Need Some Serious Help

[p0ntiac 10+ year member]

Hi guys, as you can tell, I'm pretty new here and need some pretty good advice and help. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif I currently own a 1998 Pontiac Sunfire and I recently decided to upgrade some of the audio components inside. I replaced the stock radio with the alpine ida-x200, and replaced my rear 6x9's with these and my front 4x6's with these these. The problem I have is when I turn up the volume past 23-25, the head unit will automatically shut off. I also notice at night that the display of the unit will also flicker when it's at a certain volume or when a song hits a note hard. Now, I'm not the smartest guy in the world but something is telling me these speakers are drawing way too much power. Some buddies have told me to install an amp to power the speakers, but before I run out and buy one I wanna know if something else is causing this.

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[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

did you get a wiring kit or lop off the stock connectors?

 

[p0ntiac 10+ year member]

Sorry, I'm not too good with this stuff. The head unit itself was installed by bestbuy, my front speakers were also professionally installed. The rears however were put in by a buddy of mine. I had a local shop take a look and according to him, he said my rear speakers are hitting too hard and is somehow coming into contact with something back there. He said that the wires to are not taped like they should be, but that still doesn't explain the flickering of head unit?

 

[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

you might get a slight flicker at the hu, not much you can do, the hu is trying to push as much power as it can, you might try regrounding the hu, the rear speaker wires could be touching metal and grounding out and that could be why the deck is shutting off

oh and best buy doesnt do 'professional' installs most of the time, i have seen some hack jobs come out of there, learn how to do it and do it yourself next time

 

[Heide264 10+ year member]

I'd just go back and look at the back speaker install yourself. Pay attention to any bare wires, and maybe ask your friend to redo the wiring a bit neater. I bet when the speaker is moving one of his connections is shorting; causing the hu to dump as much power as it can into the short and hence flickering.

Also, I would be hesitant about the HU install. Try turning your fade all the way to the front, so the back speakers are off, and see if the hu still does that goofy stuff. If it does, its probably not your back speakers moving. If that is the case, bring rocks to best buy and throw them at the place until they fix it and do it right =)