Problems with my system...HELP! Ok... I know nothing about how my sound system works, and would be very appreciative of ANY help whatsoever... I have an Alpine head unit, a cap, infinity amp, MB quart crossovers, 2 JBL 12's. I was on my way out to eat tonite, and I had the stereo bumpin a bit, everything was fine... I turned it down quite a bit because a cop was starting to act funny, then I turned it back up. A few seconds after I turned it back up, it cut out completely on me, then faded back on. I figured maybe the amp might have got hot, so I left it off for a while. As soon as I turn the volume up over 15, it cuts out and then fades back in. I pulled over and popped the trunk to see if the amp was hot at all, and it wasnt. I let the car sit for about 3 hours, then tried it again... The same deal happens, so now I pretty much have no tunes .. What should I do??? Did I cook the amp??? Thanks -Brian
huh, really hard to say. I have 2 questions for you. Did you install it yourself? and 2 what amp are you running. if possible I would go over all the wires, too make sure nothing came loose. Check to make sure you have a solid ground, and a good remote, also check the power wire to make sure its not coming loose.
No, I bought the car with the system already installed... I wish I had enough know-how to build my own. The amp is an Infinity Kappa 255a I think. I did some research, and a lot of people have problems with this amp cutting out... I'll check the wires and snug them up today and see what happens
I would definatly check the power cables and even the remote wire going to your headunit. Also check to make sure your cap is working. Does your amp have a protection system and protection light? If so when it cuts out check to see if the protection light is on. If it goes on, then something's wrong with your wiring. If not then your amp could be going out.
Another thing i would check would be the impedance of which your subs are wired compared to the impedance the amp can handle.
Sounds like the amp may be overheating. I had a cheap amp do that to me one time. You may have something crossed causing power loop back into the amp. I would take everything apart, and put it all back together again. I would suggest just using the basic components first. ie: Headunit, amp, speakers. Leave all the other stuff out at first, then when you get it working... start adding things back one by one until you find the component that is causing the issue.
Its weird, everything is fine when the volume is under 15 or so. 15+ and it cuts out... Streetz, you said something about a protection light??? My amp lights up green, but when it cuts out the color changes to orange/red. Is that the protection light?
I would say that is either the protection light or you are losing the power from your remote lead. The other thing I would check is the voltage at the amplifier. Lots of amps are bench tested at 14.4V. As the voltage drops the current increases and sound quality gets worse (possibly due to a bad charging system and/or capacitor)
1.How long have you had this car/system? 2.Has it just started to do this? 3. Have you or any one else touched the system before this started happening?
The first thing I would do, which sucks but would be a good thing, is to rewire the system and check and double check the connections. I would then bypass the cap and turn the volume up to see if it cuts out again. Check all fuses and make sure they're good. If all this is done and it still does it, if you or a friend have another amp available to test it. If it comes down to the last part, then more then likely you need a new amp. Something is obviously causing the amp to cut off. When an amp cuts off and does that, it's protecting itself from too much power, bad wiring, bad fuse or overheating. You have already checked the amp for temp and said it was fine. The fact that the amp works until the volume goes above ~15, then my first guess is the amp's fine and it's something else. I'm not saying it's not the amp, but my first guess is it's fine.
Unscrew the panel of the back of the amp, and check the circuit board for any burns. If you see any, you amp is most likely junk.
Before you go re-wiring everything make sure all your speakers are working correctly. I had the same thing happen and I thought it was a system charging issue or a wire came loose or my amp was bad. What realy happened is that the tinsel lead from one of my 4 in mid range speakers broke off. Everything worked fine at lower volumes but once I started cranking it up there was just too much current draw from that little speaker causing my amp to go into protection mode. I couldn't tell the speaker stopped working because I have 12 speakers in the car. Just a suggestion...sounds exactly like what happened to me.
1. I bought the car last summer, and the system has been in the car for about 2 years with no prior problems 2. Just started about a week or 2 ago 3. system has not been touched at all Thanks for all the replies guys, I appreciate it! keep 'em comin! I'm gunna check a few things tomorrow: connections @ the subs connections @ circuit breaker make sure all the speakers are working, connections already checked connections @ amp...good already checked connections @ cap...good
Ok... I checked the connections @ the subs which were good. While I was there I measured the resistance, which is supposed to be 4 ohms. I checked the resistance with the system on. 1 of the subs was reading between 3 1/2 and 4 ohms, the other sub was reading about 9 1/2 ohms... I think this is where my problem is, but where should I go from here? Thanks guys -Brian
no your speaker isn't blown. if it were blown you would be reading anything, it would be an open circuit. The question is how you're getting that 9.5 ohms speakers change impedance values while they are playing and I'm wondering if something internally was damaged to cause the higher impedance. Doesn't make any sense.
i had this problem. it was the remote turn on wire, it would get jarred by the high volume and would make it cut out. then it would settle at lower volume and work. i hate electronics. well not really
