did my speakers fry my headunit?

[panteramatt 10+ year member]

I just installed some infinity kappa 682.9 speakers in my f250. well they worked great for a couple hours and today alll my speakers went out and then my headunit went out. Theres still power to it as the face still tilts and the red light still blinks but nothing else works. I think my problems could be 2 things:

with the speakers being 2 ohm mess the headunit up?

I hooked the speakers to the stock wiring and couldnt tell which was positive or negative so they could be hooked up backwards but they still worked and sounded good.So can it be fixed and how can I tell which wires are pos and neg?

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[schackel 10+ year member]

2 ohms part, most factory units are only made for 4 ohm loads.

the part you said about hooking them up backwards would not mess anything up they would just be out of phase (would not hurt anything)

 

[panteramatt 10+ year member]

so with the speakers being 2 ohms, could that have fried my headunit? I never even knew that there were speakers that wouldnt work with headunits. Its a kenwood ddx7017

 

[subzero 5,000+ posts]

possibly. 2ohm load on a deck that is rated 25wrms by 4 channels. Um yea. your making that deck put out 50 watts rms at 2 ohms x 4channel. which probly made it over heat and go into termal meltdown. Decks arent made to drop loads like that. Thats what "Amplifiers" are for. Be sure to get a new deck and an amp.

If I was you!!... I would not say a dam thing about running it like that. Take the deck back and claim it was messed up and see if you cant exchange it. otherwise that alot of $ you just wasted... Good job

 

[panteramatt 10+ year member]

Wish I could. Bought the deck a long time ago online.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Shorting out the speaker leads from the HU would do about the same thing. Next time keep the HU at 4 ohms and make sure none of the leads are shorting.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

note that a head unit can turn off the internal amp due to a short, but let the unit power up. one speaker wire shorting out with a few strands can cause the amp to shut off. start by removing the head unit and inspecting/redoing your connections. make sure you use good quality crimp connections - i prefer nylon closed end connectors.

2 ohms speakers can work with some head units, mostly because the Kappa speakers are really 3 ohm, and not for very long. note that impedance varies with frequency. Infinity also attests that the stock wiring adds an ohm or so, so in the end, the load on the headunit is closer to 4 ohms. they argue that 4 ohm speakers are closer to 6 ohms at the head unit so a Kappa speaker is able to get rated power out of the headunits tiny amp.

you're dealing with like 15W RMS per channel of listenable volume anyway, it's not a lot of power. no one turns their head unit up to full volume while powering speakers because the distortion levels are so high with head unit amplifiers.

i believe your issue is a short. wiring connections are the most important part, and the true difference between a novice and a professional is in the quality of the connection.

 

[panteramatt 10+ year member]

Think you nailed it on the head. The infinity speakers inputs are wierd. The have a box that hangs from the speakers. I didnt secure the one and it may have swung and hit the window regulator and shorted it. Anyway, I unplugged the hu and plugged it back in and it works again. Sucks cause I really dont have anywhere else to put another amp to run with them and I really dont wanna replace the kicker 750.1 I have under my passenger seat with a 3 channel.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

go back over every connection, and make sure everything is well secured. moving parts can create shorts. that will get you back in business safely.

recognize that your output volume and clarity will be limited until you get an amp for the speakers. there are plenty of places for a small speaker amp in that vehicle, but it certainly is an extra amount of effort.

 

[panteramatt 10+ year member]

Tell me about it. Im tryin to find a small 2 channel 2 ohm capable amp right now. Seems like they are all big wattage for the good ones. Just want around 75x2 rms.

 

[panteramatt 10+ year member]

While Im at it and without a ton of searchin can yall tell me if installing dynamat in the soors is needed and if so how much and where? I have some left over but might not be enough to do both doors.