H.U. Shutting off all of a sudden

[watchthis 1]

So last night on my way home from work I was listening to my stereo and all of a sudden the H.U. shuts off and then restarts(Alpine 9884). I installed the H.U. last year in November and never

had a problem with it then about a month ago I put in a Sundown SAZ-1000D and a Fi 12" Q. Never had a problem with my H.U. turning off before last night. I dont know if the cold had anything

to do with it. It was around 30 out and snowing. Today comming home from school it was listening to it seeing if it would shut off and it never did then comming to work a few hours later it

started doing it again. I have yet to do the big 3 and my voltage drops pretty good. Im driving a 97 blazer 4 dr. I'm just looking for were to start troubleshooting.

[sqjeep 9]

So last night on my way home from work I was listening to my stereo and all of a sudden the H.U. shuts off and then restarts(Alpine 9884). I installed the H.U. last year in November and never

had a problem with it then about a month ago I put in a Sundown SAZ-1000D and a Fi 12" Q. Never had a problem with my H.U. turning off before last night. I dont know if the cold had anything

to do with it. It was around 30 out and snowing. Today comming home from school it was listening to it seeing if it would shut off and it never did then comming to work a few hours later it

started doing it again. I have yet to do the big 3 and my voltage drops pretty good. Im driving a 97 blazer 4 dr. I'm just looking for were to start troubleshooting.

When it shuts off do u lose sound??

[watchthis 1]

Yea the H.U. shuts off sound goes off then after a few seconds the H.U. turns back on and sound comes back if I keep it low once I get around 19-20(volume) it shuts off again.

[CrazyKenKid 64]

have you pulled it out and checked the wiring harness to make sure all the wires are firmly in there?

so does the face pop off i assume? maybe the issue is when the bass hits the face plate come off then somehow retracts?

also you have this issue when the bass is pumping correct?

also you siad your voltage drops pretty good? could you please give us a reading with a dmm? b/c to low of voltage is really bad for an amp. and if there is such a low voltage drop were it kills the power to the head unit...ya i don't know lol that jsut sounds like death lol! or faulty wireing some how

[watchthis 1]

I have not pulled the H.U. yet tomorrow I will since its the only time I have free to. Yes this happens with bass I havent tried to get it to shut off with the sub off tho. As for the voltage my car has a voltage guage in the dash and it only goes low at idle so I turn it down.

[CrazyKenKid 64]

o wow! so what do you drive? and do you know off hand what size alt and how old your front battery is in your car?

[watchthis 1]

Its a 1997 chevy Blazer stock alt and whatever the battery it came with when I bought it about 3 years ago.

[CrazyKenKid 64]

nice vehicle lol! when you getting 2-15 or 2-18's lol! jk!! mabye you have an alt problem b/c at idel it should be good enough for 1krms at 1ohm right?

[watchthis 1]

Haha I'm already trying to justify in my head why I need to get more stuff back there. But you think the voltage thing is what is causing my head unit to shut off now?

[CrazyKenKid 64]

voltage issue can be fixed with some time and love and money lol!

new h/o alt

battery bank

big 3 lol

the works!

[watchthis 1]

Sounds cheap lol. So im gonna pull the H.U. tomorrow and check the harness. If that goes no where then I'm gonna get some 0ga and do the big 3 and then work on getting a new battery up front. Any suggestion on a decent one. I'm only running 1000wrms.

[CrazyKenKid 64]

well first pull out the harness and make sure make double sure the yellow (ignision wire what ever colour it is for you) isn't barely in there make sure to give it a good tuff. i knwo for me i had to reput my wire back in and resolder it in there so it wouldn't fall out.

and if that goes no where do the big 3(since it is required anyways) then if you still have issues look into a new battery or getting your alt looked at. also mabye get a dmm (from a friend) and less see how bad the voltage drop is. just touch the dmm leads tot he pos and neg of the amp on dc voltage mode and report back.

as for a new battery just go with watever you can fit, and how much you can afford. if you can afford a lot get a nice battery if not jsut put a new stock one in.!! it is what i did but i also have a bank in my car so ya.

[watchthis 1]

I have a DMM so I put it to DC and touch the speaker inputs on the amp? How loud should I have it?

[CrazyKenKid 64]

well first put it in dc voltage mode and touch it on the positve and neg (power and ground) to see how much of a voltage drop there is,

then if you wnat you can set the gian via a dmm by disconnecting the sub and putting the leads of the dmm into the speaker channels and putting the dmm into A/C voltage mode. turn up the gain untill the number reads 31.6 (whihc is 1000rms at 1ohm if that is what you wnat to feed that sub) and i recommend using a 50-60hz tone to set your gain!!

and make sure the volume on the h/u is about 3/4 the way up! and enjoy!

[watchthis 1]

Yea I set the gain that way with a 50 hz tone. Then i event took it to a shop and had them set everything to make sure it was all good.

[CrazyKenKid 64]

Yea I set the gain that way with a 50 hz tone. Then i event took it to a shop and had them set everything to make sure it was all good.

there is a mistake!

sorry i call them as i see them.

first things first double check what they did and if you don't trust yourself get a friend to do it who is car audio savi!

car audio is a learning experience! if you don't trust yourself never trust a shop b/c they want to sell you stuff or do it there way and if they do something wrong you will never know b/c you didn't check it out yourself to make sure.

and i don't mean to bash your shop or any other shop that is jsut my experience with shops and what i have read about them. and part of the reason why i did all my own installs and what not and i even had a buddy who was audio savi go over some of it to make sure everything was cool lol!!

Edited October 15, 2009 by CrazyKenKid

[watchthis 1]

I would agree shops are gay. Sound works our "main" shop here is sad at best but I went to Mid City I know the guy there he set it up for free. I made sure he was working when I went in but I do want to learn how to do this my self.

[CrazyKenKid 64]

well in that case! Welcome to the SSA forums! feel free to post any question and there are a NUMBER of ppl who will have the correct answer for you lol! don't hessitate to ask a question no matter how down it sounds!

the only thing you need to do before you ask a question is do a little reseasch on it first to see what you can find then have someone explain it better or give you a better way to do it!!! and also PLZ PLZ PLZ for the love of the forums please give the NOOB posting guild a quick read through unless you have already!!

and enjoy your stay!

and keep us posted on what is goign on with your h/u! don't give up and maybe switch it out if you got an extra on there and see if the problem keeps happening again! you know what i am getting at? like just try to elimate the issue one at a time!

[watchthis 1]

Yea I'll post tomorrow what I find out...new head unit time maybe haha

[CrazyKenKid 64]

Yea I'll post tomorrow what I find out...new head unit time maybe haha

Maybe

lol

[watchthis 1]

Ok so I turned my sub off and then turned the stereo up and it shut off so then I pulled the H.U. and replaced the connections on the harness with different ones and it still shut off. It seems that it only happens when I first start the car if I've been driving for a while it seems to stay on. I still have yet to do the big three I'll try to get it done this weekend (weather permitting)

Edited October 16, 2009 by watchthis

[CrazyKenKid 64]

ya but if it is turning off without a huge current draw why is it shutting off still? something has to be wrong. and maybe at the h/u

[watchthis 1]

Sorry havent posted anything been real busy. My H.U. has been doing good till today going to class it shut off when the volume was at like 5 and that pissed me off and it kept shutting off. After class it shut off once and then that was it was fine the rest of the drive and to work. I did notice when my H.U. shuts off my dash shows a red battery symbol shows for a split second and then goes off. The weather has been crappy so i havent been able to do the big three still.