456 speaker issue

Hey everyone, I stumbled upon a little stereo issue that I wondered if anyone had some insight into.

I figured I was gonna change the door speakers on my 456 while fixing the window gap, but I soon realised that neither of the front left side speakers were playing. I just got the car, so I’ve simply not noticed. Swapping the door speaker for a brand new one didn’t help.

The weird thing is that the door speaker does make a small pop when I connect it (both the old and the new!) , so it does get power.. all the other speakers work just fine, it’s just the left side tweeter in the dash and the left side door speaker that won’t play. (And I’ve tried the fader and balance). I’ve also checked the fuses in the back, no luck. Any help or insight into this will be greatly appreciated!!

 

Torstein, do you have an aftermarket amplifier? If not, you probably only have the option of checking wiring or replacing/repairing the radio-cassette unit.

Since no one has any wiring diagrams for the 456GT, that leaves your options further limited. However, if the wiring is the same as the 456M, then it's just a matter of carrying out continuity checks on wires of the same colours. e.g. The red/blue wire on door speaker should go to the red/blue wire on the radio plug. Same for the tweeter. The blue/white wire on the door speaker should go to the blue/white wire on the radio plug. Note, however, that the tweeter has a blue/red wire which goes to the blue/white wire on the radio

 

Thanks for that Ian!
I have the original amp, so I'll double check the wiring.. If that doesn't work I guess I just have to take it to a car stereo shop and have them look at it. Although it feels like a simple problem in a way. The rest of the system is playing beautifully!

 

Hi,

there are many old threads in here about the Sony system on the 456GT. It is quite a good system when it works, but only the rear speakers are driven by the 2x30W Sony amp in the trunk. The front channels are driven by the main head unit / radio and it overheats due to the place where it is and cooks the small condencers and capasitors. It can be repaired, like I did, but it required to take out the whole unit and the cable from the control panel all the way from the center console to the trunk.

I didn’t mind as I intend to keep the car a long time and I had to take the whole interior apart anyways to replace the driver’s door seal and to fix the A/C unit. A good idea to clean and treat all the leather with Connolly hide food at the same time.

Cheers!

 

Thanks, Pekka! Just so I understand - if the head unit drive the door speakers and dash tweeters, why do you have to remove the cable all the way to the back to have it checked and repaired?

 

I was going to ask that question too. The 456M diagrams show separate pins on the head unit for other speakers

 

Because the cables to the speakers start at the main unit in the trunk, not from the head unit in the cabin.

 

And what part does normally get fried due to heat? The internal parts of the head unit or the cables themselves? Guess I’m hoping I don’t have to pull the whole interior and remove all the cables to troubleshoot the issue

 

The part in the trunk gets too hot and especially condensors deteriorate quickly. Also the amplifiers may fry.

The unit has great resemblance to the Sony XTC-U200, diagrams can be found online in the service manual. The top left part of the diagram is the amplifier; this is where your problem probably lies.

The problem is you can't test the unit without the part mounted in the cabin, so you may need to make a temporary loom to connect both units on a workbench. Surely less work than extracting the loom from the car!

 

Hi,

Exactly as Bart writes, the heat in the trunk "cooks" the condensers and as they fail there will no longer be a signal to the front speakers. This may also sometimes create loud "crakcs" heard from the front speakers, in the doors and the tweeters on the dash.

On mine the foam on the rear footwell "subwoofers" (6" or 4" bass elements IIRC) was also torn, but those are cheap top replace either OEM or having them rebuilt like I did.

I think the rebuild for the bass speakers was €80,- euros for the pair and the complete rebuild of the head unit in the trunk was like €290 euros, more than two dozen capacitors replaced. Works like a charm now. I also added the Sony XA-300 and mounted an aux-connection and USB charger in the rear seat ash tray / cigarette lighter. I have been very happy with the result. I did add thermostatically controlled fans into the trunk and I can hear them sometimes while driving in warm weather, but they don't disturb me, I just think the stereo will now last much much longer.


Cheers!

PS. Edit: the problem with the loom / cable is that the Sony setup for Ferrari is largely undocumented and custom built, so the repair shop said they can not repair and test the unit unless they have the complete loom together with the control unit from the center console. I think they did a great job, I got everything back in less than two weeks, The CD changer could not be repaired, but I bought a similar Sony unit for €50, euros, the only thing it does not have is the Ferrari logo, which no-one would be able to see anyways! ;-)

 

Hi,

Here's the long thread (2003-2019) with detailed information and photos of basically all the components as well as descriptions of the work and features related and what I did and what other have done before me (or after).

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/1992-1998-ferrari-456gt-and-456gta-stereo-guide-ipod-and-more.222934/#post-138217003

Cheers!

 

Seems the same for the 456M. I traced the wiring in the WSM for all the speakers (front and rear) and they are all connected to the head unit with no amplifier!

 

Hi,

Ok, I think it has some similarities, but also differences, on the 456GT system the four rear speakers are driven by a separate Sony 2x30W amp, very generic, easy to replace, but I have never had problems with that amp, it’s the main unit / radio that is the one that drives the front channels that always fails due to heat and being perhsps a bit underpowered.

Cheers!

 

Okay so I have an update. Due to my lack of stereo knowledge, I took the car to a local stereo shop. The problem was, as you might guess, the XTC-F10 main unit, specifically its internal amp feeding the fronts. The guy at the shop swapped out the OEM amp for a new 4 channel amp that now feeds all the speakers, instead of the XTC-F10 feeding the front. So that problem is now solved, and now all the speakers are playing. However the pre amp in the XTC-F10 is still weird, and the guy in the shop tells me the system now has a phase problem. I’m no audiophile- to my ears it plays okay but I guess not great. Bass is almost non existent. So I guess the next step is to remove the XTC-F10 and see if someone can fix it, alternatively spending $2500 for a new one..

Which made me think; Using a Bluetooth equipped new (and cheaper) player in the trunk, is it possible to buy-pass the XTC-F10 entirely? And simply play from the iPhone and leaving the front part of the main unit dead for the time being?

@franschman @Fennicus or any other stereo experts .. any thoughts?

 

Hi,

I was thinking of changing the system as well, but in the end was happy to just having the original unit repaired and I did add the additional cooling to prevent cooking the system again. For me these cars are time tr5avel, so I like the details, like radio etc to be period correct. YMMV.

Cheers!

 

I can't help with any specific details but there is a guy called Neil in the UK - @fasterGerman on Instagram I think - who has done just this. Bluetooth HU in the trunk and he connects via Bluetooth from his phone and plays music that way.

HTH