Door subs not producing sound

[yambrovich]

I've got a 1993 300CE Convertible (bought it three weeks ago and I haven't stopped grinning yet!!) but I've noticed that the subwoofers mounted in the front doors do not produce any sound.
Reading some of the postings on the board I found that there's an amp for these speakers in the trunk. Is the amp fused? If so, where do I find that fuse? If not, how would I go about troubleshooting this problem?
I'm not a complete newby with these types of things but am no pro either.
As usual, everyone here is great and I appreciate any help that you can give.

Thanks!

[SCLJA]

Jay, a common mistake is people don't realize that the door speakers are subs so you don't really hear them. Put your hand on the grill and turn up the stereo and if you feel air moving than they are working. The amp that runs the door sub also runs the dash speaker on the same channel so it is not possible that you have an amplifier problem. Check it out and I am sure it is working!

Scott@lajollaaudio

[yambrovich]

Scott (and others on the board),
Thank you for your quick reply. I'm confused now and the reason for my confusion is this...

In my wife's (just sold it) 1992 190E it had the same setup - amp in the back, subs in the rear of the door panels and speakers in each of the 4 cabin corners (two in the package tray and two in the dash). It had a nice, rich sound that was very pleasant.

Compared to that, my convertible doesn't have anything at all. The sound is harsh and only high tones, virtually no mid-range or bass at all. That's the reason that I said I thought that the subs aren't working. Plus, I put my hand on the speaker grill and don't feel anything (no vibrations). That's why I thought they're not working.

Any suggestions? I'd rather not pull the door panel off if I can avoid it...

Thanks a lot!!

[SCLJA]

what is the production date of your car? Is the stock radio in place and dose it have a round volume control knob?

[yambrovich]

Scott,
The production date of the car is May 1993.

The stereo is aftermarket. There's a Kenwood AM-FM Cassette deck with CD/MD disc changer controls and there's a 6-disc CD changer in the trunk. The fader control (piece of garbage) in the center console is still wired in. If I rotate the knob the sound fades from front to rear.

While the front dash speakers produce sound (albeit not very good) I still don't think that the door subs are doing anything.

Thanks for your help.

[SCLJA]

More than likely the front speakers were tied in behind the radio and if they are tied into there the door subs will not work. It is hard to imagine how you system is configured since there are so many different ways it could be done. Do you know if the amps are still hooked up in the trunk?

Scott