Otis Posted April 30, 2004 Report Share Posted April 30, 2004 I bought an older amp and subs from a buddy of mine who also installed it in my truck(bout 2 years ago). Lately it's been cutting out (power) and then comes right back on. It only does it at higher volumes, and only while listening to a CD(doesn't do it when listening to the radio). I didn't think it could be a short, because of it only happening in CD mode (could be wrong???) I checked the connections, and the all look to be secure and in good condition. I also tried turing the amp down. Didn't help. any tips or suggestions???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fast frankie Posted April 30, 2004 Report Share Posted April 30, 2004 Is your cd skipping from the base Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stealthawd Posted April 30, 2004 Report Share Posted April 30, 2004 check your voltage with an ohmeter right at the amp. amps require a minimum voltage to run and when your alternator dips below that AT the amp, the amp will click off... had same thing happen in my car and added a second battery and it went away...you dont need to add a second battery im sure...maybe clean your terminals and all power connections Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justintoxicated Posted April 30, 2004 Report Share Posted April 30, 2004 sounds like a problem with the CD player's pre-outs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepman380 Posted April 30, 2004 Report Share Posted April 30, 2004 I had the same thing happen to me a couple months ago. Turns out it was my amp. Brand new amp but I can't remember what was wrong with it but I had to send it back to the factory to get it repaired. So you might want to take it to a car audio place and have them check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banshee04le Posted April 30, 2004 Report Share Posted April 30, 2004 If your amp is designed around a regulated power supply (not all but about 70% are) then it definitely sounds like a voltage drop at the amp. So like Stealthawd said, you need to put a volt meter on the amp power input terminals (preferably one with a min/max mode) and measure the battery voltage with that b@$t@rd cranked all the way up and you will probably see it dipping below 11.5 volts. Upgrade your alternator, battery, cables and connections in reverse order until the voltage does not dip below 12.5 under load. 1 volt makes all the difference in the world to a regulated amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nasty01banshee Posted April 30, 2004 Report Share Posted April 30, 2004 could try adding a healthy sized in-line capacitior to fill in some power demands when really stressing the amp... around 1.5 Farads Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigboybanshee Posted April 30, 2004 Report Share Posted April 30, 2004 could try adding a healthy sized in-line capacitior to fill in some power demands when really stressing the amp... around 1.5 Farads I was thinking the same thing....What size power wire are you running? How many watts are you pushing through how many subs? I'm leaning towards either a starvation of power or a short in the head unit, whether it be the RCA'a or internal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boonman Posted April 30, 2004 Report Share Posted April 30, 2004 check your voltage with an ohmeter This had me fall out of my chair. And spill my coffee all over the place. (it was a good cup too!!!) How in the hell do you check voltage with an ohmmeter? Anyways, power demands are critical. The difference between the radio and CD is that a CD is usually going to be a more powerful signal, and cleaner than the raadio. SO, the amp is pushing more. One way to tell is crank that bitch up, (if you don't have a multimeter to check voltage) and look at the lights on the amp. if they go out, or the amp goes into fault, you need more power. Does the power wire get hot? is the problem worse at night? in the rain? on a cold morning? (ie. when you have other things that draw power turned on in the car)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledofthezep Posted April 30, 2004 Report Share Posted April 30, 2004 How in the hell do you check voltage with an ohmmeter? Kinda what I was thinking...but... I dunno though, sounds like an amp issue to me; but I've been fortunate enough to have no problems with any sound equipment also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stealthawd Posted April 30, 2004 Report Share Posted April 30, 2004 DAMN....was supposed to be multimeter sorry about your cup of coffee banshee04le was right about 11.5 volts. when mine would click off, it was dropping down to 11. I don't think a cap is necessary if it just started doing it. sounds like corrosion or a connection has gotten loose. if it did it as soon as you did the install, then I would point towards a cap. one thing about a cap though is that it just holds charge for a short time while the bass hits hard. if you are having a charging problem, it will only help for a short while as you wont be sending a good charge to the cap. fix the problem first, then if see a crazy drop when the bass hits hard, slap a cap in there. dont waster your money for a cap for something that may be a free fix... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ducman Posted April 30, 2004 Report Share Posted April 30, 2004 You probably dont need a cap unless your over 500 watts, you just need to have the appropriate gauge (larger gauge for a longer distance too) wire with good terminals. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 0-100 watts RMS - 10 ga 100-250 RMS - 8 ga 250-400 RMS 6 Ga or 2x 8 ga and 400 watts RMS-up 4ga or larger and maybe a cap Typically RMS watts X 2 = max wattage output but some amps way over inflate their max watage claims. Also if you have a battery with duel terminals (one post, and one flat bolt on type) hook the amp up to its own terminal. Other power draws on the same terminal can weaken your voltage. Also make sure your ground is good and clean, possibly connect to 2 different ground sources. Use the gold plated terminals, not the cheap zink coated ones. Also make sure your speaker wire is large enough, I always go with 8 ga on subs, and is not dark in color from being corroded. Wimpy speaker wire can make your amp work a lot harder and put out more power to achieve the same db's but with more distortion. Good power supply and speaker wire will make an amp perform much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
03LE Posted April 30, 2004 Report Share Posted April 30, 2004 (edited) Check all your connections and make sure it is grounded well. (as in you scuffed all the paint off of the ground mounting surface) might also check with your local sterio shop as to what ohms your speakers are if you have ran them down to a 1 ohm load some amps won't play at 1ohm. If that al checks out, I tell people all the time to replace their stock altenator with something a little beefer, cause stock alts weren't made to run more then what your ride comes with (most cases). Don't know if that helps any but that's the only things I can think of other then what everyone else has said. 03LE Edited April 30, 2004 by 03LE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otis Posted May 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2004 Thanks for all the replies guys. Looks like i won't be riding Sunday.... Thanks again for all the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otis Posted May 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2004 *update* It's working just fine now...... I had some free time this morning, so i pulled out the head unit, disconnected everything, blew it out, plugged everything back together, and put 'er back in the dash. I still don't know what the cause of the problem was (maybe bad ground, connection dirty or not fully connected) but whatever it was, it's not doing it anymore! (knock on wood!) I'll most likely put in a high out put alternater(been wanting to this for a while anyway), and a few other things you guys mentioned (new battery cables, and rewire the amp's power wire to the "other" + terminal on the battery<(thanks Duc). Thanks again for all the input!!.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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