(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

Tractor speaker question

N

notjustair

Well-known Member
I?m not an electronics guy - I hope someone here is.

My planting tractor is a 1996 7800 Deere. Over the last couple of years the speakers have gone silent one by one. I?m now down to one speaker. It?s still lots better than the radio in the 8430 - that cab is so noisy you have to catch every fourth word only to find you have been humming the wrong song the whole time. I think that cab is worse than our old fender radios.

Anyway, does a radio put out volts to a speaker or something I can measure with a multimeter? I?d like to pop out a speaker and check it to see if those speakers have gone (they never sounded bad), it?s a wiring issue, or the radio is fizzling out. I?d hate to have to screw an old fender mount radio in the newest tractor I own, but it?s getting harder to hear my RFD satellite radio.

And yes, I?m still planting beans. Today I made it to the halfway mark. Only 400 acres to go in the next week. Did I mention it?s raining right now?
 
Speakers get old and need replacing now and then. Could also be wiring, as tractors experience a lot of vibration, but my guess would be the speaker cone -- the part that actually vibrates to make the sound. Over time the cone material becomes hard and brittle.
 
The voltage out of your radio would be difficult to measure accurately with a VOM. An oscilloscope would be a much better instrument to measure the output level but I bet you don?t have access to one. So let?s check the speakers with your VOM. Set the VOM to ohms, turn off the radio, disconnect the speaker(s), touch one lead to one speaker terminal and touch the other lead to the other speaker terminal. You should hear the speaker click and the VOM read 4-10 ohms depending on the speaker. If no click or if the VOM shows an open or very low ohm reading, your speaker is bad.
 
Jeez, doesn't the tractor make enough noise already not be bothered by more noise from a radio, the times they made decent music is long past.
 
He has satellite radio he can listen to old music new
music or my personal favorite old radio shows from
the beginning of radio shows until the end or radio
shows gun smoke , have gun will travel , the six
shooter , burns and Allen , the life of Riley , dragnet
the shadow , and a bunch more I can?t think off
 
Pull speaker with radio on you should see the papaer in the speaker move if not then try a new speaker does not matter about trial speaker just a known good one. If you now get sound bad speaker if not then probably the wire to it. Easiest way to check for bad speakers.
 
My grandson has to have that radio playing when he runs the tractor, but It's so quiet in the cab that I want to be able to hear any unusual sounds so I leave the darned thing off. Of course I don't plane 800 acres of anything and I realize it would get awfully boring if you didn't have something to keep a person occupied. It's just my preference and not critising at all. I'm just too used to listening and driving old tractors that I just can't get used to operating the Kubota. Keith
 
I suggest you find a known good speaker and hook it up in place of one of the ones that doesn't work. If you measure the speaker diameter, you can probably find a close match on eBay or Amazon. Most speakers have an 8 ohm impedance, but some are 4 ohm; they're usually marked with impedance and power rating.

Although you can check the AC voltage going to the speaker, you have to have a load on the output. Neither a multimeter or oscilloscope will have a low enough impedance to load the output; you need a speaker or 8 ohm resistor to do that.

Aside from failing speakers, the most likely causes are bad speaker wire connections or bad switches in the radio.
 

I would be checking the speaker connections first. Those speakers live in a nasty environment with the dust and humidity of the HVAC system so they tend to get corrosion on the terminals. If your radio is driving one speaker it should easily drive all four.
 
The simplest test will be to try a known good speaker.

Would you consider headphone speakers instead?

Much better sound quality, less expense, less work...

And, save your hearing. No need to overpower noise and multiply the decibel level.
 
I suggest you forget about the tractor speakers and set up a something that is compatible with bluetooth noise cancelling headphones. I use my smart phone with the headphones. They cancel out most of the loud noise, but surprisingly you can hear odd noises. Us old guys need to protect what hearing we have left.
 
From my experience with 7800 and 7810 I would suspect speakers. I have replaced speakers and radio in mine. Tough environment to live in for electronics.
 
I brought a set of noise cancelling headphones with AM and FM for 90 bucks years ago. I also use them in a cab tractor that doesn't have the greatest radio. I have seen the same headphones as cheap as 45 bucks in a discount store. I've been happy with them except my wife doesn't like them when she is trying to get my attention. They block allot of noise and I still seem to hear when something is not right on the machinery I may be operating at the time.
 
(quoted from post at 05:38:06 06/19/19) I suggest you find a known good speaker and hook it up in place of one of the ones that doesn't work.
Click to expand...

or you could put on the correct RLC network on the speaker terminals you can create a speaker that will out preform bose, and what bose does is measure the break frequency and pull the tube the cardboard tube to that and cut it off.

Its a simple measurement on the speaker, but i can make 20 dollar roadmasters sound better and preform better than anything you can find on the market. Its kind of another side project that i do lol
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

W
Massey Ferguson 4253 again
Replies
4
Views
221
WAYNE-N-TEXAS
W
super99
Tractor radio
Replies
5
Views
221
Tony in SD
Tony in SD
Geo-TH,In
Hearing aids, noisy tractor cab and sound reduction?
2
Replies
22
Views
1K
michakamp
M
F
Tractor ID Help!
Replies
6
Views
402
FrankDaPlow
F
S
Massey Ferguson 1080
Replies
3
Views
341
Dieseltech
D
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top