Car audio problem

Tom Smith · #1 01-31-2008, 02:10 PM

Hi, long time no post. I'm having problems hooking up my amplifier in my truck. The same exact system (different deck) was working fine in my saturn. I have the power, remote, and ground all running fine and I tested the connections with a meter. The problem is that the amp and subs work fine when tuned into the radio, but when I switch the source to the CD player the light in the amp goes out and it stops working (the factory speakers continue working fine.

I'm thinking it's a faulty head unit, but I'm not sure if I'm missing something here. Anyone got any suggestions? I'm not too keen on switching the out the decks between my truck and saturn, but I suppose if nobody here has any tips that is what I'll have to do. Thanks in advance!

hartke20g · #2 01-31-2008, 03:53 PM

you should go ahead and post what products you're using for your entire setup, and what the truck is. it'd help narrow down the possible problems.

maybe your alternator/battery can't handle the load. i know things like that are somewhat common on my truck (Isuzu).

Tom Smith · #3 01-31-2008, 07:42 PM

It's an 86 chevy s10, with a walmart Virtual Reality Audio VR 2.0 200x2 amp, a couple of Rockford Fosgate 8 inch truck boxes, and an alpine deck. I'm not 100% sure on the model of the deck, I left the manual at a buddy's house.

Thank you for your response, do you think that the alternator would account for the radio working through the system but not the CD player? I know very little about the subject, perhaps playing CD's uses more power...

MoD_Scotty · #4 01-31-2008, 08:38 PM

Sounds like it's the head unit. Sometimes Alpines have a somewhat high voltage output on their preamp outputs. Maybe when the CD player is running, the headunit's output is just too high for the amp to handle, and it's shutting itself off as a failsafe.

Maybe try to see if you can turn down the gain on the headunit. If it has a separate "subwoofer" output, there should be a way to control it's gain.

Tom Smith · #5 02-01-2008, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoD_Scotty

Sounds like it's the head unit. Sometimes Alpines have a somewhat high voltage output on their preamp outputs. Maybe when the CD player is running, the headunit's output is just too high for the amp to handle, and it's shutting itself off as a failsafe.

Maybe try to see if you can turn down the gain on the headunit. If it has a separate "subwoofer" output, there should be a way to control it's gain.

Hmm that sounds plausible. I'll track down the manual and find out, thanks man.