Powerbook 1400c/166 - Only one speaker working, and not very well.

[trigf]

I recently acquired a very good condition (cosmetically) 1400c/166 from eBay, and have been playing with it a bit. 

The first thing I noticed was when I plugged in the power adapter. I heard some popping, crackling and white noise from the left speaker. 

I put in an audio CD to see just how bad the sound was. Well, it's pretty awful. Incredibly tinny and distorted, and only coming out of the left speaker. 

Any ideas what could be wrong with it? 

 

[techknight]

Tinny is normal. Tiny speaker. However cracking and popping sitting idle is not.

Grab some headphones and check that.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

The right speaker is fine, the 1400 doesn't have one!

 

[trigf]

Tinny is normal. Tiny speaker. However cracking and popping sitting idle is not.

Grab some headphones and check that.

Any sound that comes out of it is very distorted, even at low volumes.

Grabbed a pair of earbuds, sound is fine through them. I'll link a video of the sound quality. This is at 50% system volume. 

The right speaker is fine, the 1400 doesn't have one!

And I see that, now that I've taken off the speaker cover* 

*Which is now being superglued back together- looks like the previous owner broke it and put it back in without gluing it back together.

Here's the video: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fs80mtelflfl3pt/IMG_3984.MOV?dl=0

 

[trigf]

Another update:

Don't use Krazy glue to re-adhere your plastic, unless you want to discolor it

 

[TheWhiteFalcon]

Car touch up paint, or krylon. Touch up paint might work better, you can gloss it.

 

[techknight]

that distortion appears to be possibly a bad speaker, or more likely, a bad power output amplifier IC. 

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Mine crackle if the CPU card needs to be reseated.

 

[Elfen]

Remove the keyboard and other covers, remove the cpu heat sink and start checking. Anything lose? Like Trash80toHP_Mini said, a loose card can produce that. Anything more could mean a bad audio chip or speaker. Connect another speaker to the 1400 speaker and see how it sounds. A loose or frayed speaker wire can also do this, so check your cables as you take apart and reassemble the 1400.

You can get a "new" 1400 speaker cover from ebay for a couple of bucks. Its ABS Plastic, so mostly everything you put to it will discolor it. Best to use ABS Clear Piping glue and use it sparingly. Then some epoxy on the back along the crack about a 1/4 inch to each side of the crack.

 

[trigf]

Remove the keyboard and other covers, remove the cpu heat sink and start checking. Anything lose? Like Trash80toHP_Mini said, a loose card can produce that. Anything more could mean a bad audio chip or speaker. Connect another speaker to the 1400 speaker and see how it sounds. A loose or frayed speaker wire can also do this, so check your cables as you take apart and reassemble the 1400.

I took it apart, nothing was loose underneath the heatsink. If I had to venture a guess, it would be that the plastic cone of the speaker has been ripped, causing the distortion.