[Che]

My car stereo always cuts out when you press it for volume - it'll work to a point, but pass that point it will cut out for a few seconds then come back on... and it will keep tripping out like this until you lower the volume. It's a $100 Sony 200W head unit (maybe 2 or 3 years old), powering 2 x 6" and 2 x 4" speakers - nothing too ritzy.

Just trying to work out if the head unit is to blame or if the factory wiring isn't up to the task. This happened in the last Sierra I had too with the same head unit, and if I Google the problem it seems my particular stereo had a fair amount of quality issues... on the flip side, maybe a power feed directly from the battery will solve the problem and save me the cost of a new stereo.


If you're running a 200W stereo in your Sierra can you tell me if you've patched into the factory wiring or if you've run your own power directly from the battery?

[barnoon]

I have a 200W JVC headunit in my 96 Sierra, its patched into the factory wiring from what I can tell, there is no direct wire from the battery to the unit. I have no problems with it cutting out at all.

[oohsam]

Sounds like the unit is faulty mate.
IF it was a battery cable issue, it wouldn't hold memory.
If it was an earth issue it wouldnt do it when you turn the volume up and down, BUT i have seen strange things happen when the earth is dodgey.

check ur earth, if not, i reckon ur unit is cactus.

[31zook]

My head is plugged straight into the factory loom on my last 2 sierras and current Jimny.

No cut out...

[Reubs]

In one of my Sierras I am using the factory wiring - in the other I have a triggered by the accessories supply.

Get a multimeter and check what voltage you have just before the stereo cuts out. If the voltage is too low then you have a wiring fault - not a faulty headunit.

A bad earth connection, bad connectors, dodgy ignition switch etc are all plausible.

[sideways]

Mine is too.

The LJs stereo has 4 wires and that's it.

[BlueSuzy]

yes


..

[fordem]

Is that 200W per channel, or 4 x 50W, and is it RMS or PMP? 4x50W RMS is well within the capability of the stock wiring, and I've used stock wiring on most of my vehicles with no problems.

[Decide]

I have a Kenwood deck your welcome to for a 6 pack, nothing too fancy, just a CD player, pulled it out of the Vit a month ago.
Also have a 2 channel amp kenwood amp if your interested in that aswell.

[royce]

I havent fitted stereos as a job for near on 10 years but even back then we would run a better constant power feed in for it as the stock ones dont keep up

all the symptoms you describe are either low voltage or one of your speakers are shorting out in itself or to earth, on some shitty decks (IE Sony) the protection circuit wont cut in till higher volume, some other brands jsut wont turn the audio on till the fault is gone.

[GeckoXL7]

^^ Dito bet me to it

I have a 260w unit. on factory wires, have had a 5.1 x 80w RMS a while ago. (not a sierra) But older cars had a pretty small wire and limited to like 10amp.

I would check if any of your speaker wires are touching earth or grounded. Stereos hate that when turned up, usually makes a popping noise, also make sure the polarity is correct on the speakers.

[Che]

Well - I hooked up power straight to the battery, and the problem was till there. So I went out and bought a $62 Sony stereo and curly adaptor cable from JB, and the problem was still there (so I refunded the head unit for another xmas pressie). But swap in the curly cable and the problem disappeared - how about that. Turns out the short must have been in the $5 ipod cable I bought off Ebay - sending 12V into an aux input will do that I guess.



So if you plan to buy one of these things, save your money - they're $5 for a reason.

[jimmy91]

i was running 2 12inch hertz subs, jl splits, 1000 watt rms amp and a 400 4 channel amp and it'd cut out.. i put a bigger earth on both amps and new battery. it ran 138 db so sucked a lot of power