Radio cutting out

[Bradley]

I'm sure someone has discussed this before but I'm not finding anything on it. When I turn up the volume I temporarily lose power to the head unit. Any ideas??

[boostedfe3]

I have the exact same problem. Im curious also.

[chpthril]

We will need more info about your system and we need to confirm that you are actually seeing the head-unit power off and back on, or are you hearing the music cut out and back on. This is a key piece of the puzzle, and will determine was exit we get off at As an example, low voltage levels can cause the system to drop out, but stressing the system ie. too much volume and not enough power or too low of an impedance from the speakers, will cause "clipping", which to the ear, sounds the same.

Does your system included amps? Are all the speakers powered by the amps or are the cabins powered by the head-unit, and is so, how many cabin speakers do you have?

[boostedfe3]

As far as my setup goes I have a 2003 24v. Everything stereo wise is factory minus my head unit. I have the Sony CDX-H910UI head unit. When mine cuts out the deck loses power and then comes right back on, but will continue that sequence until I lower the volume. I have noticed that I can take some bass out of using the deck settings and I can go a little higher in volume. When this happens please note that its not loud enough to cause distortion. Thanks for any help.

ps: forget to tell you I have 6 speakers once again everything is factory minus the sony head unit.

[chpthril]

As far as my setup goes I have a 2003 24v. Everything stereo wise is factory minus my head unit. I have the Sony CDX-H910UI head unit. When mine cuts out the deck loses power and then comes right back on, but will continue that sequence until I lower the volume. I have noticed that I can take some bass out of using the deck settings and I can go a little higher in volume. When this happens please note that its not loud enough to cause distortion. Thanks for any help.

ps: forget to tell you I have 6 speakers once again everything is factory minus the sony head unit.

I'm assuming the 6 speakers are powered by an amp? Do you have one or two batteries? Does this occur with the engine running as well? When you say "take a little bass out" at what level is it normally at?

This sounds like a low voltage issue, if the H/U is actually shutting down. Have you checked the static (at-rest voltage) charge of the battery(s)?

[boostedfe3]

They are powered off the deck itself. Unless there is a factory amp some where that I dont know about. I have two batteries. It does occur with the engine running, except the only differences is that Im able to go like 2-3 numbers higher on the volume example from 27 up to 30 on volume. As far as the bass it comes from the factory at 0, if I lower the bass to -3 then I can go a tad bit higher on the volume. The static voltage is around 13.4-13.8. Yes I can watch it and the H/U will actuall shut down and come back on. If I lower the volume a couple numbers it wont happen. This never happened with the factory clarion deck. I simply installed this Sony unit and started happening right from that moment.

[philwsailz]

Boostedfe3-

As one who is very familiar with the Sony products... 27 to 30 is 3/4 volume, which is about max before distortion.

Double-check to make sure there is no amp..... You say you added the Sony; when you did, did you connect speaker wires to the white, grey, purple and green wires on the radio harness or did you connect RCA cables?

You say you have 6 speakers wired to the deck. If that is the case, I assume that two speakers are wired in parallel to a 2-ohm load on the left side, and the similar thing on the right; that is too low for a head unit to run. You need to take the speakes that are wired in parallel at the back of the radio and re-wire them so they are series wired.

If in fact you have no amp, series wiring the speakers to the radio to take the operating load back within tolerance should fix ytour problem.

Intermittent radio power is often the result of a bad ground... Check you power wiring, yellow, red and black...



Phil
Kicker

[boostedfe3]

I will double check to see if there is an amp in the boat. Almost sure there isnt. I will also check the wiring on speakers. What your saying makes sense so I will check it out. Thanks for the help.

[boostedfe3]

ok. i was correct no amp in the boat. so Im assuming that two of the speakers are wired parallel and need to be wired in series. I will change the wiring in a day or two and let you guys know how it works. thanks for the help.

[Bradley]

Ok here we go. I am very limited on my knowledge and language of audio equip. I actually saw the head unit loose power then come back on. Turn the volume down and everything is fine. Just hooked up an amp for two cabin speakers and the two tower speakers. Head unit still runs two cabin speakers. Dual batteries power everything.

[chpthril]

ok. i was correct no amp in the boat. so Im assuming that two of the speakers are wired parallel and need to be wired in series. I will change the wiring in a day or two and let you guys know how it works. thanks for the help.

Just pick up a good quality 4 chnl amp that will deliver 50-75 watts @ 4 ohm! You will be MUCH happier as it will be a night and day difference by just getting the cabins some solid power. Trust me!

[chpthril]

Ok here we go. I am very limited on my knowledge and language of audio equip. I actually saw the head unit loose power then come back on. Turn the volume down and everything is fine. Just hooked up an amp for two cabin speakers and the two tower speakers. Head unit still runs two cabin speakers. Dual batteries power everything.

Did this problem exist before the amp upgrade, or did it pop up after? Like Phil posted above, low voltage and or a poor ground connection can lead to the head-unit dropping out. Since you only have 2 speakers left on the head-unit, I would rule out a low impedance condition, like Boosted is looking at, except if one of the 2 remaining speakers is bad. A digital volt ohm meter would tell us that. Just a thought, where is the bass level set at on the head-unit?

What amp did you install? Sounds like a 4 chnl. What tower speaker are you rolling with?

[chpthril]

They are powered off the deck itself. Unless there is a factory amp some where that I dont know about. I have two batteries. It does occur with the engine running, except the only differences is that Im able to go like 2-3 numbers higher on the volume example from 27 up to 30 on volume. As far as the bass it comes from the factory at 0, if I lower the bass to -3 then I can go a tad bit higher on the volume. The static voltage is around 13.4-13.8. Yes I can watch it and the H/U will actuall shut down and come back on. If I lower the volume a couple numbers it wont happen. This never happened with the factory clarion deck. I simply installed this Sony unit and started happening right from that moment.

My previous post may have not been very clear, so I just want to double check on those battery readings. The static voltage would be with engine off and no loads turned on, and NOT immediately fallowing a charging. 13.4 to 13.8 sounds like the alt output at idle.

[Bradley]

I had the problem before the amp. I thought it was due to not enough power for the speakers. Not the case. Sounds like i should check the ground. I know that one of the speakers powered by the head unit is blown. So I will se what happens when that is repaired too. Anything else?

[philwsailz]

Ding Ding Ding......

You found your answer. The blown speaker is causing it, I would almost guarantee....

Replace it and you will probably be good-to-go. the bad speaker is showing a dead short to your radio....