# White noise when speakers are turned up all the way without playing audio **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** lesabre, buick\ **Created:** [July 21, 2020, 1:14am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/white-noise-when-speakers-are-turned-up-all-the-way-without-playing-audio/167612 "2020-07-21T01:14:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Seth19man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Seth19man](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Seth19man)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 1:14am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/white-noise-when-speakers-are-turned-up-all-the-way-without-playing-audio/167612/1 "2020-07-21T01:14:11Z")
When my music isn’t playing and I turn up my volume, I hear a white noise that’s like a buzzing sound. My car still has its original stereo and speakers from 2002 so I’m wondering if the speakers or the stereo are the culprit. I can still hear the noise when my music is playing if the volume is turned up loud enough. Opinions? ---
**Author:** ![shanonia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de053/32.png) [@shanonia](https://community.cartalk.com/u/shanonia)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 1:19am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/white-noise-when-speakers-are-turned-up-all-the-way-without-playing-audio/167612/2 "2020-07-21T01:19:51Z")
Is this new, or been there all along? Does it change with engine on/off? Lights or other electrical things on/off? Is there any aftermarket or non-standard electrical stuff (LED headlights, for example) now on the car? ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 1:33am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/white-noise-when-speakers-are-turned-up-all-the-way-without-playing-audio/167612/3 "2020-07-21T01:33:30Z")
A few bad capacitors in the radio’s amp is pretty likely after almost 20 years. ---
**Author:** ![Seth19man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Seth19man](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Seth19man)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 1:45am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/white-noise-when-speakers-are-turned-up-all-the-way-without-playing-audio/167612/4 "2020-07-21T01:45:29Z")
Nope, literally everything is original in it cosmetically. Its non-changing. Doesn’t matter if the car is on/off, if it’s night/day, sunny/rainy, etc. Also does it whether or not I’m using the radio, cassette, or CD. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s-Me](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/it_s-me/32/12660_2.png) [@It\_s-Me](https://community.cartalk.com/u/It_s-Me)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 3:53am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/white-noise-when-speakers-are-turned-up-all-the-way-without-playing-audio/167612/5 "2020-07-21T03:53:37Z")
> [@Seth19man](#): > > Nope, literally everything is original in it cosmetically. Its non-changing. Doesn’t matter if the car is on/off, if it’s night/day, sunny/rainy, etc. Also does it whether or not I’m using the radio, cassette, or CD. What does that have to do with the amp in the radio? About the only radio that doesn’t have an amplifier is a crystal radio. ---
**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 5:07am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/white-noise-when-speakers-are-turned-up-all-the-way-without-playing-audio/167612/6 "2020-07-21T05:07:19Z")
Does it happen if the engine is not running? ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 5:07am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/white-noise-when-speakers-are-turned-up-all-the-way-without-playing-audio/167612/7 "2020-07-21T05:07:23Z")
Since so many of the back light bulbs are burned out, I wouldn’t be concerned about the audio quality of the old radio, the replacement radio should be better. ---
**Author:** ![PhantomPatriot](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/phantompatriot/32/20713_2.png) [@PhantomPatriot](https://community.cartalk.com/u/PhantomPatriot)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 5:12am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/white-noise-when-speakers-are-turned-up-all-the-way-without-playing-audio/167612/8 "2020-07-21T05:12:32Z")
My solution is to play music through the speakers. ---
**Author:** ![Seth19man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Seth19man](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Seth19man)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 10:41am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/white-noise-when-speakers-are-turned-up-all-the-way-without-playing-audio/167612/9 "2020-07-21T10:41:31Z")
Was answering somebody’s question xD. ---
**Author:** ![Seth19man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Seth19man](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Seth19man)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 10:42am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/white-noise-when-speakers-are-turned-up-all-the-way-without-playing-audio/167612/10 "2020-07-21T10:42:11Z")
Yes, happens anytime. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s-Me](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/it_s-me/32/12660_2.png) [@It\_s-Me](https://community.cartalk.com/u/It_s-Me)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 11:20am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/white-noise-when-speakers-are-turned-up-all-the-way-without-playing-audio/167612/11 "2020-07-21T11:20:26Z")
> [@Seth19man](#): > > Was answering somebody’s question xD. I understand that, but your stereo still has an internal audio amplifier in it, no amplifier no sound. ---
**Author:** ![Seth19man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Seth19man](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Seth19man)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 1:50pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/white-noise-when-speakers-are-turned-up-all-the-way-without-playing-audio/167612/12 "2020-07-21T13:50:33Z")
The sound works, it just makes a white noise/humming sound. It does it whether or not the car is on/off. I just was curious that if I replaced the stereo if it would go away. This is the first car I’ve owned so I’m new to this stuff. Tried taking a video but it won’t let me upload the file. ---
**Author:** ![davepsinbox\_157004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@davepsinbox\_157004](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davepsinbox_157004)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 5:35pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/white-noise-when-speakers-are-turned-up-all-the-way-without-playing-audio/167612/13 "2020-07-21T17:35:45Z")
Virtually all audio equipment has a spec for “hum and noise.” If you’ve never cranked the volume in the absence of a signal you may not have noticed. ---
**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 7:11pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/white-noise-when-speakers-are-turned-up-all-the-way-without-playing-audio/167612/14 "2020-07-21T19:11:53Z")
The sound might go away but that is not a guarantee. Is the hum evident in all speakers, if so probably a bad unit. If it would be a diy replacement Crutchfields is the way to go in my book.