rear speakers not working

[shadetreevanman]

Aftermarket stereos may still use the factory wiring if your van came with it. Factory wiring routed 3 of the 4 rear speakers through the door hinge wiring. Any of those doors wiring can be the culprit as the wiring can break through years of flexing when the door opens.

With that being said, ALWAYS check the easiest things first. The low hanging fruit, as it were. And my first question would be if any work has been done on or around the speakers not working? Door panels removed and speakers disconnected for any reason? Side doors? Rear doors?

If the answer is no, this is the order I would follow;

1. Settings on stereo
2. Connections to Speakers
3. Connections of Speaker Wiring to Stereo (Especially if aftermarket head unit has been installed in the past).
4. With steps 2 and 3 looked at, the Speakers and Stereo are now out in the open, and you will have easy access to the wiring to test its integrity.

Good luck.

[simplesez]

Went through those 3 steps just the other day when one speaker was cutting out. A wire came lose behind the stereo.

Step 4 would be chase down the problematic ground wire. I hate that step.

[BrianW]

Speakers are usually direct-wired +/- to the head unit rather than being common grounded like most other places in the van. So it’s highly unlikely that it would be a ground issue if speakers are out.

[Twoxentrix]

Originally Posted by Ruthless

The rear speakers in our 2012 Ford SMB suddenly quit working - only the speakers in the front work. There is a noise (like a fuzzy hissing sound) from the rear speakers even when the radio is off. Any ideas on this issue?

You stated you have a humming coming from the speakers, wouldn't this alone suggest speakers are receiving power of sorts? Curious If you turn the volume up does the humming increase? If so, wouldn't that validate an issue with the head unit (or Amp if you have one)?