Sound system nightmare, HELP!!

[fobilicious]

I have a 04 350z with alpine headunit, sub and amp for about 5 years. Recently my headunit started to shut down by itself and come back after few mins. Recently it got worse, it wont last more than a few minutes before it goes dead. It does always come back on for a little bit and repeats all over again.


I brought it to unique audio in richmond to have it checked but cant seem to find the prob. We changed the fuse, change the ground. Both times it looks like it was fixed but same thing all over again when i drive away within the next 15 mins.


So this is what i know so far:

-new fuse, new gorund.
-when car is idle, it doesnt shut off
-louder the faster it shuts off (could just be me maybe)
-It almost always come back on after it went dead (cant turn back on) by itself, so i think its some sort of electrical prob.
-went to nissan, said its the aftermkt stuff and everything electrical wise for the car is fine.

someone please give me some advice or point me to the right direction on how to fix this thing. So i dont get charge arm and leg to take everything apart to examine it. Thanks

[godwin]

Isolate the system, it could be the heat that is shutting down the system. It wouldn't be cheap to diagnose, but you know that when you put in the aftermarket system.

Best way is to put in some data loggers so you would know the electric current/temperature of the system when the incidents happen.

It could be simple as NVH causing the system to shut down, or heat or electrolytic components going bad.

[Presto]

Definitely, the first thing to do is to isolate where the problem is occurring. The power to the head unit, accessory and/or constant power, could be cutting out for some reason. Does the time reset when the head unit shuts down? The problem could be the head unit itself, as well.

[installerz]

Originally Posted by Presto

Definitely, the first thing to do is to isolate where the problem is occurring. The power to the head unit, accessory and/or constant power, could be cutting out for some reason. Does the time reset when the head unit shuts down? The problem could be the head unit itself, as well.

We have an extra Alpine head unit kicking around to stick in your car to determine weather if you want to see if the deck is this issue or not.

[dohboi]

Most likely internal power supply on the head unit crapping out, or could be a short in any of the speaker outs if you are using those outputs.

[Cman333]

Are u using factory speakers? Or aftermarket speakers off the deck?

Seen similar cases where the speakers somehow short out on the chasis and cause the deck to go into protection mode.

[turbo_slug]

check the fuse holder again. make sure the fuse sits nice and snug. i've seen some monster fuse holders where the fuse jiggles around just enough to cause intermittent continuity problems like that.

[fobilicious]

Factory speakers.

He used a meter and said the reading for my rear speaker is a little odd, different than the rest. But we thought it was the ground, so we didn't really look into that.

The timer on the deck doesnt reset, in fact we plug the deck somewhere else for an hr. It was totally fine.

I think something is short but dont know what?

does it seem like the amp or sub has a prob at this point guys?

Originally Posted by Cman333

Are u using factory speakers? Or aftermarket speakers off the deck?

Seen similar cases where the speakers somehow short out on the chasis and cause the deck to go into protection mode.

[DarKMunkEY]

nah sound like da alpine is ur problem, the louder ya crank it the more juice it needs, the more juice is be usin' the more hotter it 'al get. your headunit is failing

when you plug er in sumwhere else were you crankin' some nasty bass tru it too? i bet ya if you had been playing some of ma rude reggae it will heat up. trust. one love.

[orgasm_donor]

Originally Posted by fobilicious

Factory speakers.

He used a meter and said the reading for my rear speaker is a little odd, different than the rest. But we thought it was the ground, so we didn't really look into that.

The timer on the deck doesnt reset, in fact we plug the deck somewhere else for an hr. It was totally fine.

I think something is short but dont know what?

does it seem like the amp or sub has a prob at this point guys?

Stock Bose speakers are between 1.6 and 2 ohms so yes, in the world of car audio its a little wacky. Pretty normal for Bose though.

I am guessing its a speaker shorting out and shutting down the deck. Hard to say without further inspection. Luke is a pretty smart and thorough guy so he should know what he's talking about.

If in doubt, bring it to a sponsor for a second opinion.

[catalin]

Stock Bose? Could it be wired to a 2 ohm load per speaker? Only way is if the factory amps are bypassed..?

[turbo_slug]

Originally Posted by orgasm_donor

Stock Bose speakers are between 1.6 and 2 ohms so yes, in the world of car audio its a little wacky. Pretty normal for Bose though.

I am guessing its a speaker shorting out and shutting down the deck. Hard to say without further inspection. Luke is a pretty smart and thorough guy so he should know what he's talking about.

If in doubt, bring it to a sponsor for a second opinion.

what are the speakers hooked up to? aftermarket HU? of all the HU's I've ever disassembled, they all use amp IC's that are capable of handling 2 ohms but i've never seen a deck manufacturer claim their decks were good for anything below 4ohms. i believe the reason for that is because most decks don't have enough heatsinking to handle the low impedance loads. 2ohms will work for awhile but the amplifier will eventually fail over time.

i noticed that alpine decks are pretty bad at dissipating heat. on a lab bench, i've measured 100+ degrees on the heatsink and the fan still didn't turn on. imagine how hot those things get inside a dashboard.

[orgasm_donor]

Originally Posted by turbo_slug

what are the speakers hooked up to? aftermarket HU? of all the HU's I've ever disassembled, they all use amp IC's that are capable of handling 2 ohms but i've never seen a deck manufacturer claim their decks were good for anything below 4ohms. i believe the reason for that is because most decks don't have enough heatsinking to handle the low impedance loads. 2ohms will work for awhile but the amplifier will eventually fail over time.

i noticed that alpine decks are pretty bad at dissipating heat. on a lab bench, i've measured 100+ degrees on the heatsink and the fan still didn't turn on. imagine how hot those things get inside a dashboard.

The only decks that I know of that actually advertise their capabilities of handling 2 ohm stereo loads is Pioneer. Of course I have witnessed many decks do a two ohm load but for how long? A lot of cheaper decks will eventually break under that load due to overheating issues.

[catalin]

Rockford Fosgate used to claim theirs would run at 2 ohms as well.

[The_Red_Focus]

Try Sounds good Auto thoose guys are imazing