First, I haven't done any electrical testing; I just wanted to put these
symptoms out here and see if it rang any bells with anybody. I will be
testing this soon.

Some time ago, I reported here that I had gotten some Blauplunkt Blue Magic
4" speakers for the front of my '87 auto Westy. I installed them, and some
extended window cranks, and they sounded GREAT. Then I had engine trouble
and my van wound up in a shop for an extended period while they built me a
new engine.

Fast forward to post engine replacement. After I got the van back, the
front right speaker no longer worked. Before I got a chance to troubleshoot
that speaker, I noticed some other weirdness and set about identifying some
symptoms. Herewith:
1) When I press the brake pedal, there is static on the radio. I'm thinking
this is when the pedal engages the brake light switch?
2) With my 5-year-old son, who's proven to have a good ear and be quite the
diagnostician, I tested fade and balance, because it seemed that something
would change in the sound field periodically. When faded all the way to the
rear, we discovered that balance has no effect on the rear speakers.
3) When faded all the way front, balance works and there is no sound from
the right speaker.
4) The subwoofer, I think it's a 6" Bazooka, sounds better than it's ever
sounded; i.e., the cross-over electronics appear to be working perfectly.
5) My son has reported, while driving, that the sound drops out of the rear
speakers periodically, but there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as
to why.

On an additional but unrelated note, the last time I had it in to
Crutchfield to try to get it working the way I want it, and to stop a
battery drain issue I was experiencing, they moved the power so that the
head unit is only on when the engine is running or the key is turned past
the Accessory setting. I'd rather have it work on the Accessory setting as
well as when the engine is on, so I'm going to move the power input to the
stereo when I work on it.

I continue to be impressed with how efficient the original speakers are, as
tiny as they are, and with paper cones. Had my front ones not given up the
ghost, I probably would have kept them. Having said that, these Blue Magic
speakers are a killer replacement!

Now, to just get everything working right...

One thing after another...
Marc Perdue