stuck! no sound from my speakers

i have a problem with the head unit/ speakers in my 93 cab. when i took the old head unit out (which didn't work as it had a broken face plate) i found the brown connector for the speaker wires had been cut down, none of the wires were connected to any speakers!

i did a quick test on a new head unit (which i know to be working) and i cant get any sound out of the speakers but the head unit does power on and seems to function normally apart from this.

i think the fuse is ok as it still powers on, just in case i tried another head unit as well, same problem.

any suggestions? 

you need to reconnect the speakes up wire them as per connector B on this diagram, should be working then, if not its bad speakers or headuniut buddy or bad wires!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ISO_10487_connector_pinout.svg

sorry, really should have made that clearer!!

i have connected some speakers to it, but still nothing, also tried to run it through an amp (which i also know to work) and through some other 6x9 speakers - nothing, not even a buzz

This is a tricky question when not sitting in the car with the wires in front.  If you have all 8 speaker wires, then make sure that you get your pairs correct. Take any one wire, use an ohmmeter and find the other speaker connector. Once you have all the 'pairs' you can worry about which is right front, rear left etc when plugging in.

Assuming that the cables do connect directly into the speakers (i.e. no amps or crossovers) then you should expect to see a low ohmic reading.  Only the pairs will give a reading, all others will be fully 'open circuit' or high impedance.  Your speakers will be 4ohms each, but don't consider this to be the DC ohm reading.  You can use a simple continuity meter type also, but be sure not to put 12V down the speakers, these things work on millivolts.

Ceck the head unit also, turn it on, put the radio/CD on and turn it up. Prove with a spare speaker it works then if so, concentrate on the cabling between brown plug (or what's left of it) and the speaker itself.  If there has been an amp in previously there is a chance that the cabling was used, but connected direct to AMP. If all that fails then check you have a low resistance continuity across the speaker terminals.

The above is not the solution, but a systematic means of fault finding. The cabling is not difficult, just direct pair of wires between the head unit and the speaker.  The thing that screws it up is someone else tamperfering before you get there.

Hope this helps.

or if you don`t have a ohmsmeter,use a AA battery. just take one of your speaker wires (at the dash end) and hold it on one end of the battery and put a second wire on the other end of the battery…if/when you get a crackle from one speaker,well then you`ve found which wires do which speaker..repeat until you find them all.

ok so i have tried a speaker direct from the head unit and no sound, but the same head unit works perfectly in my polo?

really confused now i'm on the verge of starting again with all the wiring for my head unit, but i'd rather not as it will be a pain in the bum

also i'm less than useless with one of those deeleys for checking ohms etc so i would need a fairly decent explanation of how to turn it on before i think about using it

It is highly likely that your head unit may need two positive supplies at the back of the head unit.  Use a voltmeter or some sort of test lamp and prove which is your permanent live and ignition live on your Polo.  Then check the same plug on the Golf.  I put a Gamma and then a Beta radio cassette in my Mk1 (like you, a 93 cab) and I had to link out live wires and switch which pin was permanent live and which was ignition live.

Use the brown wire on the multiplug as your earth reference on both vehicles.  The little plugs do come out of the multi connector pretty easy, use a very small flat screwdriver, it's 'spring' loaded and this just needs a push deeper into the connector, slip the small screwdriver into the rear and the connector will simply slip out from the rear, then push into the new position.  This should get your unit working in the Mk1 as per your Polo.
It's a five minute task once you get around the need to switch your live pins in the multi connector.  If you fancy a drive to Glasgow I'll do it for you. :-)  

Forgot to say, my symptoms were similar, I had my radio fitted in my kitchen (yes, kitchen) and it worked fine there, but not in my Mk1 until I switched the pins.

are you using the original car plugs for the connections or were there just wires coming from the dash? if just wires be careful connecting them up, the colours for the pairs are not obvious have a look here

Free Car Alarm, Remote Start, and Car Stereo Wiring

thanks very much, although i think it would be cheaper to hire an auto electrician than drive to glasgow!

i'll have a go when i'm next out with the car and report back!