Rear Speakers not as loud as fronts?

[Kangaroux 5,000+ posts]

The back of the headunit is a giant heatsink so naturally it will get hot but it should not be hot enough that it's burning your hand. If it's warm to the touch that's fine.

 

[Jaguar 10+ year member]

[quote name='quackhead']the sub amp pre out has no connection to the HU speaker level outputs, so don't worry about that being an issue. Hu internal amps are very small and do get real hot IIRC, yours is only rated for like 22wrms or so. I never used the HU amp because they don't put out much and get real hot...some folks run a set of tweeters or a center channel with them.[/QUOTE]
@quackhead I didn't think it was unusual for the HU to get hot, especially with the Big 3 upgrade I have sending it that extra power..
We'll see what the problem is! We'll see! . Still though. One guy adamantly explains HU do not get hot and another says it's not unusual,
what/who am I supposed to believe?

[quote name='Kangaroux']The back of the headunit is a giant heatsink so naturally it will get hot but it should not be hot enough that it's burning your hand. If it's warm to the touch that's fine.[/QUOTE]
But wouldn't the Big 3 upgrade put extra pressure on the head unit to perform?(0 gauge for christsakes) Once I put the Big 3 upgrade in this car
all the components in my car lit up twice as bright. The headlights were twice as bright, and the sound was noticeably improved (in every sense).

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

well all i can say is that i've been installing longer that alot of guys on here are old .like kangaroux says a little warm to the touch but not so much that it would burn or even hurt a bit .warm is ok ,hot is not .....

 

[quackhead 10+ year member]

Maybe my idea of hot is not what someone else may think is hot...I was not talking about hot enough to fry an egg...warm to hot?..anyways, if it is hot enough to feel like it burns you, then I would think you have a problem, whether it is a speaker wire short, or possible HU ground issue.

 

[shpatb 10+ year member]

Yeah the only reason I suggested the 4 channel is if the decks getting hot you're probably playing it loud enough for the headunit to distort the sound causing it to heat up. If it's not a wiring issure than it's probably what mylows said.

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

Maybe my idea of hot is not what someone else may think is hot...I was not talking about hot enough to fry an egg...warm to hot?..anyways, if it is hot enough to feel like it would almost burn you,or you can smell that hideous electric burning wire scent , then I would think you have a problem, whether it is a speaker wire short, or possible HU ground issue.

this we agree

 

[West]

I would suggest wiring the rear speaker to the HU front outputs and listen to verify if it is HU problems or rear speaker problems. If your rear speakers are exposed to the pressure from the subs, they could very well be blown. Hopefully it is just a speaker wiring short..

Do this ^^

Don't worry about heat, everything is going to run hotter in the summer (your deck sits behind the firewall and you engine will run hotter as well). I have noticed that stock HU's can run very hot as well. No smoke, no smell of burning, no problems (usually) as long as you are not trying to push a system beyond what it was designed to do you should only be concerned about functionality. Some decks have fans in back, you can check that they are working if you are really concerned.

Upgrading you system with a 4 channel amp should reduce the heat regardless of what deck you are using, because you will be reducing the current that flows from the deck to your speakers. This will most likely fix the problem if there is something wrong with the speaker level outputs from the deck. If the problem is with the audio processor (not likely) you will need to replace the deck to have your rears work correctly. You need to isolate the problem by doing what quackhead said.

Send the front outputs to the rear speakers.

Possibilities:

1) No change - The speakers are toasted or you have a wiring issue between the deck and speakers.

2) Fixes the problem

- The decks rear speaker outputs are bad.

--> Try adding a 4chan amp to see if that solves it

--> Replace the deck (less work)

 

[Jaguar 10+ year member]

Maybe my idea of hot is not what someone else may think is hot...I was not talking about hot enough to fry an egg...warm to hot?..anyways, if it is hot enough to feel like it burns you, then I would think you have a problem, whether it is a speaker wire short, or possible HU ground issue.

