Unsure what exactly to do next

[Mike_215]

Might be a bit winded. Thanks in advance for taking the time to read.

I have a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500, 5.7L that had 7-speaker infinity audio from factory. When I got the truck around 2014 the audio worked fine with the exception that every once and awhile when starting the truck the speakers would be blaring static at full volume. Turning the stereo off would not keep the speakers from blasting static. The solution would be to turn the truck off and restart the truck. Eventually, after reading some forums, I removed the amp and spliced the wires together instead of installing another amp to just bypass it.

Over time the speakers have begun losing power, playing a lot of static with the music or just not working completely. About 5 years ago I replaced the factory stereo receiver with a pioneer. That didn’t change anything with the speakers. I wasn’t in a rush to look further into as at the time the truck was not a daily driver.

The other day I replaced the Pioneer stereo with a JVC. Swapping it out did not change anything with the speakers. The still work intermittently, but usually no more than 30 minutes before not working, if at all. This time, whenever the speakers stop working, I receive the error “Miswiring DC Offset Error.” When looking this up it mostly pointed to the speakers or wiring. I ordered speakers for the speakers that would typically have the static before all the speakers stop working. I replaced all three and nothing has changed.

I found on another site someone mentioned in there post unplugging all speakers then plugging them back in one by one to see where there may be a short. I did that and have unplugged all of them and re-plugged them in. There has been no change. All speakers come on at some point but play with static in the music half the time and the other half the speakers just don’t come on at all.

Also, it is all or nothing. Even if just one speaker is having static issues, once the sound goes out it will be all the speakers turned off. The stereo receiver always come on. It has never not come on and will recognize my phone and radio stations. Just no music will be playing.

I’m not sure if at this point it is just assumed there is a short somewhere and I would be better off running new wires? Is it possible to have a short in just one speaker that when it shorts could cause all speakers to not play? Or is it more likely there is a junction somewhere I am not tracking?

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I’ve tried reading up on a bunch of forums and YouTube videos to get ideas.

Thanks!

[Notloudenuf]

That sounds like an annoying problem to have. I had a car that shorted one speaker and it backfed into the head unit and caused terrible static to come from all speakers. This was intermittent because it only happened when the door the speaker was in slammed and moved the wiring to short out on some metal. Here is my write up about it https://www.caraudiojunkies.com/show...ll=1#post37443
It sounds like and your research seems to agree that you have a short in the speaker wiring somewhere.
Can you test each HU output into a speaker and see if the problem goes away?
If I were you I would run new speaker wires and be done with the factory wires and factory speakers (which I think you've already replaced)

[chithead]

I'm also thinking it's time to run new wires.

The error message on the JVC head unit indicates - If the power is not turned ON ("Miswiring DC Offset Error", "Warning DC Offset Error" is displayed), the speaker wire may have a short-circuit or touched the chassis of the vehicle and the protection function may have been activated. Therefore, the speaker wire should be checked.

From Crutchfield's Research Pages:

Infinity 7-speaker system

You have a factory amp behind the glove box that powers the three dash speakers, the front door 6"x9" subs, and the full-range rear speakers. If you're planning on upgrading your speakers, you have some choices to make.

If you're keeping your factory radio, you can replace all your speakers, but keep in mind that the front door speakers are just producing bass.

If you're replacing the factory radio, you can connect your new stereo to the factory Infinity amp — you should get a little boost in performance but the speakers will continue to work as they do now. You can replace most of your speakers, but again, the front door speakers will only produce bass.

You'll get the best results if you bypass the Infinity amp. Just run speaker wire from the new stereo to the glove box, then tie into the speaker wires coming off the factory amp. Then you have the option of running full-range 6"x9" speakers in your front doors, hooking up outboard amps, and building a full-blown audio system.