls.

PM me if you're interested in the car BTW because I'm willing to lose money on it - I want a 4wd and this has to go first!

not sure about the "hot day" thing being the cause of the problem by the way. it could just be that the heat in the boot/door panel is enough for the uninsulated wires to sag and touch the speaker housing/ chassis earth

sorry forgot to mention i have a TL VR Limited, manual. what a great car it is eh



The car is actually for sale now

That's a quick change of heart! lol How much you want for it? You might want to post it up on the "For Sale" thread, possibly.

yeah i know its been a great car but i'm starting my own business and my wife doesn't like manual! I thought i'd have this car forever but yeah. I need something I can tow / store things in and also my mates are getting into 4WDing. I have an ef fairmont before this and lets just say, its lucky my brother is a mechanic. Magna has never let me down, its so sad MMC cut them loose.
I would like to put an ad up, but i read the rules and it says i'm not allowed to unless i've done more then 50 posts. :neutral:

do you think they might let me get away with it?

Nope! It's impossible to get away with anything on this forum! lol Big Moderator Brother is watching all of us! lol

ha well fair enough. at least he saw my good deed.

Alright, gotta try this out.

Also are there a consolidated list of Magna car audio howto's? Like remove the dash for my '01 Magna Sports. When we put it back together, we had 4 screws left over :/

I actually have the same problem, speakers are cutting out completely on a hot day and every time I hit a bump in the road they crackle and pop. Does this both on radio and CD. Am thinking maybe earth wire? and / or speaker wires?

Can someone help!?!?!?

Alright, I've fixed it, at least for now.

I took apart the dash again and measured impedance of all the speakers and they all checked out (~3-5 ohms), so I put the power back on and it was working, but then I played a song with a fair bit of bass and it cut out again. Turned it on and off and heard a pop from back left speaker, so we tried to unplug them via the really ****ing annoying clips in the boot. Eventually we got it off with brute force, and for good measure I'm fading the audio towards the front speakers.

The back speakers are stock and I'm thinking they can't handle the power. Either way it seems to be all good now. The only annoying thing is my radio gets louder and softer but that's cause I don't have an antenna lol.

Thanks for the help guys!

Only just seen this, but curious anyway.
When you replaced the HU & speakers, did you continue to use the existing wires? Could explain why the problem remained.

No aerial? Bet he didn't earth the HU either. lol

well I have the same problem and im thinking its a loose earth as it does this on both cd and radio, so hopefully by early jan ill have it all diagnosed and fixed properly not disconecting the rears and fading 2 front :P hehehe nah nah but seriously, ill suss it out soon as dads magna has an after market deck running all the stock speakers so I'm thinking its a combination of age and maybe a loose earth.

Yeah, when I bought the car, the aerial had already snapped. I believe it's earthed through a wire that we hooked up to the metal in the car.

But yeah, used existing wires cause I'm a lazy bastard.