Hello. I've had my stereo system for a few years now. I'm now trying to put it into my 4th vehicle. The last 3 were successful, but this truck is causing me problems. I spent 5 hours yesterday building smaller boxes (and installing) for a 12 inch Kicker CVR sub, 800 watt Coustic amp, and 2 Audiovox 6x9's.
It's all set up and i'm ready to go crusin' but there's very little sound coming from the speakers. There's no connection problems, I've double and triple checked everything. I believe the problem is with my receiver. The 1989 stock out of the dakota was shot, so I looked around the house for spare radios and found an old stock cassette player from a 1993 grand am.
I tried using a portable cd player with cassette adapter. And had to use the 'speaker level input' feature on the amp instead of rca cables. Is this just too much power to run through a cheap 12 year old receiver? The amp has power and it's running like it should, but there's very minimal sound output no matter how much I turn it up and fiddle with the input sensitivity.
If the receiver is the problem, then great. I have an almost brand new Sony cd receiver, but needs a wiring harness. I just hope nothing is wrong with the equipment because it's been sitting in storage for over a year. Please, any suggestions you have are very appreciated. Thanks
Replies (4)
audeogod on 02/6/2005 08:46:04
Well, first I would ask if it does the same thing not only with a CD, but also with the radio? If it doesn't, then maybe the CD to tape adapter is bad or maybe the tape deck heads are dirty and just don't pick up well.
Try a tape as well to see what it does if you still have any around the house. After all it's 2005 outside and I'd have to look hard here to find a cassette at my house.
Anyway, enough jokes. Assuming that you have all the connections in the correct order on that factory deck, it also could very likely be that the factory radio you used was just a signal output only in the original car that it was in(didn't you say it was from a Grand Am?), and there may have been an internal amp elsewhere in the car that did the actual signal pushing to the speakers. In other words, your deck may not have an internal amp in it. You said you are using an amp that has high level inputs and using the speaker wires to supply the input. Maybe there is not enough power on the input speaker wires to send the amp the signal.
This is just a guess. I don't know if it would work without any real current flowing in from the speaker wires or not. Cause all the amps I've ever had were hooked up with RCA's, not speaker wires. I just don't have enough experience with high level inputs to say for sure.
audeogod on 02/6/2005 08:52:15
Don't know if I made this clear. Try it with the radio playing. Then with a CD playing. Then with a tape playing. If if does the same thing on all, then at least you know it's a problem in the system itself and could be the HU. If the radio plays fine, but not a tape or CD, then it could be the deck's tape player. If a tape and radio are fine, but not a CD, then it could be the CD to tape adapter or CD player itself.
Process of elimination narrows down the suspects.
compvr15s on 02/6/2005 10:56:20
i would definitly try the sony head unit you have laying around. sounds to me there is just not enough signal being pushed from the factory head unit, im not very familiar with the high level inputs either. but you do have sound right? are you runnin the 6x9s off the head unit and the the cvr off the amp i assume. dont expect much from the 6x9s this way, that factory head unit is probably only pushin 7-10 watts to them speakers, and as for the sub id imagine it should play louder than the speakers since its amped but if there is a signal loss or just a low signal level this could cause that problem too. IMHO its prolly the head unit, since the equipment worked previously in three other vehicles, good luck let us know what happens.
cmcdriver on 02/6/2005 11:36:53
thanks guys for the help. I couldnt use the radio anyways... dodge and pontiac have different antenna hook-ups. one of you mentioned putting the sony in there. that's the radio i've used on all past cars, but I lost the wiring harness when i moved from florida. but Eureka! after 5 frigid hours of searching the garage this morning, I have the harness! i dont suspect any more difficulties. once again, thanks for the suggestions, and I will let you know the final outcome.
It's all set up and i'm ready to go crusin' but there's very little sound coming from the speakers. There's no connection problems, I've double and triple checked everything. I believe the problem is with my receiver. The 1989 stock out of the dakota was shot, so I looked around the house for spare radios and found an old stock cassette player from a 1993 grand am.
I tried using a portable cd player with cassette adapter. And had to use the 'speaker level input' feature on the amp instead of rca cables. Is this just too much power to run through a cheap 12 year old receiver? The amp has power and it's running like it should, but there's very minimal sound output no matter how much I turn it up and fiddle with the input sensitivity.
If the receiver is the problem, then great. I have an almost brand new Sony cd receiver, but needs a wiring harness. I just hope nothing is wrong with the equipment because it's been sitting in storage for over a year. Please, any suggestions you have are very appreciated. Thanks
Replies (4)
audeogod on 02/6/2005 08:46:04
Well, first I would ask if it does the same thing not only with a CD, but also with the radio? If it doesn't, then maybe the CD to tape adapter is bad or maybe the tape deck heads are dirty and just don't pick up well.
Try a tape as well to see what it does if you still have any around the house. After all it's 2005 outside and I'd have to look hard here to find a cassette at my house.
Anyway, enough jokes. Assuming that you have all the connections in the correct order on that factory deck, it also could very likely be that the factory radio you used was just a signal output only in the original car that it was in(didn't you say it was from a Grand Am?), and there may have been an internal amp elsewhere in the car that did the actual signal pushing to the speakers. In other words, your deck may not have an internal amp in it. You said you are using an amp that has high level inputs and using the speaker wires to supply the input. Maybe there is not enough power on the input speaker wires to send the amp the signal.
This is just a guess. I don't know if it would work without any real current flowing in from the speaker wires or not. Cause all the amps I've ever had were hooked up with RCA's, not speaker wires. I just don't have enough experience with high level inputs to say for sure.
audeogod on 02/6/2005 08:52:15
Don't know if I made this clear. Try it with the radio playing. Then with a CD playing. Then with a tape playing. If if does the same thing on all, then at least you know it's a problem in the system itself and could be the HU. If the radio plays fine, but not a tape or CD, then it could be the deck's tape player. If a tape and radio are fine, but not a CD, then it could be the CD to tape adapter or CD player itself.
Process of elimination narrows down the suspects.
compvr15s on 02/6/2005 10:56:20
i would definitly try the sony head unit you have laying around. sounds to me there is just not enough signal being pushed from the factory head unit, im not very familiar with the high level inputs either. but you do have sound right? are you runnin the 6x9s off the head unit and the the cvr off the amp i assume. dont expect much from the 6x9s this way, that factory head unit is probably only pushin 7-10 watts to them speakers, and as for the sub id imagine it should play louder than the speakers since its amped but if there is a signal loss or just a low signal level this could cause that problem too. IMHO its prolly the head unit, since the equipment worked previously in three other vehicles, good luck let us know what happens.
cmcdriver on 02/6/2005 11:36:53
thanks guys for the help. I couldnt use the radio anyways... dodge and pontiac have different antenna hook-ups. one of you mentioned putting the sony in there. that's the radio i've used on all past cars, but I lost the wiring harness when i moved from florida. but Eureka! after 5 frigid hours of searching the garage this morning, I have the harness! i dont suspect any more difficulties. once again, thanks for the suggestions, and I will let you know the final outcome.
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