My speaker wires started shorting out, crackling, even slight smell of burnt wire. I brought the car in today and they said they have to pull the dash out to get a dx, to the tune of starting around $400. I asked if they could just cut the speaker wires as the car has a gazillion miles on it and I don't want to toss money into the speakers if I don't have to. Anyone dealt with anything like this?
my only suggestion would be another dealer, a local mechanic or a stereo shoppe. it might be easier to pull the h/u and cut the speakers there.
It all depends on where the short is and where the speakers are. if you remove the speakers you may not solve the short. If you find the short, just repair. Keep radio Off and pull fuse until/ before repair.They say pulling the dash is not such a big deal. It sounds like the dealer never actually found the short, so he's guessing. A good way to start is to study under the dash, good. From the floor.
a common problem with many cars is the wires break at the door hinge. I would try to determine which speakers are crackling. if its just 1, good chance its by the hinges where the wires go into the door. if its all the speakers then likely it is in the dash. the prius dash is fairly easy to r&r; I would take it apart myself with a mechanically inclined friend helping and inspect the wiring.
Speaker wires usually don't carry enough current to cause burning smells even if they are dead-shorted. No doubt there is some kind of electrical problem but it might NOT be in the wires to the speakers. Could even be inside the head unit itself.
Finally got my car back last night. NO CHARGE! As in I didn't pay a cent. Toyota guy said when the mechanic began tearing it apart the sound was crackling, then it quit. It seems, if I am reading the message under the words, that they were too overwhelmed with holiday repairs to go into this further at this time. He invited me to bring it back on Friday, but said it won't blow up, catch on fire, is safe to drive. So, back to square one.
if your Prius does not have JBL, it's a pretty simple system. Vey easy to pull the head unit, suggest going to an independent car stereo shop vs dealer. In fact, you could pull the head unit and replace with aftermarket radio and get bluetooth, smartphone compatibility, USB port etc for a lot less than $400.
Mech said they tested the ground wire (s) and didn't find anything wrong there either. I betcha the crackling will show up again. Good tip 3 PP! I think I do have JBL, but wouldn't mind a new system anyway bc the cd drive has been stuck for about a year- leaving me with my CASSETTES! No one can believe my 2005 Prius has a cassette player. A match made in heaven for sure. After the holiday, if the crackling continues, I'll suss out a stereo shop around here. Thanks folks!
it's a little more complicated with JBL since the amp is separate but a decent stereo shop will know how to make it work.
