Speakers not playing...Lights dimming (even with no music playing)

[TTU 10+ year member]

Ok I have a problem. Every now and then my speakers just won't play (but the subs will) and it takes 2-3 minutes for them to start playing. Well today it happened again and I noticed there was now a clanking sound (Sounded like something metal) Also my voltage meter was down to just 14 and it's usually about a bar or 2 above 14. And every 10 seconds or so the engine would make a noise (revving kind of) and the lights would dim (Also the car was in Park)..

It's an '01 GMC Yukon by the way and my speakers are eclipse SC8264 components on a Kicker 650.4 amp. I also noticed the power light on the amp was not on, but the light would light up only when the lights in the car were dimming.

Also on a side note the little lights that Light up the Max AC button and Defroster button stopped turning on a few months ago. I think it was actually right after I got my system installed.

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[rotciv005 10+ year member]

Is your battery/Alt working properly?

Also double check your power and ground connection.

 

[TTU 10+ year member]

Is your battery working properly?

I don't know. How would I find this out? Sometimes when it's been sitting out in the heat or cold for really long it takes 2 tries to get it to start...

 

[Railrocker 10+ year member]

My memphis was doing that only my A/B would shut of for a while and then come back on. The class D would keep pounding away. It was a defective amp but I never got any of the dimming of the lights or anything. Is the amp getting hot?

 

[TTU 10+ year member]

My memphis was doing that only my A/B would shut of for a while and then come back on. The class D would keep pounding away. It was a defective amp but I never got any of the dimming of the lights or anything. Is the amp getting hot?

No not really. It's hard to tell though because it's usually already hot even when it's not on since I'm in Texas.

 

[iamamp3pimp 5,000+ posts]

sounds like a defective amp.

disconnect the power fuse from the line, and see if it continues.

 

[drkodin 10+ year member]

No not really. It's hard to tell though because it's usually already hot even when it's not on since I'm in Texas.

where in TX are you? big state but hot as the 7th level of hell all around //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/tongue.gif.6130eb82179565f6db8d26d6001dcd24.gif

 

[TTU 10+ year member]

where in TX are you? big state but hot as the 7th level of hell all around //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/tongue.gif.6130eb82179565f6db8d26d6001dcd24.gif

Dallas

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Hot?!? Tell me when it gets to 115.

As far as your problem goes the revving is the car adjusting for a load placed on the engine that would drag the idle speed down. This load is probably an electrical load causing the alt to up its current output. The revving corresponds to the dimming as well, yes? Mine does the same thing when the AC compressor kicks on (AC clutch draws a ton of current) or I roll the windows up or down with the AC blower on.

Where is your voltmeter, and do you know if it is accurate? As far as the stereo goes it sounds like there is a short behind the dash. The lack of lights from the AC kinda points in that direction. Could be that a wire was nicked during the install. As far as the metal-on-metal clanking goes, I would have a mechanic look at it.

 

[o. l. t. 10+ year member]

You need to know if the car is the source of the problem or the system.

Pull the amp fuse and turn it off, all the amps. sit at idle and check your gauge to see if anything changes after a few minutes with the amps fuses removed and amps off.

If I had to bet I'd say you are hearing a bearing going bad in the alt. Judging from the voltage drop and the noise, your system is likely not to blame.

I also noticed the power light on the amp was not on, but the light would light up only when the lights in the car were dimming.

You got it backwards, the lights were dimming only when the amp was on. If you have a bad alternator armature or bearing the alt could be going out, and making the metal noise you are hearing. You need to stop by an auto store and have the alt tested.

After the alt (and I said AFTER) has been verified good or bad, start checking your chassis ground on the amp, then the motor and battery.

 

[TTU 10+ year member]

There was a loud humming coming from my speakers when I first had it installed so I took it to a place and they said it was alternator noise and they somewhat fixed it. I can still kind of hear it when there's no music on. This will definitely be my last system though I have had nothing but problems with it.

Also what kind of alternator would you reccomend?

 

[TTU 10+ year member]

I got the alternator checked and they said nothing was wrong with it...