Weird speaker issue - Speaker replacement?

The audio in 2013 isn’t great, which is fine because I’m not an audiophile but I recently found out that only the front right speaker can get loud.

As I was installing a CarPlay unit and messing with the balance, I found that if I set it to the front left, back left, or back right, it was about as loud as a whisper, but nice and loud if set to the front right.

I thought it might have been the new unit, which was fine because I had to return it for another reason. When I got a different one (different brand/model), I had a similar situation. I then put the stock unit back in and had the same thing.

So what do you think? New speakers? Thanks.

 

Could be a couple things like bad connections or loose wires in the harness. They could also blown. You could move the good one to a bad speakers location and see what results you get. I'd start with checking connections and go from there.

 

I'm not a big stereo guy either, but the stock speakers are very poor quality.
I have a 2014 and just replaced my speakers last year. I have an access cab so only replaced the two in each door, but the stock units were 'builder grade'.
It's not a bad job but you may have to cut and solder the stock connection onto the new speakers you buy.
I have a little ringing in my ears (from being stupid when I was younger), so the high ranges are more important to me now. The tweeter upgrade alone was worth it.
My guess is that your stock speakers are just shot from years of vibration and door closing.

 

Also, just my two cents, but if/when you buy replacements, if you're using your stock unit or a low power unit without an amplifier, don't buy high end speakers. You won't have the power to push them and they won't sound as good as you expect them to.

 

Do you have any kind of old speaker laying around that you could use for testing? Could even be a bookshelf type speaker. Remove the door panel and unplug the speaker connector. Use some common wire, or better yet, "jumpers" with alligator clips on the ends, and connect the test speaker to the wires from the head unit. Do your listening test. If the temp speaker sounds normal, then you have a failed factory speaker; otherwise, you have a problem with the wiring somewhere between the speaker and the head unit. If you need to replace the speaker, replace both of the front speakers (obviously.)

For speakers, take a look at crutchfield.com. Input your truck details and they'll show compatible speakers. They typically come with mounting adapters, and wiring harnesses so no soldering required.

 

KactusJack's suggestion is the best way to go about it. This helps you figure out if the speakers are bad or not and then you can start testing further back to see where the problem is. Also did you have the stock JBL system originally? The stock amp in it could have gone bad causing this issue.

 

Open your door panel and gently push on the speakers so they flex. If it feels gritty, they’re blown.

 

if you do plan on replacing the speakers, think about adding sound deadening while you have everything all open.

what headunit did you get by chance? when I moved to an ILX-259 much more power then stock and noticed that the stock speakers could only take so much. I thought I had a photo but when I compared the stock speakers vs the JL CX250s I put in way different.

 

I have an access cab too. Can you share what speaker kit you went with?

 

I went cheap - https://a.co/d/dOLlVgO

 

This is a great idea. Thanks! I don’t have any speakers like that anymore but I have a buddy who’s a pack rat so he may have one.