Hey how's it going? I'm new to this forum, but not real new to car audio. I just installed an Aiwa deck into my commuter car, a 1992 Subaru Loyale that had the original radio. All of my previous fights with interference/distortion always ended up being a bad ground somewhere in the system. This most recent install has me perplexed, though.
The original radio would kick out some static when you first turned the volume knob and that was it. It was only a 2 speaker radio, but wires are run for all 4 speakers. I bought the Aiwa on clearance from Circuit City, grabbed a wiring harness for it, and went to work. Now, the Aiwa is in, but it seems to be running very hot, volume is very low, and the unit seems like it starts clipping after its on for 5 minutes or so. Going on my previous experience, I regrounded the head unit to a chassis bolt, instead of the ground in the wiring harness. I am still just running the front 2 factory speakers. regrounding it was no help. Actually, by accident, I found that the volume went UP, and the distortion was cut by about 50% when the head unit ground was not attached to anything. Volume still isn't near the 45W X2 that is claimed, it sounds more like 10 watts, just about what the factory 92 subaru head unit was at. I'm perplexed by this one. Fading the sound to either speaker shows that the distortion is equal in both speakers. When the volume is low (normal voice level or lower) and no bass, there is no distortion. As soon as the volume is turned up a little and the unit has to do a little work, it starts distorting and clipping. This is the first time aftermarket audio has been installed in this vehicle, and there are no amps, just the Aiwa head unit and 2 factory front speakers, hooked up to the front speaker leads on the head unit. Thanks for any advice you can offer, it would be much appreciated!!!
Replies (1)
swez on 08/25/2004 09:19:12
Uhmmm, take it back and get a replacement HU.
Another option would be to test resistance of each speaker feed line at the HU plug in. If these are factory speakers, you may find 4 ohm in front and the rears may be a bit higher. That's common in some American cars. If all resistance values are normal, run a signal to each speaker and listen closely to each speaker for signal quality.
Swez
The original radio would kick out some static when you first turned the volume knob and that was it. It was only a 2 speaker radio, but wires are run for all 4 speakers. I bought the Aiwa on clearance from Circuit City, grabbed a wiring harness for it, and went to work. Now, the Aiwa is in, but it seems to be running very hot, volume is very low, and the unit seems like it starts clipping after its on for 5 minutes or so. Going on my previous experience, I regrounded the head unit to a chassis bolt, instead of the ground in the wiring harness. I am still just running the front 2 factory speakers. regrounding it was no help. Actually, by accident, I found that the volume went UP, and the distortion was cut by about 50% when the head unit ground was not attached to anything. Volume still isn't near the 45W X2 that is claimed, it sounds more like 10 watts, just about what the factory 92 subaru head unit was at. I'm perplexed by this one. Fading the sound to either speaker shows that the distortion is equal in both speakers. When the volume is low (normal voice level or lower) and no bass, there is no distortion. As soon as the volume is turned up a little and the unit has to do a little work, it starts distorting and clipping. This is the first time aftermarket audio has been installed in this vehicle, and there are no amps, just the Aiwa head unit and 2 factory front speakers, hooked up to the front speaker leads on the head unit. Thanks for any advice you can offer, it would be much appreciated!!!
Replies (1)
swez on 08/25/2004 09:19:12
Uhmmm, take it back and get a replacement HU.
Another option would be to test resistance of each speaker feed line at the HU plug in. If these are factory speakers, you may find 4 ohm in front and the rears may be a bit higher. That's common in some American cars. If all resistance values are normal, run a signal to each speaker and listen closely to each speaker for signal quality.
Swez
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