I HAVE A FACTORY STEREO IN MY 2000 MALIBU...I BOUGHT A 2 CHANNEL AMP FOR MY SUBS...AND WIRED IT UP CORRECTLY(BEEN DOING IT FOR YEARS)....MY QUESTION IS....WHEN I TURN UP THE STEREO VOLUMN ABOUT 1/3 THE WAY...THE STEREO JUST SHUTS OFF COMPLETELY. I HAVE TO TURN THE CAR OFF, AND RESTART IT FOR IT TO COME BACK ON. BUT WHEN IT DOES...THE STEREO (WITH THE AMP HOOKED UP) PLAYS FINE AT LOW VOLUMN...BUT ONCE YOU TRY TO TURN IT UP...SAME THING HAPPENS!!! IAM ASKED CALIFORNIA CUSTOMS AUDIO INSTALLER...AND EVEN HE IS STUMPED!!...SAYS HE HOOKS UP AMPS TO FACTORY UNITS EVERY DAY...AND NEVER SEEN THEIS HAPPEN BEFORE. ANY SUGGESTIONS?.....PS...WHEN THE AMP IS NOT HOOKED UP...THE STEREO PLAYS FINE...EVEN AT HIGH VOLUMN.....GO FIGURE.....I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO FIGURE THIS MYSTERY OUT...IF ANYONE HAS HAD THIS HAPPEN TO THEM BEFORE PLEASE EXPLAIN THE PROBLEM...IF THERE IS A CAR AUDIO SPECILIST...PLEASE HELP!!!~~~~~~~~~~THANKS JAMES
2007-01-09 16:08:46 · 9 answers · asked by sharpandsmooth 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Car Audio
Buddy - sounds like you do have an impedance issue, but at the headunit. When you connect the head unit to the high level input of the amp, it changes the resistance seen by the H/U. Grab a multi-meter and with the amp connected, check the resistance of the speaker circuit that the amp is connected to....i'm guessing you'll get a reading of lower than 4ohms. If thats so, you might need to get a separate Hi-to-Lo level converter, and connect it up via RCAs to the amp.
Good luck with that buddy!
2007-01-09 17:39:40 · answer #1 · answered by william i 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would need more information but it sounds like you might have your amplifier drawing power from the same circuit as the radio. If this is the case it's very bad. Any aftermarket amp should be connected directly to the battery and grounded to the chassis of the vehicle.
The other possibility is that you have mis-wired the inputs to the amplifier. As you are using the factory radio, you either have a line converter between the radio and the amp, or this capability is built into the amp itself. If this is not wired exacty right you are effectively shorting the outputs of your factory radio. As you raise the volume of the factory radio you are driving more power into the short circuit and causing the radio to to go into protection so it doesn't damage itself.
If you could list the type of converter or the amp you are using and which color wires you hooked up to to get your signal you might be able to get a more informative answer here. Any good professional installer should be able to troubleshoot this problem in minutes if he had a look at the install.
GL,
Akovia
2007-01-09 23:26:07 · answer #2 · answered by Akovia 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The first thing that comes to mind for me is an impedence issue with the amp. But that would only be if ONLY the amp was shutting down. Is it the head unit also?
Lots of times when the amp is seeing a lower resistance than what is reccommended, the amp will go into protection mode.
If it is the factory head unit that is shutting down, my first guess would be that it is not grounded good enough. The factory grounds usually leave a lot to be desired. Are you running a line-level converter to the amp? Maybe the gains are not set correctly on the LL converter.
2007-01-09 16:22:48 · answer #3 · answered by Andrew K 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
looks to me like a protection circuit is kicking in once you set the volume beyond a certain level. the amp could have a way of limiting the input signal thru an adjustable knob. you would have to do this by trial and error. check the speakers too. some units also have protection circuits in between the speakers and the amp (or stereo) to ensure the speakers dont burn out when the amp is turned on at full volume. or, the speakers themselves could be deffective. try another set. i just remembered using speakers in the past which were working fine at moderate volume but became silent beyond certain levels.hope this helps you
2007-01-09 16:44:08 · answer #4 · answered by hardy k 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like your in-line converter is bad. Sometimes they short out on the inside, and the louder you crank the volume, the more current is going through that short, so the stereo shuts itself off as a precaution. At low volume, there isn't as much current going through, and when the amp isn't turned on, there isn't any current being pulled through the converter.
I would suggest getting a new one and trying it out
2007-01-10 01:51:19 · answer #5 · answered by Mister 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The amp or stereo has an inline fuse that is jacked, thats why it shuts down and yoiu have to reset with ignition, and it is probably not from your installation, but maybe an aftermarket alarm that it is resetting for on the same line, or....check your ground, when it gets loud and vibrates, the ground may be shaking loose enough to shut it down also!
2007-01-09 18:15:31 · answer #6 · answered by katralee 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like you're drawing too much current through a circuit breaker somewhere.
2007-01-09 16:15:54 · answer #7 · answered by expie 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it's the radio it hard 2 explain but it the radio i put radio's in all the time but im not a specilist
2007-01-09 16:27:24 · answer #8 · answered by myke 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
or he could be drawing too much through a relay, causing it to flip and turn off.
2007-01-09 17:44:06 · answer #9 · answered by Kyle M 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