Not sure where to put this - thought about in the interior/electronics forum... but this seems most appropriate. Mods can move it if it belongs elsewhere, I guess.

Anyway, I've had my 2009 RX-8 R3 for about a month now. The original owner told me about this stereo issue beforehand, but I've got better first-hand accounts of it now.

Sometimes on startup, I will hear nothing but a loud crackling noise through the speakers. This happens whether the stereo is on or off. The problem usually goes away after driving for a bit (2-10 minutes). Also, while driving later on I will sometimes hear a loud pop through the speakers, after which the sound seems to cut out from some of the speakers (mostly bass) before slowly fading back in.

Unfortunately, this issue is hard to replicate since I'm not sure what's responsible. It seems to have some correlation with precipitation. The weather has been consistently warm, so it couldn't be cold-weather related.

My first instinct thinks it's either a wiring issue or an amp issue. It's in the shop now and they said they found some gunk near the antenna. Cleaned it out and are now trying to reproduce the crackling again (which sounds completely off the mark to me). I've read on the forums about amp issues and soggy cones in the speakers because of poor insulation.

Thoughts?

tl;dr: Speakers crackle whether the radio is on or off. Seems to happen more after rain.

 

If you notice the problem more when it's wet or humid, I would pull the front door panels and check the door speakers. Look for a door shield missing or corrosion on the speaker terminals. Since your the second owner, any signs of accident repairs or repainting?

 

I'm almost positive your problem is in the main rear amplifier. I just finished fixing somethi very similar to the same problem. I had exactly what you're experiencing before mine went totally dead. When it WAS working, it would do the same "reset" sort of thing, then "charge back up" in a few seconds.

The reason I htink it's the amp is because of the way the audio system is structured. The front two speakers have their own tiny amps, which will make sound but they will be lacking in bass/power. Ther rears are powered directly by the main amp. If the main amp goes dead, all that will work will be the front two speakers, but they will be underpowered, similar to what temporarily happens in your problem. Bottom line: it seems that a circuit in the main amp is dying/resetting/something.

I read about one person who had a smart friend who took the main amp apart and replaced some chip for $5. I dont know how to do that, so i bought a used amp for $40 and just replaced it. Worked like a charm. Took me about an hour to do the whole job (even though you can see the unit in the top of the trunk, you have to go from the inside to replace it)

Try doing this to see if it's the same issue: "if I pull the 30A "audio" fuse in the interior fuse panel, the stereo stays powered up (strangely enough), but upon re-inserting it, the FRONT speakers ONLY work for a minute or so, or until I turn the key off."

See my posts and read these threads for people having similar problems:
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...&highlight=amp
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...&highlight=amp

 

Is there any way to test the rear amp to see if it has a problem?

 

that was my dillema. the answer is "sort of" - look at the amp in the trunk, there are two plugs (wire bundles) that supply it all the audio and power. if you can get your hands on another amp, just hold it there and plug those wires into it, before you go to the trouble of taking the car apart to replace it.

the problem is, its hard to find an extra amp just laying around... I did my research and, following the above logic, decided i was confident enough to plunk down the 40 bucks for the amp. you should do your own research and come to your own conclusions, but that would be my guess. you should be able to get one for approximately the same price, either from people parting out cars on the forums, or from a junkyard.

 

so your problem was resolved elysium? good to hear, sounded weird for sure.

 

Problem fixed. After checking all the wires and such they finally found out it was a bad amp (like I suggested). Either way, they also found out it was under parts warranty and ordered me a new amp. Installed and sounding great so far!

 

so in other words, exactly what I said....

 

Ah, yes... A warranty can be such a beautiful thing.

 

Yup, I was in complete agreement with you. I told them when I gave them the car that it was either a short to ground or a bad amp, and it still took them a week. I was asking you if there was a quick way to test the amp so I could give them a shortcut instead of letting them meander about.

 

ahh okie. honestly though if it's under warranty, that's the beauty of it, you can totally not give a **** lol.

 

ah, a warranty, something I could use.

 

Thanks for the information, something to keep in mind...