Car cluster going crazy/throwing codes/dim lights when radio is too loud.

[Hansolo_evox]

Hi guys i have a 2011 mitsubishi lancer evolution x gsr without the stock rockford fosgate audio system.

Anyways when i bought the car it came with a cheap chinese aftermarket radio. 5 years ago I had a audio shop wire in a lightning audio 1000w max mono amp i believe with 2 12 inch mtx subs i believe.

Anytime i would put the volume past 52(almost max volume) the cluster speedometer and rpm would drop to 0(still had power tho) the lights in cluster would dim and i would get airbag codes and all wheel drive codes but the sound from the radio WOULDNT cut out or anything. This really didnt bother me because i would never put the volume past 52 anyways. (Shop claimed it was because of a cheap shitty radio/head unit)

Fast forward to recently and i havnt been driving the car as much. So again all this time past 52 volume (almost max) the cluster would go crazy but the sound from radio worked fine. But NOW the cluster goes out of wack when the volume is at 36(not that loud). So i figured it was the battery because i havnt been driving as much. Tested the battery and it said had to be replaced.btw never had any issues with starting the car. Replaced the battery with a ac delco 800cca but im still having the same issue! Checked ground wired from battery and amp respliced wires that care connected to amp and subs. All wires behind the radio seem intact. Any ideas?? Could it just be the radio finally went to ****?

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[Popwarhomie 5,000+ posts]

Was the headunit installed with a proper wiring harness?

 

[Hansolo_evox]

Was the headunit installed with a proper wiring harness?

The thing is the previous owner had the after market radio wired in. I dont recall the audio shop mentioning anything about a bad wiring harness when they wired in the amp and subs. There is plenty of spliced wires back there wrapped in electrical tape tho. Seems intact. Again this setup has been working for 5 years without me blasting it past 52(almost max volume)

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Sounds almost like you're dipping your voltage too low when you crank it and your ECM doesn't function properly below say 12.4V or wherever you're dropping. Can you put a voltmeter on your battery and see how low your voltage is going when you crank it? I've seen cars going really strange when you go over 15V so I suspect below some threshold may also cause trouble.

Might be your alternator failing.

 

[Hansolo_evox]

Sounds almost like you're dipping your voltage too low when you crank it and your ECM doesn't function properly below say 12.4V or wherever you're dropping. Can you put a voltmeter on your battery and see how low your voltage is going when you crank it? I've seen cars going really strange when you go over 15V so I suspect below some threshold may also cause trouble.

Might be your alternator failing.

Thanks for reply. I have a accesport connected to the obd and while driving it shows a constant 14-14.25 v while car is on and volume is maxed out or not. It occasionally shows me a reading of 13.5v but for a split second. I was thinking the alternator was also on the way out but i work at a mechanic shop and when i ran the test it shows the alternator is “good” . But again maybe it is close to being on it way out...causing the original battery to die in the first place. But most likely from me only driving it about once or twice a week for 5 miles or so.

 

[SlugButter]

I could get the check engine light to come on in my truck with voltage drops. Once you start dropping below a certain voltage, vehicles will do unexpected things. i could kill the engine completely with rap bass. A higher output alternator fixed it for me. When I tested with a multimeter, I found I could drop voltage down to almost 9 volts when cranking it hard. Once it dropped under 10, the check engine light and battery light would pop on.

 

[SlugButter]

Oh. No voltage drops? I would still check it with a multimeter personally.

 

[Hansolo_evox]

I could get the check engine light to come on in my truck with voltage drops. Once you start dropping below a certain voltage, vehicles will do unexpected things. i could kill the engine completely with rap bass. A higher output alternator fixed it for me. When I tested with a multimeter, I found I could drop voltage down to almost 9 volts when cranking it hard. Once it dropped under 10, the check engine light and battery light would pop on.

I was looking into a higher output alternator but im not 100% sure this is the issue for my current situation because this setup was working for 5 years other then when i maxed out the volume to 52(almost max). But the fact that it does it at 36( about half way up) is odd. Also the voltage stays at a constant 14-14.25 unless i put the pedal to the metal on wot and it drops to 13.5 for a second

 

[Hansolo_evox]

Oh. No voltage drops? I would still check it with a multimeter personally.

Yes i should just dont know how to use one lol

 

[Hansolo_evox]

Oh. No voltage drops? I would still check it with a multimeter personally.

Would i check directly onto the battery with a multimeter?

 

[Popwarhomie 5,000+ posts]

You don't need an HO alt for a 1000 watt max amp.


"There is plenty of spliced wires back there wrapped in electrical tape tho "


I would start with the headunit wiring.

 

[Hansolo_evox]

You don't need an HO alt for a 1000 watt max amp.


"There is plenty of spliced wires back there wrapped in electrical tape tho "


I would start with the headunit wiring.

So i checked my accesport which is connected to the obd. It read 5 codes under Airbag. 1 of them is nothing but the other 4 codes have 1 thing in commen. The can bus line... so im assuming thats the wiring harness for the radio.. i did do a quick check on the wiring for radio but i guess i will be removing all the electrical tape and checking for tears and what not.

 

[1aespinoza 10+ year member]

Any ideas??

I had similar issue but on a Silverado. All needles would erratically jump once in a while, until it became a constant problem. After all my testing, I found the problem was the connector pins on the circuit board had cracked solder points. Took it to my amp tech and asked him to touch up all the solder points on the circuit board. Four years and no hiccups since then.
To test, pull out the cluster, wiggle the connector while car is running. If it jumps around, you may have the same problem.

 

[Popwarhomie 5,000+ posts]

So i checked my accesport which is connected to the obd. It read 5 codes under Airbag. 1 of them is nothing but the other 4 codes have 1 thing in commen. The can bus line... so im assuming thats the wiring harness for the radio.. i did do a quick check on the wiring for radio but i guess i will be removing all the electrical tape and checking for tears and what not.

Ahhh ha! There is your problem. Pesky Canbus system.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Its always the head unit. Lmao. 8 out of 10 times any trouble shooting thread comes on this site has always been signal and wiring related