Stereo cutting out?

[gmctrucks]

Stereo cutting out?

OK guys I have a older Alpine CDE-9874 in my truck and what is happening when I go up to high on the volume it turns off or it blinks off and on when it first started to happen I thought it was the connection because when I would push the head unit it the stereo would turn on. I thought it was the wiring harness so I bought another head unit off of Ebay with the wiring harness but just a while ago I put the unit I bought in my truck with the same harness from the old head unit and it's doing the same thing so what would you guys do next.

Change and use the wiring harness that came with this head unit I bought or is it the the faceplate bad? It's connected to the OEM factory wiring harness it just plugs in. Now the stereo always worked good it's just the cutting out that upsets me. I have another Alpine unit but I like this one because I use it with my I-Pod and the names come out on the screen and I can search for songs with this unit.
Thanks! Roland
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[buckshot85]

Thats strange. You changed what i thought it might be. i know the pioneer in the z71 has a removable faceplate and it comes loose sometimes and causes the same thing. I assume all the fuses are tight and the right size. possible loose wire somewhere or loose ground wire. hope someone else can think of other things

 

[Zembonez]

Does this only happen at high volume settings?

If so, it sounds like something is getting hot and triggering the protection mode. When it cools, it will come back on. Some units can do this very rapidly. Essentially it is overdriving the internal amp and shutting it off.

Of course, you want to make sure you have good power and ground connections.

 

[gmctrucks]

Is it only when I turn up the volume high I can go out to my truck right now that the stereo is cool and if turn it up high it's going to cut out. I was thinking of it cutting out as you stated going in protection mode but I think it might be a bad ground I guess next im going to change out the wiring harness all I have to do is take it off the head unit and switch it out to the correct colors to the other Alpine radio harness that came with this unit I just bought. I also checked the pins in the wiring harness I pushed them in and still it cut out. The cage isn't grounded I guess the only ground is when it plugs into the factory harness. What about me buying another faceplate might it be shorting out? If I do buy another faceplate and it's the wiring harness im going to have two stereo's or the same models my count will be three Alpine to play with but this one has more options. Many thanks.........

 

[Texas Jim]

I have to agree with JIM...
It's getting hot at high volume levels and turning itself off.

It either needs more cooling or one other thing it could be, is not a big enough POWER WIRE.

Not enough power at high volume levels will also cause it to cut out.
Kinda like an engine that won't rev up high because it is starving for fuel.

 

[thunderstruck]

If your ground is good, you may have a bad speaker that is causing your headunit problems when it's turned up.

 

[gmctrucks]

You know guys it was fine when I first installed it more than a year ago. What im going to do now is change out the wiring harness and buy a head unit cheap im viewing one right now. Anybody have the direct number to Alpine I might give them a call.
Thanks again! Roland
PS-Anymore idea's bring them on. Let me add this I found this guy that sells new steel cowl hoods for my truck for $360.00 does that sound right? Some guy that I was going to buy 4 Billet wheels backed out of his word he sold them to some other guy which I think is chicken $hit since we both agreed on a price but I am looking at some 15x10 Boyd's wheels for $300.00 im going to try to low ball him one needs a center cap.

 

[gmctrucks]

The problem hasn't always been there but now that im thinking the tabs holding the cage to the main unit there not even touching nothing because the main unit just slides out. That will do it right? I took it where I had it installed on day one because it started to happen months ago and I bet the guy didn't brace them correct and yesterday that my son installed the main unit that I just bought he didn't bend the tabs to secure the main unit to the cage so that makes me believe that it was never installed correct since day one and with the bumps in driving my truck I bet it was getting loose. Right? It's a digital stereo not a real old unit in fact it's a 2007 model unit. Also I have taken to the guy about four times and when he takes it out he does it fast because the tabs on the cage are bent correct on main stereo unit and with all the times that he's just checking the harness connections the cage isn't being attached correct. What do you guys think. Yesterday I left my dome light on and just a bit ago my truck wouldn't start low batt I have it charging it was down to 50% im charging it all night till it reaches 100% how do I know what percent digital charger. He! He!

 

[thunderstruck]

The problem hasn't always been there but now that im thinking the tabs holding the cage to the main unit there not even touching nothing because the main unit just slides out. That will do it right?

Yeah, but that's not causing your cutting out problem if that's what you're getting at. If the headunit slides in and out while the mounting cage stays in place, take the headunit out and bend the two large tabs on each side inwards. That will lock the headunit in place then.

Also, since you're going to redo the wiring anyways, try disconnecting all of the speakers and see if it still cuts out. If it doesn't, then hook each speaker back up one by one and see which (if any) causes problems.

 

[gmctrucks]

My stereo is doing good so far I bent the tabs for it not to slide out so easy but I still need to installed another ground behind the unit but like I wrote she doing good.