Speakers cutting out

[Smondo17 0]

Got the system up and running and upgrading my alpine mono amp with a sundown 1000d. Sub amp is disconnected right now. Gains on my 100.4 are set very moderately. Around volume 44 on my 800prs my speakers will shut off. There is no pop or to the ear sounds of distortion. I just drove back up to college and did not get any times of cut off. It has happened on both cds and ipod. Could i just be playing it to loud? Also, i have a d3100 up front and the big 3 upgrade with 0 gauge. Any ideas would be very appreciated.

Best Regards,

Steve

[patented17 21]

Does it only do it around that volume so far?

[Smondo17 0]

Yes only around that volume. tweets are seeing around 15rms and mids around 45rms.

[KU40 173]

What speakers do you have hooked up and how are they wired?

If you turn the gain up, does it cut out with a lower volume setting where the loudness is the same, or still at 44 even though they are playing louder?

[Smondo17 0]

Sea Excel w18ex for my mids and morel textile style tweeters. Running active. wired normally. Haven't played with the gains yet though. It doesn't happen all the time. that is why this problem confuses me.

[Smondo17 0]

I have continued to try and figure out this problem and i have came across somewhat of a reasonable theory. I go to college in boston so it is quiet cold. The volt meter on my headunit sometimes says 14.9 volts when it is extremely cold. Could my alternator being overdrawing power, especially with the big 3 upgrade? I only have my 100.4 hooked up. As i approach a higher volume does the amp draw to many volts and go into protect? The sound just cuts out. There is no pop. If i lower the volume it comes back on. I don't have time to jump into the back and look.

[ncacoates 104]

sounds like a charging system issue to me. maybe in need of a new battery or alternator.

[KU40 173]

14.9 isn't too high for that amp. With only a 100.4 hooked up, the charging system should hardly know it's there.

[Smondo17 0]

Well in that case, where should i go from here? I am going to hook up the 1000d i just received. Do you think the big 3 could cause a problem like this? My battery, powermaster d3100, i got over the summer. Alternator is stock. I believe its rated at 120amps. Could possibly be f uped from all the abuse that i have given it from my newb to semi newb stages

[bassahaulic 155]

Well in that case, where should i go from here? I am going to hook up the 1000d i just received. Do you think the big 3 could cause a problem like this? My battery, powermaster d3100, i got over the summer. Alternator is stock. I believe its rated at 120amps. Could possibly be f uped from all the abuse that i have given it from my newb to semi newb stages

HAha That's how my truck was, started NOOOOBBISH and worked it's way to being done right.

Check your ground on the amp.

[rushnrun 14]

try turning your gain up slightly and keeping your deck volume below 40 My old pioneer would do the same thing on one of my woofer amps back in the day.. all I did was increase gain and lower the volume on the deck.. I didn't lose any output just stopped whatever it was from happening... possibly too high of an input voltage on the RCA's... or just the deck messing up... I dunno I just found how to "fix it"

[rushnrun 14]

btw my deck always did it on exactly 45 no-matter what the gain was on the amp (it didn't do it to every amp though...?)

[ncacoates 104]

14.9 isn't too high for that amp. With only a 100.4 hooked up, the charging system should hardly know it's there.

Id think so as well i just had the same issue with my 1200d i know that's a hell of alot more power but i was getting under volt problems. turn the volume down lets the amp reset and as soon as i turned it up it went out again. may not be the issue but you could always test your battery and alternator its free at auto zone.

[Smondo17 0]

Installed my new 1000d. Sounds great. Speakers cut out a few times at lower volume then 40. However, they came back on quicker. Would getting my alternator checked be a good start? The only reason i am confused about this is my charging system is handling my system very well. My lights don't dim and my battery meter stays at a steady level.

Edited January 24, 2009 by Smondo17

[ncacoates 104]

Well if you voltage gauge stays steady the i wouldn't think your charging system would be the problem. make sure there aren't any shorts in your speaker wires or you could possibly have a bad speaker that's shorting it out. im trying to cover every possible thing here.

[Smondo17 0]

I appreciate the brainstorming. My right mid just suffered from a freak accident and came out of its baffle causing to blow my power supply and a fuse in my headunit. So i feel its a good place to start. How do you test a speaker? Disconnect and see if the problem still happens?

[efxtruck 0]

did you get a load test on the battery?? just because you have a good charging system.... if you battery is F&$KED then it wont matter

[Smondo17 0]

I am going to go to autozone and have a test done. Then start with the speakers to see if it is shorting. The protect lights dont go on when they shut off. Does this tell us anything?

[ncacoates 104]

did you get a load test on the battery?? just because you have a good charging system.... if you battery is F&$KED then it wont matter

Yes but he says that it keeps constant voltage on the gauge while in play.

Just had an idea put a volt meter on the terminals of the amp during play to see voltage. could possibly be a low voltage due to a ground or bad connection.

[Smondo17 0]

If my mid is shorting out. Would that cause both the sub and speaker amp to go into protect?

[KU40 173]

should only cause the speaker amp to go into protect. If they both are, it's from something they share (power, ground, head unit)

[Smondo17 0]

They share common grounds and power. Ok so that is a good start. How does a ground go bad? I recently just got my headunit fixed. How can i check my ground or power connections? My right mid grounded blew my power supply in my amp and fuse in my headunit. So this problem could have also caused problems with the connections even if they were fine before it? I disconnected my mids to see if there was a short in the line and both the amps go into protect however comes back on quicker.

[rushnrun 14]

try turning your gain up slightly and keeping your deck volume below 40 My old pioneer would do the same thing on one of my woofer amps back in the day.. all I did was increase gain and lower the volume on the deck.. I didn't lose any output just stopped whatever it was from happening... possibly too high of an input voltage on the RCA's... or just the deck messing up... I dunno I just found how to "fix it"

Get a volt meter on the amp and check your voltage at the amp.. Use your remote to turn up the volume till they stop and see if the voltage fluctuates (*sp) If the voltage stays consistant at the amps then you have other issues....

I think it's a poineer issue... Here's a test, turn the headunit all the way down, turn the gain all the way up on the sub amp, turn the head unit up one by one until one of these two things happen:woofer starts to distort or the amps shut off again... if they do it at extremely low volumes (on the deck) then I cannot commit to my standing on it's and issue with the deck... You could even have shorted speaker leads behind the deck.. It'll cause the same issue as you turn the volume up...

This is where I stand

[Smondo17 0]

I tried the test run. Turned the gain on my sub amp up. It did not cut out until middle volume and there was heavy distortion. Also got an Error 12 on the headunit while on CD. Not sure if that is just a read error.

[Smondo17 0]

also now my amps don't turn on after this last cut out. no lights or anything.