Owning a really nice set of car speakers is going to make driving that much more entertaining. Just about everyone loves being able to drive around while enjoying his or her favorite music. The problem is that those powerful speakers that you installed in your car may wind up causing some rattling. When the speakers are rattling around, it will definitely detract from the music you’re trying to enjoy.
It can also sound really obnoxious to other drivers on the road. No one likes hearing that rattle sound that comes from really powerful speakers. If this is happening to you, you likely want to figure out how to fix it. Thankfully, you should be able to get things back to normal without it being too difficult.
Join me as I show you how to fix rattling car speakers. Even an amateur should be able to fix this problem once he or she has diagnosed the cause of the rattling. This is going to be a thorough guide for how to go about diagnosing and fixing this problem. I will start by showing you how to figure out some of the possible causes for your car speaker rattling issue.
Contents
Possible Causes of Rattling Car Speakers
Oftentimes, you will find that playing music really loud will cause things to rattle worse. This might be due to having speakers that are not mounted properly. This also sometimes happens when you have loose items inside of your car door panels. If a screw came loose, it could be rattling around in response to the sound waves your speakers are producing.
Sometimes people have car speakers that rattle due to one of the speakers being blown out too. Even something such as an improperly mounted car speaker can be the cause of your rattling. You will need to examine things in order to determine what the cause of your rattling issue is. This is not something that can be determined before you get in and take a look yourself.
How You Can Fix Rattling Car Speakers
Look in Your Door Panels
The first step that you should take is to look inside of your door panels. You can look in the pockets of the door panel before taking it off in order to remove any loose items. After this, take a peek inside of your door to determine if there are any screws or other loose things inside. If there are, then this could be the culprit that is causing your rattling problem.
Examine Your Speakers
Next, you should examine your speakers next to see what is going on. Turn some music on and try to figure out which one of your speakers is causing the rattle. If you change the settings on your speakers, it will be easier to tell which one is rattling. Adjust the fade and balance of your speakers in order to narrow the problem down to a specific area.
You might discover that one of your speakers is blown out. If this is the case, then you will need to replace this speaker with one that is working properly. Other times, you may find that there is a loose screw or that the speaker is not mounted properly as the other ones are. Luckily, this is not going to be a difficult thing to fix.
One good trick to help you to determine if loose screws are the culprit is to hold your speaker in place. If the speaker rattles when you aren’t holding it in place, then it likely has a screw loose. Sometimes simply tightening the screws is all that is required to fix this speaker rattling issue. If something is off with the way that it is mounted beyond issues with the screws, then you will want to use a better type of mounting solution.
You May Need a Sound-Deadening Mat
Depending on your situation, you may need to purchase a sound-deadening mat to stop your rattling problem once and for all. Powerful speakers can really cause certain parts of your car to rattle just due to the force of the sounds that are being produced. You can alleviate this issue by buying what is known as a sound-deadening mat. You will want to install the sound-deadening mat wherever your speakers are located in your car.
Mats such as this are often sold in kits. Sometimes they are also referred to as vibration-damping materials. You’ll be installing the materials in your car doors, your trunk, and any other spots where you might have speakers or subwoofers. This is going to deaden the sound in order to prevent the powerful vibrations that cause the rattling noise. The installation process isn’t overly difficult so you should be able to take care of this issue without it being too big of a deal.
There are many different sound-deadening mats that you can purchase. You should be able to get these mats from your local car stereo businesses if you would like to go that route. It is also very simple to buy a sound-deadening mat online. Kilmat makes a very good version that is also quite cost-effective.
Areas Where You Should Install Vibration-Damping Materials
You should consider installing vibration-damping materials in your car doors, trunk, the car floor, and around your license plate. Some of these spots may seem odd at first but it will make a big difference. For instance, putting these materials in the car floor will insulate things to give you a better listening experience. License plates often rattle due to powerful subwoofers located in your trunk.
Installing these materials or sound-deadening mats is going to be straightforward. This is not something that you need a professional to do so long as you have a little bit of time. I will go over this simple process below to help you solve this rattling issue once and for all.
Remove Door Panels and Prepare Your Materials
Before getting started, you’re going to need to remove your door panels. You need to go ahead and disconnect the negative cable from your battery before moving forward. This is to prevent an electrical short. Set your parking brake and then go ahead and pop your door panel off.
Wipe down the metal parts of your door with denatured alcohol. This is being done to ensure that everything is clean before you go through with installing the materials. After wiping everything down thoroughly, you’ll be ready to start preparing your vibration-damping materials.
You will now need to cut these materials down to the right size. For your car door, you’ll be able to use the plastic weather guard as your guide for how to cut the materials. You’re basically just cutting the material down to the right size while leaving holes for the door handle, speaker, and your window assembly.
Mount Your Materials in the Right Spots
Now you just need to mount the materials in the right spots. Mounting the materials in the door is going to be very simple overall. Most materials that you will purchase are going to have sticky backs. You just peel the backing away and then stick it where it needs to go.
If you want to make the adhesion process go even more smoothly, then you can make use of a hairdryer. A hairdryer can be used to warm up the adhesive, allowing it to stick to the mounting surface even better. This is not completely necessary but many people do feel that this helps quite a bit. If you want to get the best results, then this is worth doing since it isn’t going to take much more of your time.
Once you have mounted the materials in all of the right spots, you will be able to pat it down to ensure that it sticks as well as it can. Some people use rollers to smooth things out just to be safe. After you’re confident that everything is done right, you can put your door panels back on. The process is very similar for your trunk and your floorboards so you should be able to take care of your entire car without it being an issue.
Conclusion
Once you have installed the sound-deadening mat or the vibration-damping materials, your rattling problems should be solved. This issue might be a bit of an annoyance but fixing it is not all that difficult. You might have even been able to fix things up by simply tightening some screws or fixing how your speakers are mounted. Either way, you’ll be able to enjoy your music a lot more without having to hear that rattle any longer.
Don’t continue to put up with car speakers that rattle when you don’t have to. Determining the problem is not going to take too long at all. Once you know what’s wrong, you’ll be able to take a few simple steps to fix the problem entirely. You’ll be rattle-free in no time so long as you follow the advice listed above.
Related: 2-Ohm Vs. 4-Ohm Subwoofer: Which One Should You Get?