stereo cuts out

jason2454 · Outlaw Joined: 18 Feb 2005 Posts: 240 City: austin

At very high volumes part of the stereo cut out... ie the subs will turn off or tower speakers or whatever. Is this most likely due to the amps not being powerful enough? Or would it be because we are running on only a single battery?

AndyDeeJay · Outlaw Joined: 20 Jul 2004 Posts: 239 City: Belfast

If the amp is not powerful enough it will just start to distort the audio. Providing you have not exceeded the maximum speaker load (dropped below the minimum impedance) the amp should not cut out.

How is the amp wired? Insuficient cable thickness or poor connections or low voltage to the supply side of an amp will cause it to cut out for sure. If you haven't already, run 8AWG cable from the battery through a fuse or circuit breaker directly to the amp and back to the battery. Definatly dont rely on the boat's wiring loom as it is not heavy enough.

joedirt00 · Posted: Jul 27, 2005 4:15 am Post subject:

It could also be how your speakers and amps are wired. If you are bridged down to say a 1ohm load and your amp is only capable of running that a 2 ohms stable, at high current (IE high volumes), the amps protection could be causing it to shut down. What kind of equiment are you running?

wakessories · Soul Rider Joined: 09 Feb 2005 Posts: 283

No one has mentioned this yet so here it goes...

What guage wire you running? (speakers, power, ground, etc)

westcoast_canadian · Criminal Joined: 09 Aug 2005 Posts: 69 City: Penticton

http://forums.wakeboarder.com/viewtopic.php?t=47740

I had the same problem (its fixed now) and we brought the boat in for its 10 hour break in check-up and the guys tweaked everything and found it was a short in one or two of the tower speakers within the canister. The amp automatically will shut off/protect in order to protect the speakers and wiring and itself. The amp is not broken I don't think, although they sent us a new one and we used it anyways.

Dees · Posted: Aug 15, 2005 10:48 am Post subject:

if none of those things fixed it, you may need another battery

Rock Toy · Outlaw Joined: 07 Feb 2003 Posts: 105 City: San Francisco

I just rewired my amps and now I have the exact same issue. I am running 4 awg pos and neg wires from the dual batts to a distribution block by the amps and then going to 8awg to the amps (3 of them). They all share the same ground. Now when I crank the stereo, the tower speakers and inside speakers occasionally cut out for a coupla seconds, but only when the stereo is turned way up. The Sub never cuts out. Any opinions?

I am thinking that my connections at the junction box may be poor. I simply stuck the loose wires into the box and cinched them down with the allen screw. No solder or special connectors (didn't have my soldering gun at the time). You think that might be it?

acurtis_ttu · Soul Rider Joined: 16 Aug 2004 Posts: 499 City: Houston

Each amp needs it's own ground....especially if they pull any power. "Weakest Link Theroy" your one groudn fro the amps is your weakest link. your wiring is only as strong as your weakest link.

Vampyre · Addict Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 622 City: Ooltewah, TN

Also, make sure your gain settings aren't too high on the amplifier, the amp may be clipping, and tripping the protection circuit.
Perhaps look into a capacitor as well for providing clean, smooth power to your amps.

J-Ro · Posted: Sep 07, 2005 12:07 pm Post subject:

I agree with Dees, check your battery. Check for water and do a load test. Whens the last time you replaced it?