It get's as hot as the amp, as quick as the amp. And by hot yes I mean too hot to leave your hand on it long, after about 30 minutes. That's a guesstimate, I never actually timed it. If you ask me what's going on with respect to the original post, I think the Big 3 is partially responsible for added pressure on the HU to perform. Either that, or it's a wiring issue. The wires on the doors are low grade, I just haven't had time to upgrade them yet, could be sooner than I felt like it though (as in tomorrow). I don't mind buying a new head unit. People here would say the one I have (Sony CDX-GT700HD) *****, but I don't think the head unit was originally the problem. Just as your cars original wiring was not to handle the strain of upgrades in car-stereo component's, I think, ONCE you put the BIG 3 UPGRADE in (with 0 G wire for Christsakes), I don't think the upgraded components, particularly Head Unit's were meant to handle the type of power of such a huge wiring upgrade. That's my theory as to why it's getting as hot as it is. It seems like the only logical choice, besides the amp, but head units are designed to carry the draw from amplifiers. How far are we from topic on this one.

 

[quackhead 10+ year member]

this we agree

and I was not trying to disagree, I actually missed the post where you said they do not get hot and would have worded mine slightly different. I truthfully suspect what has been said here. The HU gets run pretty hard trying to keep up with a couple of subs and with both rear speaker acting up at the same time, you may have hit it on the head with the rear channels going out...but this is one of those that is difficult to diagnose without actually being there to hear the distortion and play with the system.

 

[TheUnderFighter 10+ year member]

My HU got hot as hell in the summer. And that was only running rear speakers too.

They head unit doesn't get any MORE power with 0 gauge wiring. It makes it easier for the power to flow. The components do not have to strain as hard to get that power. It's not making anything work harder or use more power, it's just lessening the strain. You're way off there man.

And as West suggested, try running the rear speakers off the front channels of the HU and see if you have the same distortion issue.

2nd, I'd just get a small amp for the speakers anyway. They will see more potential with better and cleaning power.

 

[West]

My HU got hot as hell in the summer. And that was only running rear speakers too. They head unit doesn't get any MORE power with 0 gauge wiring. It makes it easier for the power to flow. The components do not have to strain as hard to get that power. It's not making anything work harder or use more power, it's just lessening the strain. You're way off there man.

And as West suggested, try running the rear speakers off the front channels of the HU and see if you have the same distortion issue.

2nd, I'd just get a small amp for the speakers anyway. They will see more potential with better and cleaning power.

^^ This.

Unless he did something gangster and rerouted power from the batter to the HU without using a fuse. I pray that this did not happen...

Amps are good and take the opportunity to upgrade the deck as well.

 

[Jaguar 10+ year member]

Do this ^^Don't worry about heat, everything is going to run hotter in the summer (your deck sits behind the firewall and you engine will run hotter as well). I have noticed that stock HU's can run very hot as well.

Well, my head unit is out, not detached, out. I touched it, it was hot as hell but not because anything was on, because of how hot is outside.

I will have to check it and report back at night as to how hot it get's when it's cool out... Going to try and deduce the problems going on here.

You need to isolate the problem by doing what quackhead said. Send the front outputs to the rear speakers.

I would, but my fronts and rears are not connected by RCA's there is nothing coming or going out of the in or output jacks, just a huge garbled

concoction of collective wire held by a clip.

 

[West]

I would, but my fronts and rears are not connected by RCA's there is nothing coming or going out of the in or output jacks, just a huge garbled concoction

of collective wire held by a clip.

Ok.

Contrary to what you signature says. Read the manual and find out which of the wires from the HU are powering the speakers.

Switch the fronts and rears. (Front left plus into rear left plus, front left minus into rear left minus should be 8 wires total to switch)

Not trying to be mean there, sorry if it came out that way. There are good reasons to read manuals lol. Also do a google search on the wire harness you are using to figure out the colors. You can always buy a new wireharness from Advance auto or autozone in you cannot find the color charts.

 

[Jaguar 10+ year member]

you may have hit it on the head with the rear channels going out...but this is one of those that is difficult to diagnose without actually being there to hear the distortion and play with the system.

The rear speakers in question (the door speakers in the rear), can turn up loud, but with twice the volume as the front's. The fronts are clear, the

rear speakers sound muffled more than anything. I'll be taking it in tomorrow. If the line out to the rear speakers are damaged on the head unit,

what might you say the cause could have been?

 

[West]

The rear speakers in question (the door speakers in the rear), can turn up loud, but with twice the volume as the front's. The fronts are clear, the rear speakers sound muffled more than anything. I'll be taking it in tomorrow. If the line out to the rear speakers are damaged on the head unit, what might you say the cause could have been?

The cause is most likely crrappy Asian manufacturing.