proper setup to boost audio performance

Hello Everyone,

New member here with some questions reguarding what would be the proper setup to boost my car's audio performance. I have a 1984 Ford Bronco II, 2.9 liter suv. Currently I have a 500 watt memphis sub as well as a 500 watt memphis mono amp. I have an audiovox 50x4 cd player (cheap i know but it was a birthday present). My current conundrum is that when i turn my volume anywhere from 15 to 17, i notice that the display on my cd deck begins to fade, and it seems to fade in pulses with the bass. Eventually it cuts out all together along with the music and the bass. I am not sure how to remedy the problem. My car audio savy friends have told me that i need everything from a 1 farand capacitor to a larger altinator to a more powerful battery. Has anyone ever heard of this problem and if so, could anyone please offer some advice on how to fix the problem. I have never been able to exploit my system to its full capacity due to what appears to be a power shortage. If it is a capacitor issue, any idea on what would be a good cap in terms of farand size and brand? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Oh yeah, Awesome forum, im just sorry that i just now discovered it.

                      -Coyoteboy18

First you determine if it's a problem with the deck or with the car's power supply:  if the lights in the instrument panel and headlights do the same thing as the deck it's the power supply...if the deck is alone in fading out it's in the deck or its connections.  Once you do that little test you'll know what direction you have to go.

It's rare that just using a 500 watt amplifier will tax your power system so much that you have the problems you described.  So start with all the power and ground wiring, not only the head unit and amp's, but the wiring under the hood.  Remove, clean, wire brush, and reconnect all connections.  The battery should be heavy duty and less than 3 years old.  If after you do all that physical testing you find the instrument panel lights still fading, the alternator is not providing enough juice.  But don't go to the expense of getting another alt until you've done all the wiring upgrades (incl. battery) and tested with a known good head unit.

You may also be having a problem due to low impedance on the amp or gain set at the wrong place, and the conditions are being seen through the head unit.  So make sure the sub is suited for and wired correctly to the amp, and set the amp's gain according to the deck's voltage output.

The amp does not need to be reset and infact there is no way to reset an amp. It is either on and working or off and not working or on and not working. Chances are about 99% that your cd player has had it's day in the sun.

Thanks for the info forbidden. I just took a ride to aspen sound and explained my issue to them. The reps there said that it could be one of two things. See, when I bought my system i got the memphis sub and amp, but being completely ignorant on the subject that speakers can have an impact on power flow, i got a cheap pair of Depth Charge speakers, I think they were like 30.00 for the pair. The reps said that the speakers could be shot and that they are not returning enough power to the deck, thereby creating a flux in the power supply which causes the deck to cut out. They reccomended that I disconnect the speakers one at a time, and then all together to see if anything changes. If The system still is not functioning properly and continues to cut out then it could be a ground wire issue. I did however install a new screw for the amps ground and sanded the area down where the screw is planted in the cars frame. That alone did not change a thing. They did not mention anything about the deck other than that audiovox is a terrible choice. My friend is coming over tommorow who knows a great deal about installing systems and he is going to disconnect the speakers to see if that helps. Does this sound like it might remedy the problem? A new pair of high end speakers perhaps? Thanks for all the help guys.

-Coyoteboy18

I went ahead and removed all the speakers, one at a time, while leaving the system turned on and the strangest thing happened. When I removed all the speakers, suddenly i no longer had a problem with the cd deck flickering and then shutting off. Even with the sub and the amp connected, I was able to turn the volume on the deck up to 30 (the max that the deck would go) and with full bass, there was absolutely no power problem whatsoever. No flickering, just insane bumping. However, the minute that i connected even one of the fron 5 1/2'' Depth charge speakers, the display on the cd deck began flickering and eventually shut off. I then had my friend loan me 2 rockford fosgate speakers, (I think they were like 6 1/2'') and the second that i connected one of those speakers, the deck began fluttering and eventually shut off. What is going on here? Is it the speakers? Is it the deck? If it is the deck, as some previous individuals have suggested, then why when I remove the speakers, and power is flowing to the deck and the amp and sub, does no power loss occur, yet when i connect even one speaker it suddenly loses power and shuts off. Could it be a ground issue? Can someone please help me as I am nearly going insane trying to figure out the problem. Thanks to all of you out there who take time to read and attempt to help out on these posts. It is greatly appreciated.

-Coyoteboy18

"The reps said that the speakers could be shot and that they are not returning enough power to the deck, thereby creating a flux in the power supply which causes the deck to cut out. " Dude, first off go back to this shop and tell them they lied to you as flat out they did. Next speak nice and loud so that everyone in earshot can hear you. A flux in the power supply? I have a nice floating island to sell you as well. After you are done flipping in this ignoramous that told you this, loudly announce that you are going to their competition where they do not lie to their customers.

Speakers need to be connected to the cd player in order to test this. What happens without them is simple. Imagine that you drive a tiny little Honda Civic (this is your cd player). It drives just fine all on it's own, which is what they cd player does with no speakers on it. Now, let's hook up a 20' fully loaded trailer to the civic and see how it drives, this is what happens when speakers are hooked up. There must be some type of load on the cd player for a problem like the one you are describing to happen.

You have one of a number of small issues. One was eluded to above, that is power. An amp (the one built into the cd player) must get power in order to make power. IF the power / groud wires are too small for the cd player, the cd player will struggle to make power and this becomes evident once the volume is turned up with distorted output and flickering lights.

Next if the speakers are grounding out, some cd players may infact play and give sound output from the speakers, but the sound is distorted and the player may flicker.

Lastly the tiny little amplifier in the cd player (and it is tiny, do not believe what it says it has for power) has just plain old run out of clean power at volume level 17. After that it produces distortion that the speakers will play until they die a horrible death.

In all cases I would have a different stereo shop look at these options and again, consider a new cd player, my favorites to consider are Eclipse.