Wierd Stereo Problem... HELP!!!

L7Wakeboarder · Newbie Joined: 28 Jan 2005 Posts: 35 City: Moorhead

So we finally finished installing most of the stereo stuff this weekend and it sounds great. Here's the problem, the stereo works fine until we hit the throttle, at this point the two amps, one rockford x2 for the tower speakers and one kicker 350.4 for the two subs, cut out. The amps will kick back on when you put the boat back in neutral. I have no idea what to do to fix this problem. One of my friends said to try a cap, but I have heard from other people that they aren't that useful. Also, when we hit the throttle the volt meter jumps up from 13/14 to about 16/17. Is the problem that we are getting a power spike that would cause the amps to go into a safe mode? If so, how do we fix it? Thanks for any help!

jonsmith2340 · Soul Rider Joined: 02 Feb 2005 Posts: 370

I've never experience this problem and I'm really not sure what is going on. Some info that might help would be what boat, motor, how many batteries, and I would check the output of your altinator. I don't think you should see that much of a jump in your volts with increased throttle.

Also, can you rev the rpm's without the boat in gear... if so does the problem occur?

Just somethings to start to narrow down the search...

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

I had a similar problem. When I gave it throttle, the force of the waves became greater which caused more vibration on the cables and the amps. My problem was a loose remote wire connection. It was very intermittent cutting in and out and only did it when the boat was up to speed and the radio was turned up, I would double check your remote, ground, and power wires a second and third time. Double check you don't have too many remote or ground wires on one termination point, where one of them might not get a good connection. Another problem could be power consumption, your boat is going to draw more power when accelerating, make sure your power and ground wires are thick enough and not to far from the battery.

The volt meter spike is normal! As long as it's not blowing fuses, I'd say it's safe to say you're not getting to much power. It should be right around 13-15 volts, and could go up to 16 volts.

Does your deck shut off? If not I bet you a million dollars it's a wiring issue with your amps, crossover or any distribution blocks you may have.

DOUBLE CHECK YOUR WIRING. Smile

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

If both amps are cutting out then it has to be something common to both - Stereo, power, ground, remote signal.

I am not happy with the volts rising to 16/17. A good alternators voltage regulator keeps the volts between 13.8 – 14.5. 14.5 when charging heavily and 13.8 when shallow.

I'd check out the alternator.

L7Wakeboarder · Newbie Joined: 28 Jan 2005 Posts: 35 City: Moorhead

The people over on Wakeworld seem to agree that it might be something with the alternator. We will double check the wiring too just to make sure though. As far as problems with the alternator, is the regulator a part that we could just replace, or is it going to be a replace the whole alternator type of job? Thanks for the input so far guys, it realy helps!

Oh, AndyDeeJay, it's really neat to get some input from the irish! One of my life goals is to get over there!

jonsmith2340 · Soul Rider Joined: 02 Feb 2005 Posts: 370

Depending on what type of alternator you have I would have your alternator tested and if it is bad just get a rebuilt alternator. Most autoparts stores sell rebuilts with the option to get a lifetime warrenty. They won't cover labor but if you do the labor yourself you have the piece of mind to know that you will never pay to for another alternator on this boat again.

L7Wakeboarder · Newbie Joined: 28 Jan 2005 Posts: 35 City: Moorhead

What's the ballpark price on a rebuilt alternator? Just dropped a ton of money on the boat and am not lloking forward to spending more.

jonsmith2340 · Soul Rider Joined: 02 Feb 2005 Posts: 370

Call NAPA with the specs on your motor. I would guess, depending on output, it should be in the $100 range. They are usually in that range depending on warrenty and output. If you do a rebuilt remember that it usually entails a core exchange, meaning that they will want your old alternator from you.

Get2TheRiver · Posted: May 25, 2005 9:01 pm Post subject:

Did you ever get this resolved? I'm dealing with the exact same thing right now!!! My stereo guy seems to think it's the alternator/voltage regulator. So, back to he boat guy...

Steve

L7Wakeboarder · Newbie Joined: 28 Jan 2005 Posts: 35 City: Moorhead

All we needed to do was replace the voltage regulator. It was like $52 shipped and it took all of twenty minutes to swap out. On our engine it was four screws, a bolt, and three wires. Really easy and the problem is totally fixed. Sounds great now. Really glad it was such an easy problem to fix!