Left front speaker short circuit - low volume

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simon_lenard

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Hi all,

I have an A5 Sportback with the standard audio system, including the subwoofer in the boot.

I’m getting an error code saying “Front Left Woofer – Short Circuit”. The speaker does work, but it’s extremely quiet.

I’ve taken the speaker out and tested it on the driver’s side, and it works perfectly. I also connected the driver’s-side speaker to the passenger-side wiring, and I get exactly the same issue — very quiet output and the same fault code.

So I’m fairly confident I can rule out the speaker itself.

Has anyone experienced this before or have any ideas what I should check next? I’m really hoping it’s not a wiring issue!

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!
 
If you’ve swapped the speaker and the fault doesn’t follow, then that just leaves the wiring. it’s likely a pinch point at the hinge where the wiring loom goes to the door, behind the connector in the rubber grommet.

To be honest, it’s difficult to trace, as the wiring will also have automotive cloth tape which is a pain to remove. You could pick up a second hand door loom and connect at the hinge and test. If the speaker works, then bingo. You’ve already had the door card off, so pick a dry day and start early. Usually wiring clips, Torx screws, etc.

Charles Trent and Global Parts are safe bets, avoid breakeryard.com. If you can see part number on existing wiring, as some looms no doubt from cars with upgraded sound systems such as Bang and Olufsen.
 
Just to add a bit more information — I have the base audio system, so the amplifier is built into the radio/MMI unit behind the glovebox rather than having a separate amplifier.

I could run a temporary speaker wire directly from the radio unit to the woofer, bypassing the existing wiring, to test whether the wiring is the problem.

However, I've also noticed that the left-hand tweeter on top of the dashboard is noticeably quieter than the driver's-side tweeter. This is what makes me suspect that the problem could actually be with the amplifier section of the radio unit and that one of the left-side channels may have been damaged/burnt out.

The fact that both the left woofer and tweeter are quieter, combined with the "Front Left Woofer – Short Circuit" fault, makes me think it could be more than just a problem with the woofer wiring.

I'll try bypassing the wiring directly from the radio unit to the speaker and see what happens. If anyone has experienced a similar failure on the base B9 audio system, I'd really appreciate any advice.
 
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