nhguy261
CarAudio.com Newbie
I'm a newbie here and in need of assistance.
This is what's installed in my 1981 C3 Corvette.
Kenwood KDC-X303 head unit
Alpine MRV-F300 Amp
Alpine R-S69 Speakers
Alpine Sub-Woofer Model unknown
Kill switch at battery
I did not install this equipment, I had it done by a local audio shop.
I took the car out of storage and it fired right up and the sound system worked but something wasn't right. I smelled mice and found the nest in the center console. I cleaned it up and found that they had chewed through what I believe is a speaker wire and the insulation on the antenna cable. I think the speaker wire contained five separate wires. Two on either side and one running down the middle.
I carefully spliced everything back together, tested it and everything sounded great...I was happy. I called it a night and picked up where I left off but before I did, I tested it but the car wouldn't start, the battery was dead.
I put the charger on the battery and the speakers began to howl. I disconnected the charger and started my research. I was told that the problem was how the amp was wired at the head unit. It had a constant power source. I disconnected the blue remote wire from the amp, put the charger back on the battery and there was no howling. I fully charged the battery.
OK, so what does this mean? I couldn't understand how this could be possible since the system worked fine before I put it into storage.
I decided to put an on/off toggle on the amp remote wire to kill the power so that it didn't drain the battery.
I'll walk through what's happening now.
Could a stray speaker wire in the splice be causing this?
Is it a wiring issue at the head unit?
Thanks for taking the time to read my lengthy post. All advice is welcome.
This is what's installed in my 1981 C3 Corvette.
Kenwood KDC-X303 head unit
Alpine MRV-F300 Amp
Alpine R-S69 Speakers
Alpine Sub-Woofer Model unknown
Kill switch at battery
I did not install this equipment, I had it done by a local audio shop.
I took the car out of storage and it fired right up and the sound system worked but something wasn't right. I smelled mice and found the nest in the center console. I cleaned it up and found that they had chewed through what I believe is a speaker wire and the insulation on the antenna cable. I think the speaker wire contained five separate wires. Two on either side and one running down the middle.
I carefully spliced everything back together, tested it and everything sounded great...I was happy. I called it a night and picked up where I left off but before I did, I tested it but the car wouldn't start, the battery was dead.
I put the charger on the battery and the speakers began to howl. I disconnected the charger and started my research. I was told that the problem was how the amp was wired at the head unit. It had a constant power source. I disconnected the blue remote wire from the amp, put the charger back on the battery and there was no howling. I fully charged the battery.
OK, so what does this mean? I couldn't understand how this could be possible since the system worked fine before I put it into storage.
I decided to put an on/off toggle on the amp remote wire to kill the power so that it didn't drain the battery.
I'll walk through what's happening now.
- Battery kill switch on
- Amp toggle off
- Start car
- Amp toggle turned on and the radio works
- Turn off radio and the amp turns off
- Turn off engine
- Turn off battery kill switch and the amp turns on...WHAT??
- Turn off amp toggle, amp remains off
- Turn on battery kill switch
- Start car
- Turn on amp toggle
- Turn on radio
- Radio works
Could a stray speaker wire in the splice be causing this?
Is it a wiring issue at the head unit?
Thanks for taking the time to read my lengthy post. All advice is welcome.