P38A No sound from speakers but sub still works?

Hey mates,

I noticed this past weekend upon starting the rig that no sound came from the speakers but the sub woofer was still thumping and responded to sound level adjustments.

My P38 is a 2001 SE with the factory SatNav and Harmon Kardon system.

Could this be a sign the Amp is a goner?

The rig has not been exposed to water, moisture or heat as it's been garage for the past several months.

The battery on the rig did fully discharge and I went ahead and charged it back up making sure it was disconnected from the vehicle first.
I removed the radio to check the connectors, all was well, that is there was no evidence of corrosion or moisture.

Same goes with the amp behind the carpeted wall on the LH side of the boot behind the subwoofer. No signs of moisture or corrosion there either.

I've read on this forum and others of people experiencing no sound on their rig and it seems it was because the amp went out. I've only seen one other posting from a person who experienced sound from the subwoofer only but the thread never mentioned if it was truly the amp and not a connection problem.

Can anyone confirm or share their experience?

Lastly, if it is the amp going out, has anyone been able to retain the factory head unit and add an aftermarket amp? I understand that I'll probably loose the sound from the SatNav unless I connect an 8ohm speaker to it directly, but to me that's a small price to pay in order to keep the look of the factory radio and functionality of the steering wheel controls too!

Thank you ahead time for the help!

Cheers!

Could it be the sat nav drive is toast? This takes out sound from the front speakers although when this happens there is no option of volume adjustment.

Sounds like you toasted the sat Nav disconnect it and see if the sound comes back

Thanks for the responses.

I don't think if it's the SatNav as it seems to work. The screen comes on with the LandRover logo and shows all menu options. I have toasted it before when the battery died before the SatNav was able to write the data upon ignition off (ie properly shut down at ignition off).

What's strange is everything seems to function except sound through the speakers: Radio works, I can change stations, adjust settings like DSP etc, CD changer works, SatNav comes on (no white screen of death or black screen), subwoofer works too.

Also if the sat nav went into mute mode wouldn't the rear speakers work at least. I recall when it speaks a direction the front speakers are muted and rare function with the voice and the music playing at the same time...?

Only thing that doesn't work is the sound through the speakers. Does this mean the Amp is toast?

Cheers!

Good idea though I will disconnect the sat nav and see if sound is restored.

Your symptoms are the same as when my DSP amp died. My first check was to disconnect the sat nav. This made no difference at all. Fixed mine by getting another DSP. Biketeacherdave has my old one to see if they are repairable. Doesn't look like they are.
I felt I had 2 options. 1 get replacement DSP. 2 go for complete aftermarket system.
Option 1 I felt was best.

Thanks Lone_Wolf. You confirmed my suspicion that the AMP is to blame. I'm finding out they are next to impossible finding used in a junk yard. Let alone the cost. Unfortunately, just talked to my contact at Land Rover and they are NLA new (no longer available). I'm going to keep looking for a used one and for a place that can repair them. I have a lead on one place from Harmon Kardon. They're in New York, USA. I'm going to check with them if this is something they can repair and will report back if they can! Fingers crossed, and wish me luck. I'm sure there's a lot of folks out there in the same boat if not now soon as these electronics get older.

Cheers

There was a thread not long ago where the guy put a latter bmw amp in as a replacement had to swap a few wires about but it worked.

BrianP38DSE, that's awesome. I'll have to look for that thread was it on this site?

I'm all for any solution that involves keeping the factory set up in place.

I'm optimistic that there will be a company that can fix this unit. After all many others marques of the period of our P38s are reaching the same age and have many of the same components (harmon kardon, bosch, etc)... Until then I guess I'll just have to listen to the glorious tune of the V8...

Cheers

I think this is the right thread https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/speaker-noise.299243/

Yes lone wolf iv never managed to repair your old one I did trace the fault to a 5v feed missing from the power supply but identifying the part proved impossible and I didn't fancy robbing it off my working albeit sick amp.

The amps are not repairable unless its one of the main amp ICS which are common if like me you have hiss its an ic under epoxy if complete failure its the power supply. Mine still works I get hiss for the 1st minute or 10 then it goes away I'm planning on removing the factory head unit and amp at some stage but its way down on my to do list.

Thank you brianp38dse. I'll read through it and see if that's possible.

Thank you biketeacherdave too for the information. So just to clarify. The amp is not repairable unless it's a power failure or low hiss problem? Correct?

Is the volume being absent due to a power failure or some other internal malfunction?

So I talked with the company that repairs Harmon Kardon amps and unfortunately the amplifier cannot be repaired due to the way the circuit board is constructed. As I understood it the DSP board is glued together and cannot be serviced.

I reached back out to Harmon Kardon asking if there's any suitable replacement that can work or be made. Hopefully they respond with some answer.

Cheers!