Hi, I'm not much of a Mr. fix it, but i'm dead broke and sick and tired of paying out the wahzoo for my car's problems, and also sic of keeping a boom box in my passenger's seat for music. So i went to the garage and they told me that if all of the speakers in my car stopped at once it was most likely the amplifier that blew. I want to know what to do, it's an old car and i have no clue how long i'll have it so is it worth getting fixed, how much does it usually cost to fix an amplifier, can i do it myself, would i have to buy a new amplifier, please please please help me!( oh and also what exactly is an amplifier and where is it located in the stereo system--that's how desperate i am)
the amplifier is what makes the sound loud enough to actually be audible. It originates unamplifiied from either the radio, tape, cd, or whatever other source unit, but then it must have extra power added to make the signal stronger/louder so that it can play through speakers. That's a really crude explanation and I'm sure some others on here are probably a little better at explaining the science behind how an amplifier works.
Most car stereos have a built-in amplifier--that's how you can hook up 4 speakers to them. If one of the speaker wires is shorted out somewhere in the car, or touching a spot of bare metal of the chassis, then it can cause the internal amplifier to go into protection mode. Basically this just kills all sound output, though the unit itself remains turned on and from a visual point of view, appears to be working normally.
Is this the toyota radio that came with the car or is it an aftermarket (sony, pioneer, kenwood, etc.) one?
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Ethan
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"Patience, persistence, and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success"
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