Speaker Rattle

Disc Jockey

I have a 2003 S-10 pickup and the drivers side door speaker rattles/vibrates - sometimes. It tends to be worse in colder weather but can happen when it's warmer also.Sometimes it is quite noticeable and sometimes fairly quiet.

To me, it sounded like it was just vibrating part of the door panel or something but when I put my ear down there it was definately coming from the speaker. So I took the door apart and tightend the mounting screws, maybe a 1/8 turn max. There was also a small pebble sitting in the speaker so aha! there's the problem or so I thought. No noise for about a week then my wife took the truck and drove it to her father's house, about a 4 hour drive, and said it made noise the whole way.

Any ideas what might be causing this? I thought that if it was blown it would be a pretty constant noise but maybe I'm off base with that assumption. If it needs to be replaced am I better off having someone do it? The speaker is rivited to the door so it's not as easy as just unscrewing and **** back in.

Thanks!

hexon

If it rattles when it hits a bass note, then most likely it is busted. Push down on the cone and listen for a scratching noise. If you hear a similar noise then it is busted. Do you listen to music at high volumes or have the bass turned up a lot? Are you powering your speakers with an amp?

Disc Jockey

Rattles are more pronounced when hitting bass notes as I remember. I listen to music fairly loud at times but not near as loud as a I listen at home Bass settings are at neutral, no dsp type processing. It is just powered with the rds head unit that came with the truck. It was the upgraded sound system but I'm sure still pretty crappy comparatively. I'll try the cone test when I get it back Friday.

If I end up replacing it, is it going to sound "off" if I just replace the two front door speaks. (there are also two in the dash and two in the rear doors).

Thanks for the help.

MacLeod

Make sure its not the speaker by actually taking it out of the door and hold it in your hand while music is playing.

Its much more likely something in the door itslef is the culprit.

Disc Jockey

Unfortunately the way the speaker bracket is riveted to the door means taking the speaker out is not as easy as it should be (if I remember correctly). I'll take a look and see Friday. If not, I might just leave the panel off and wait till it happens consistently and see if I can nail down the source.

MacLeod

RIVETED?!?!?! Wow!! Nobody will be stealing your gear anytime soon!

Disc Jockey

LOL yep. Someone I spoke to at Polk used to be an installer and said that was standard practice for certain GM lines. The only way to replace the speaker is drill out the rivets and replace the bracket also. And trust me, no one was going to be stealing this stuff anyway. It's actually decent for factory stuff but it would be kinda like turning down a date with Jessica Alba to go out with Sandra Bernhard.

hexon

If you just apply force to the metal around the speaker and the rattling stops, it is the resonance of the metal and not a busted speaker (however this is not the best way since rattling could occur on metal behind the speaker). Taking out the rivets is not hard at all. Just drill a hole straight through and they will pop out. It shouldn't sound bad if you replace only the front door speakers. What do you mean about speakers in the dash? Do you mean the little tweeters? If there are tweeters in the dash you will probably want to get component speakers and not coaxials.

Disc Jockey

Just an update. Speaker started to vibrate consistently again this morning. I had stashed all the tools I needed in my truck so when I got to work I took the door panel off. The vibration was definately coming from at or right around the speaker.

The speaker is screwed inside a plastic housing/bracket that is riveted to the door. The rivets were all solid but the bracket was a little loose at the top. Even though it had foam between the bracket and the door, it seemed like the buzzing was coming from there. I forced the bracket out a little and the noise stopped so I wedged a small toy that my daughter had left in the truck behind the bracket and put the door panel back on. I might make a more "elegant " solution when I get home...or maybe not.

Thanks for the help!

PaintballFREAK

well goood luck