wcgman

We bought this 07 GT yesterday from a dealer. My wife and I were drawn to the brand new Whipple SC and the full race suspension the dealer installed. It is a badass convertible and we love it.

When the salesperson opened the trunk, I realized we might be in trouble. I definitely knew I was in over my head and experience. I love great sounding audio, but have never spent the time to understand amps, crossovers, subs, the power related to them...

THE FIRST PROBLEM
This is a kicker dx1000.1 amp.



This LED is red. Yesterday the LED was alternating seemingly randomly between green and yellow. One of my buddies who knows more about car audio was saying that he thought the amp was not getting enough power. During that time, we were cranking it up and listening / watching the woofers bouncing in and out and having fun. I honestly didnt know if he meant it wasnt getting enough juice from the battery or I hadnt turned it up loud enough...

Last night when we were driving the car, the subwoofers quit working completely. I put it in the back of my mind to check out.

This morning it was nice and cool, about 60 degrees. I started the system to take pics so I can ask for your help. When I first got it going, the light on the amp was amber. I got in the car to adjust the volume as I was afraid it might be a little loud too early. By then, the subs had quit working again and the light had gone red. Not more than 20 or 30 seconds. Reading the manual on it, here what it says.

"Red LED on, no output? 1) Amplifier is very hot =thermal protection is engaged. Test for proper impedance at the speaker terminals with a VOM meter (see the diagrams in this manual for minimum recommended impedance and multiple speaker wiring suggestions). Also check for adequate airflow around the amplifier, 2) Amplifier shuts down only while vehicle is running =voltage protection circuitry is engaged, Voltage to the amplifier is not within the 10-16 volt operating range, Have the vehicle's charging and electrical system inspected, 3)Amplifier will only play at low volume levels = short circuit protection is engaged. Check for speaker wires shorted to each other or to the vehicle chassis

I'm thinking it's number 2, but I honestly don't know at this point. The couple of guys that I know have xp with audio have glanced at the setup and they think it was built well so that's a good sign.



THE SECOND PROBLEM

The head unit is behaving like the lower left hand corner where the play/pause and the radio band selection functions is randomly being touched, but seemingly only with a CD or on the radio. It is a Pioneer AVH-P4200DVD.



If a CD is selected as the source, it randomly plays and pauses. Whether the car is in motion or not seems to make no difference and attempting to vibrate or jar the unit also doesnt seem to stop or trigger it. If the radio is selected, the button function changes from play / pause to band selector. It will cycle through the bands randomly. I plugged in a USB key and the problem did not happen again.

I cannot effectively say that the problem disappeared with the subs going offline, but after just talking to my wife, there's the possibility that has indeed happened. She said she listened to the radio for a good hour and had zero problems. However, the subs were non-functional that entire time.

At this point, Im going to post all of the pics I took this morning to give you an idea of the build quality and all the components in the sequence they were taken. Im doing that because I honestly don't know what's what with all of this stuff and am a bit overwhelmed. I really appreciate any help or advice you can give.




















Also, most of the pics were taken while the system was off, so if I need to take pictures while everything is powered on, I can do that. The rest of the system may be working fine too, but I can dig in if need be...just need direction.

wcgman

Looking up the model numbers of this stuff, I realized that those are 3 different amplifiers. I don't know what unfortunately goes to where, but if I had to guess since everything else seems to be making sound (this was originally a Shaker 500 car) maybe the kicker dx1000 is powering the subs, the RockFos amp the door subs (which too appear to be replaced from what I can see through the grill) and the Kenwood Excelon the normal door and back seat speakers?

wcgman

New update. Wife took car to work. She said the stereo quit working altogether. The head unit still has juice and the car is running fine, so Im thinking now that maybe when the SC was installed, they didnt hook the lead for the alternator back up on the trunk battery and so it's completely discharged and that battery is dead or too low to power anything. I'll know more tonight or tomorrow.

Ricardo

I'm not a pro but have installed many stereos and it's kind of a hobby of mine.

First thing, I would pull the subs out of the box and check for a loose speaker wire or a cut along the length touching metal. A short there would throw it into protection mode as a power cable short would pop the amp's fuse or cause a fire.
OR
If you're running the factory alternator, chances are the charging system is at it's limits and you aren't getting enough power. A second battery isn't that much help if the alternator is struggling to keep the one under the hood charged, now it has to charge two batteries.

Too much equipment for a 'Stang if you ask me. That looks like a nightmare to keep up with and tune properly.

wcgman

Fixed.

JWButler14

My thoughts exactly!

wcgman

Haha - nope. Not at all. Once I got everything figured out, that thing thumps like mad. It is a totally sweet stereo. The only thing that sucks is that you can't put anything but a tic-tac in the trunk. But I have 4 other vehicles to drive so it ain't no thang.