Deck dims

[SkyHawk Ecks]

I bought a new Alpine CDA-9856 and installed it last night. The guy before me apparently had all the speakers run off an amp in the back so the wires for the speakers were non-existant in the deck area and in the back. Got it all hooked up and running. Now when I turn it up to a certain level it would dim or just flat out go out completely.

I replaced the battery and terminals as they were old and that made it a bit better. I can now go to 20 but the speakers still sound distorted a bit, but before they would get distorted at just 15. I turned Defeat ON on the deck and it sounds a bit better. I also lowered the gain a bit so I could turn up the volume without it being distorted.

While driving it'll still dim a bit and when a part in the song that has a bit of bass plays it'll dim as well. Do you think it could be the alternator or perhaps the deck has an unstable power supply or not large enough ground?

 

[GrimJack]

The onboard amp in the deck probably just isn't up to the task. I have yet to find one that has a good onboard amplifier.

The solution is what the last guy did... wire in an amp in the back and use that instead of the deck's amp.

 

[SkyHawk Ecks]

That's what I'm doing. I wired up another amp in the back but it still dims. Turning Defeat ON helped it somewhat sound better but it'll still dim at higher levels. I had to wire up an amp otherwise I'd have to rerun all the speaker wires through the doors again and to the deck.

 

[lagged]

hook up a volt meter and see what it reads while the car is running.

if you have all four speakers amped, or just want sound from the amped speakers find the setup option on the deck that says POWER IC on/off and turn it off.

that turns off the internal amp.

 

[GrimJack]

If that still doesn't do it, try putting signal from something else into the amp... like an iPod, or a portable CD player, something like that. If it still dims... well, then we get to start asking about your amp...

 

[SkyHawk Ecks]

One of the guys I work with suggested I swap the red and yellow wires. That helped it a bit but it still dims during intense parts of songs.

I'll look into the grounds and then if not I'll just get a new alternator. I'll also try a friend's amp before hand as well.

 

[GrimJack]

Try getting the alternator tested before you replace it... only costs a few bucks, and many alternator / started shops will do it still on the car.

 

[tekdeus]

I suggest you diagnose things to see if it is a fault in the deck or a fault in the wiring. First, check your battery voltage (should be no less than 12).

Temporarily hook up a direct large power cable from the battery, say between 12 or 8 guage to both the red and yellow power wires. Do the same with another wire for the ground, either to a huge clean bolt or to the negative battery terminal. If you still get the symptoms, it's likely an issue with the head unit. If the problem is fixed, you know you need to run a new circuit to the deck and improve the ground.

Regardless, a small used amp for $50-$200 would still be a great investment for improving performance.

 

[lagged]

with the car running it should be around 13.8v

 

[SkyHawk Ecks]

Exchanged the deck for another one of the same model. Still does it. And the weird thing is, it only does it while the engine is running. When it's off I can turn it higher and it'll stay the same brightness.

So I'm thinking either the power wires coming from the car are messed up, or the alternator. I am not quite sure on the amp, it's only a Sony 250W amp. It is powering all of the speakers though but I don't think it would be enough to drain the deck like that could it?

 

[Turbo. Targa. Life.]

are your headlights/dash lights/dome lights dimming with the deck? If so, the cheap way out is to add a capacitor, the CORRECT way is to get a bigger alternator and upgrade the grounds from your battery, and possibly even the power wires to the alternator

 

[SkyHawk Ecks]

No other lights on the car dim with the deck.

The cheap way would definitely not be adding a capacitor, no way I'm paying $200 for one.

I'm going to try replacing the power wire coming from the car to the deck.

I also got the alternator tested, came up fine.

 

[Turbo. Targa. Life.]

the power wire most likely isn't the problem, but while you're doing that, replace the ground also. Instead of going through the long ass wire that's already there, make your own ground.

 

[Syris]

Whats your voltage from the alternator? even though everything else isnt dimming