Motorcycle speakers can pop and crackle for a variety of reasons. The most common problem involves an interrupted current. When power consistency occurs, the unwanted sounds occur, causing foundational stress to the point that damage may happen.
Power fed to the speaker moves air around to produce sound. When the current gets interrupted for any reason, crackling and popping happen because the flow is inconsistent.
When you can diagnose the root cause of this problem, fixing the motorcycle speakers to stop popping and cracking is a relatively simple task.
How to Fix Crackling and Popping Noises on Motorcycle Speakers
If you detect abnormal sounds coming from your motorcycle speakers, the issue must get fixed. The popping and cracking sounds will not disappear without assistance.
These ideas can help you to diagnose the problem so that you can listen to high-quality audio once again.
1. Fix Any Faulty or Loose Wiring.
It helps to start this process by inspecting the cables that route from the speaker to the amplifier. You’re looking for any corrosion, general wear damage, or problems with the shielding.
It is not unusual to see loose speaker cables, especially if you have a subwoofer on your motorcycle. The vibrations cause a disconnect that can lead to unwanted sounds. You’ll need to tighten and repair any issues found during this inspection.
You may spot loose wires during your inspection. Identify where they go, attach them appropriately, and test to see if the system works as expected.
2. Leave Some Slack in the Wires.
Vibrations affect your wiring more often when they are taut. When cable wrap around the neck or stretch to reach a connection, they’ll wear out faster. You can prevent this issue by adding some slack to the installation.
If you are over-stretched with your connections, specific bike movements could cause a temporary disconnection that starts the popping and cracking sounds.
You may need to redo some of the factory work if the bar-mounting or fairing isn’t being as supportive as it should be.
Although some slack is useful, having too much of it can be equally problematic. You’ll want to verify that you have full control of the motorcycle without interfering with the cabling work.
3. Inspect the Wiring for Chafing That Might Short.
When the wires experience chafing, you can lose the protective coating that ensures a secure connection.
If that happens, your riding activities could cause the cables to short to ground when they contact the metal of your motorcycle. The only way to correct this issue is to replace the faulty equipment or restore the shielding layer.
A quick fix for this problem is to use electrician’s tape around the exposed components. You’ll need to replace the wire eventually, but the popping and cracking should stop.
It helps to clean the wiring first to ensure no dust or debris can interfere with the power since that issue can also cause unwanted noise.
4. Ensure Each Connection Is Clean and Tight.
Manually check each connection between your amplifier and speakers to ensure they are tight. If you discover a loose one, you may have resolved your issue. Check the audio system to see if any popping or cracking starts.
Should the unwanted noises continue, and the tightness of each connection is verified, the pins may require cleaning.
It helps to take compressed air to blow out each component. Try to point the air away from your bike to avoid unintentional damage.
The cans get cold with extended spraying, so it may be wise to wear a glove during this process.
5. Spray Contact Cleaner on the Connections.
A high-quality connection is necessary to produce the bright sounds you want from a motorcycle’s speakers.
Before you tear everything off the bike, spray some contact cleaner onto each area to remove any metal oxides, dirt, grime, or debris that could cause a power interruption.
Anything that is on the wire, cable, or connector could disrupt the power, interfering with the air flowing to create sound.
It helps to wear gloves and protective eyewear before spraying this product. You’ll want to work in a well-ventilated area to avoid breathing in the vapors.
6. Replace the Amplifier If It Is Faulty.
The popping and cracking sounds are usually a problem with the wiring, but “usually” is different than “always.”
You could have an issue with your amplifier, especially if your audio equipment is over a decade old. Some units tend to produce these unwanted noises naturally.
You might experience a problem with the capacitors or transistors in the unit failing or disconnecting.
This issue would also create the unwanted popping and cracking sounds. If you are an experienced electronics technician, it may be possible to repair the unit.
The cost of hiring someone to complete that task is generally more than what it would cost to purchase a new product.
7. Check for the Correct Polarity.
When you look at how the motorcycle speakers get connected to your wiring, the positive and negative cables should connect to the same polarity at the amplifier.
When they are swapped, you have a reversal issue, causing the positive periods to become negative – essentially inverting the waves you hear.
That means the speaker moves inward instead of outward when playing audio. The pressure of this movement can place stress on your connections, creating the popping and cracking sounds.
Restoring the cables to their proper position should resolve the problem.
8. Disconnect the Speakers to Test Them Individually.
You might discover that none of your motorcycle speakers are working correctly if you test each of them alone. When that outcome occurs, it means you have a faulty amplifier that needs to get addressed.
When you have one speaker working, and the other is not, swap the outputs that go to the speakers. Test to see if the unit that functions correctly has the same problem.
If it works as it should, you likely have a blown product or a defective audio input cable that would require replacing.
9. Connect a Stock Unit to Test Output Levels.
If you have a custom setup for your motorcycle, it may need to get disconnected to test the quality of your audio connections.
Once you take this step, hook up a stock speaker to your system to see if the popping and cracking sounds still take place.
If that happens, you know that an issue with your wiring or amp is at the root of the problem.
When the stock speaker works fine, your setup may require too much power to function correctly. It can also indicate that you may have a faulty speaker to manage.
10. Replace the Entire Speaker.
When there are no other solutions available, it is time to replace the entire speaker on your motorcycle.
Although the cost of doing so may be high, you’ll have a guaranteed way to correct the popping and cracking issue – assuming that the new unit isn’t faulty.
It can be annoying to have motorcycle speakers that pop and crackle. When you go through these steps to fix the problem, it should resolve the majority of issues you could encounter.
Please remember to work carefully, use your expertise, or delegate this project to a professional if the unwanted sounds continue.