Hi, I have a 2008 Mini S and I just got done installing a sub by splicing into the rear speaker wires. I had it running and everything seemed to be working well until all of the sudden the sound quit. Everything on the radio looks and works like normal there is just no sound coming from the speakers.

I figure it is the amp or something but I'm not even sure if this mini has an amp as I can't find one anywhere. I checked the fuses in front of the passenger seat pertaining to the stereo and they all look good.

What is my problem??

Thanks for your help!!!!!!!

 

I just had the same thing happen to me after installing the Integral Audio sub system. I posed the question to Kevin Bennett from iA and he thinks it may be a short somewhere and the head unit has a safety feature that shuts down audio if a short is detected. By the way, after letting the car sit for a couple of hours my sound is back on. I suspect the problem will re-surface so I will be doing some troubleshooting this weekend.

 

is there a fuse on the radio or anywhere else that could cause this? I don't believe there is an external amp in this system

 

There is a fuse but my head unit still had power so the fuse was not the problem - checked it anyway though just to eliminate that. Yes, there is an external amp. Mine is located under the driver's seat. Apparently the anti-short safety precaution kicks in at higher volumes. That makes sense as mine shut off when I had turned the volume up while driving.

 

One other note: I don't believe it is recommended to use the rear channel for subs. Apparently there is a dip in the rear channel that limits frequency response on standard 6 speaker systems. You may want to search on that topic as I know there are multiple threads on it. There are actually some posts about swapping front/rear channels.

 

Yes there is a fuse in the fuse panel and on the back of the head unit but if either of them are blown then you will not have any display. So if the dispaly is working then both the fuses are good.

your car must either be a convertible or have an aftermarket amp in it.

It all depends on the car model and stereo model in the car. for a 2008 as the op has there were only two options for radios. Base (no amp) and HiFi (amp located on the drivers side in a hatchback and on the right in a clubman)

Yes there is a short circuit protection device in the head unit.

This is not recommended in any case for these cars.

Again this depends on the radio model. (base or HiFi)

Base radios with 6 speakers have a 100 hz rolloff on the rear channels so it basically eliminates the bass frequencies that the sub will generate. On these cars it is best to take the front speaker signals from the X9931 connector in the drivers foot well

HiFi Radios with 10 speakers have a strange frequency curve on the output of the amp. on these cars is is best to take the signal from the rear channel signal at the X9931 connector in the drivers footwell.




Also this same question has been answered in the NAV and Audio section a number of times.

Please search to see if someone has asked your question or one very similar to it before posting.

 

My car is a 2009 hardtop. Factory amp is under the drivers seat. I added the IA sub amp under the passenger seat.

 

I have a 2001 mini and the stereo looks like it works all the lights come on but there is no sound. It's been like this for about a year but every once in awhile the you can hear the it. this has happened three times and it stays on till you turn the car off and then next time you turn the car on it didnt work again. What could it be that is not working?

 

are you sure there isn't a blown speaker shorting out somewhere heather?

 

From personal experience in working on 2007 thru 2010 cars here is what i have about placement of modules.

2007-2010 MINI Hardtop, Clubman - with the Base system (6 speakers, no tweeters in the a-pillars) has no external amp.

2008-2010 MINI Hardtop - with HiFi (10 speakers, with tweeters in the a-pillars) has an external amp in the rear drivers side behind the carpeted panel.

2008-2010 MINI clubman - with HiFi (10 speakers, with tweeters in the a-pillars) has an external amp in the rear passenger side behind the carpeted panel.

For either car if bluetooth is installed it is in the compartment below the driver seat and if SAT Radio is installed it is in the compartment below the Passenger Seat.

There is also under the passenger seat a small module in all cars that is the YAW sensor and if moved will make the car very unsafe as it assist many different safety systems such as DSP, Brakes, Air bags and others by determining the direction the car is moving.

 

Eric,

'07-'09 JCW Hardtops with HiFi have the factory amp mounted under the driver's seat. Not sure why. Another quirk of these JCW's is that they have a mirrored version of the non-HiFi driver's side rear quarter panel trim on the PASSENGER side, i.e. they have the extra little nook on BOTH sides of the vehicle. They are the only vehicles to have this, and I still have no idea why.



Mike,

Give me a call when you have a moment, we should be able to track down your issue pretty quickly.



heather71369,

Do you have the harmon/kardon (did you mean '01 MINI or '10??) system? The symptoms you describe are typical of a particular problem with the h/k amp in first gen MINIs.



tdipowerman,

Definitely move your connections to the front channels for the reasons Eric mentioned. As to your problem, my guess is you've used an amp that dumps signal ground to power ground and are activating the over-current protection in the head unit. These units use a floating signal ground, and you have to use a suitable amp.

 

Thanks for the update. I have worked on two 08 JCW's and both had the HiFi amp in the back. So maybe they were dealership upgrades and not Factory.

 

Eric,

My brain stopped functioning for a minute there....most JCW hardtops do have the amp in the rear (and they only have the extra nook on the pass side). It's OUR amp that goes under the seat in those vehicles. Mike (above) isn't the first one to report a JCW HiFi amp under the driver seat, but I'm not sure as to why it is there.

 

A few of the others that reported it there came to find it was the bluetooth module that is in there when a picture was taken and the part number checked but that does not mean that it is not there but that would mean a completely different "main harness" in the car which seems unlikely but not unheard of with MINI or BMW.

But if MINI Me 2009 (Mike) could take a picture of it and post it here that would be helpful to all of us.

 

From this post is seems that MINI ME 2009 (mike) has a Base system (6 speakers)

So from that he would not have an amp under the drivers seat, as the Base or 6 speaker systems do not have amps. Only the HiFi and HK systmes have separate amps. outside the head unit. If there is an amp under the drivers seat it is either an Apline OEM upgrade, but then it should have tweeters in the A-Pillars, and not have only 6 speakers, or it would be an aftermarket amp.

 

Yeah, I realized that after I looked at Mike's order, but neglected to post that here....I should've known it was still buggin' you! Wondering about details like that drives me crazy too. I believe he was referring to the multibox under the drivers seat.

 

I just really dislike the "miss information" that is spread on some of these forums. This is a really good an knowledgeable group of people here and then a few noobs come in throwing all kinds of incorrect info and then those that are looking for real good info get confused by the inconsistencies or incorrect info.

It drives me nuts on other boards how incorrect the info is sometimes.

 

I just experienced the exact same thing last night coming home from work. With a few helpful posts from Kevin last fall I figured out what i did to mess up my install at that time. Bit the bullet and reattempted it all last weekend and everything was great. Just driving along and all of a sudden no sound. Of course i nearly **** cause I figured i messed something up again. Got home and parked the car for bout 10 mins, came back out and everything is fine again. I don't like it but its at least nice to know that I'm not the only one. So I guess I need to go back and check all of my connections at the x9331 right?

 

-----------
Sorry for "miss information". There is an electronic box under my driver's seat. It was called an "amp" in the Integral Audio installation guide so that is what I called it. My car is equipped with Bluetooth so I guess that is it. Didn't intend to post bad info for all of the uber-knowledgeable pros out there.