Sound Going out...

[Funkycasey]

Okay, so today, I had some time to waste, so i was driving around for about 45 minutes....I had my system up REALLY loud...to about 2 steps below max for mostly the whole time i was riding around. This was around the 8PM time area...so it was starting to get dark...After about 30 minutes or so, i turned my headlights on, and after about 5 minutes of them on and the music still bashing and the bass hitting, my whole sound system shut off. At first, i thought it was just the CD skipping or something, but when i took it out (the cd) and put it back in, still no music....

So anyway, i turned it WAY down to like 13/40 and it came back on....so i turned it way back up, lol..

It did it again. I thought I had like blown my subs or something, but NO music was coming from even my door speakers...looked in my rear view mirror and saw both amp power lights were off...The CD player was still going and all that...

The amps came back on for like 5 seconds and went right back off.

Anyway, i checked to see if the amps were hot, but they weren't really that bad...my windows were down and the air was going over them. Could this be like some kind of protection the amps have built in for undervoltage? Like, could my battery have been too low to power the system? I didn't really notice the battery meter going and lower than the usual (which is about right in the middle). Actually, I've hardly ever noticed my system dimming the lights that much, although i know it HAS to be pulling more power than my 90Amp alternator can put out. Anyone know what happened? I didn't smell any burnt smell coming from my speakers or subs, so i know they weren't overheating...

[SpookedJunglist]

You said no sound came from even your doors? I am guessing that all your speakers are powered by amps and not from your head unit? Maybe your Capacitor isnt getting enough juice? OR as you mentioned some sort of low voltage cutoff? Do you have a cap? Maybe you need more:thumb:

[Funkycasey]

You said no sound came from even your doors? I am guessing that all your speakers are powered by amps and not from your head unit? Maybe your Capacitor isnt getting enough juice? OR as you mentioned some sort of low voltage cutoff? Do you have a cap? Maybe you need more:thumb:

Yup, sorry i didn't specify my amps, lmao...

Mono amp for my subs and a 4-channel for my 4 6 x 8's....

Haha, I know it sounds weird....no cap..just stock battery and stock alternator with upgraded wires...Never had any problems before though...but i usually don't play the music so loud for so long. And i was in town...stops and starts, so my alternator wasn't spinning full speed or anything.

What i was really wondering was if anyone knew about Kicker amps having low voltage cutoffs...That's really what i think it was...I've never had the amps clip...they are over-rated for my speakers anyway, so no reason for them to clip or overheat unless they aren't getting enough power.

[pbasil1]

Too much power draw it sounds like! Do a big 3 upgrade to the system, and get a high output batter (yellow top). The voltage probably dropped below 9volts or so, causing the headunit and amps to power off...

Most amps have low voltage cut offs, so you probably dropped below its cut off point. Im not sure what voltage that is though, probably around 8-9v.

[Funkycasey]

Too much power draw it sounds like! Do a big 3 upgrade to the system, and get a high output batter (yellow top). The voltage probably dropped below 9volts or so, causing the headunit and amps to power off...

Most amps have low voltage cut offs, so you probably dropped below its cut off point. Im not sure what voltage that is though, probably around 8-9v.


Wow, that's pretty bad huh, lol. My battery gauge must be off or something, cause it hardly ever moves unless i am starting my truck...

[pbasil1]

You need to get a volt meter of some kind, maybe your dad has a multi meter, and hook it in line to the power to you amp, and watch to see how bad the voltage drops when the bass hits... I just hooked up one of my subs today in my truck, just to see how it hits, and it pulled enough current to shut my amp and head unit off today :)

[Funkycasey]

You need to get a volt meter of some kind, maybe your dad has a multi meter, and hook it in line to the power to you amp, and watch to see how bad the voltage drops when the bass hits... I just hooked up one of my subs today in my truck, just to see how it hits, and it pulled enough current to shut my amp and head unit off today :)

Haha, i found the problem...the power wire connected to the 300amp fuse under the hood had come loose and was bouncing around everywhere...put it back and tightened it up real good and now it plays like a charm...played it again tonight for like an hour with no problems except dimming headlights, lmao.

I am just too cheap to get a Cap right now...I'm going to try to save up sometime soon though.

[pbasil1]

Skip the cap, upgrade your wires to ground and from the alternator, and then get a yellow top. It will yield better results....

[Funkycasey]

Yeah, I upgraded my wires...ground and the alternator wire...Just gotta get that yellow top, lol

[frostbite]

The headunit may have cut out because of heat, my old minidisc H/U used to do that after long periods of abuse lol

[Funkycasey]

The headunit may have cut out because of heat, my old minidisc H/U used to do that after long periods of abuse lol

Nah, my HU only got hot when i used it's amplifier. Now that i got a real amp for my speakers, it just gets warm on the face and maybe a little bit on the top b/c of the cd spinning.

[frostbite]

Are you not using the HU's own amp?

If your not then you will blow the outputs since there is no load

[pbasil1]

Are you not using the HU's own amp?

If your not then you will blow the outputs since there is no load LOL? You get this info from where? It will not blow anything. Its easier on the head unit due to the lack of a load. He is using an external 4 channel amp to power the speakers, which provides better power and sound quality to the speakers.

[frostbite]

So your saying that the ISO output is balanced and its alright to run without speakers connected?

[Funkycasey]

So your saying that the ISO output is balanced and its alright to run without speakers connected?

Like pbasil1 said, I am using an external amplifier for my whole setup. A 4 channel for my 4 door speakers and a mono for my subs...You can turn the internal amplifier off for the HU when it's not being used.

[Sin100]

my friend had this when he connected his 6X9's up to his amp that was powering his sub, it would be ok for a while then cut out for like 20 seconds, he got a different amp to power them and now its fine.

[Funkycasey]

my friend had this when he connected his 6X9's up to his amp that was powering his sub, it would be ok for a while then cut out for like 20 seconds, he got a different amp to power them and now its fine.

Yeah, that would mean the amp was overheating more than likely.....clipping

[pbasil1]

If he had the 6x9's and the subs off of 1 amp... he probably had the wiring wrong and was pulling too low af an impedance load on the amp. Causing over heating, or it was just unstable and kept powering off...

But yes, you can run the headunit with out any speakers connected with no problems...

[Funkycasey]

If he had the 6x9's and the subs off of 1 amp... he probably had the wiring wrong and was pulling too low af an impedance load on the amp. Causing over heating, or it was just unstable and kept powering off...

But yes, you can run the headunit with out any speakers connected with no problems...

Ah, didn't see the part about both sub and 6 x 9 being powered off the same amp....yeah, that would be the problem....unless it was like a 4-channel amp or something....Then you could power the sub off 2 of the channels bridged and then two speakers....like i did before i sold my old subs...haha, i had 4 subs in my truck.

[Sin100]

na it was a cheap amp, lol