sub/amp/power problem?

[andar 10+ year member]

My friends got a 2002 ford taurus SES. He bought an old kenwood amp and sub off his girlfriends sister and got it installed at circuit city. Problem number one: they charged him $430 for the install of a new headunit, and to wire the amp. then that old sub died. so he bought a new loaded MTX enclosure and now when he turns his HU up to 17 out of 50 the amp clicks off at the bass notes then will turn back on and then shut off.

according to the local ford dealer the car comes in either 110A alternator or a 120A alternator. The kenwood amp is only 600w peak and theres no way that that little thing is pulling more than the alternator can supply. Any thoughts? we are going to circuit city to ***** at them soon. gunna try and get a free capacitor/money back.

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[lionel2 10+ year member]

is he running any other amps??...i just got my 4 channel installed..and i go up to 36 on volume and it gets choppy..like it needs more power..caps are a bad idea..they cause problems..look into a new battery or alt..high amps...umm..yeah small amp prolly 60A fuse rating at the most maybe 40A...what size wiring??..HU new or old??

 

[andar 10+ year member]

nope hes only got the amp on the sub, the HU is brand new, some cheap JVC or something. the amp only has two 20A fuses on it so even if it was drawing 40A he wouldnt have an alternator issue unless the alternator is messed up. the wiring is 4 gauge

 

[lionel2 10+ year member]

humm..you should be okay with that setup...new wiring?? is the HU getting a clear signal from amp??..i myself have a new kenwood amp..never had any problems with clicking off..might be a short somewhere...not sure...try taking it to best buy or even better a local car audio shop

 

[Chevillac 5,000+ posts]

my first thought would be voltage. But I dont know. All the wiring is good? Good contact at the battery terminals? Dont try to get a free cap. Get your money back if you can

 

[andar 10+ year member]

im thinking that maybe the battery doesnt have a full charge, cant find my **** multimeter though. oh well, im gunna try and get his money back at circuit city, then ill have him take it to some people who know what they are doing

 

[Chevillac 5,000+ posts]

I was just gonna say that too, get a really good charge on it from somewhere, or if you have a charger, and wait and see what happens after a day or two

 

[andar 10+ year member]

yeah well im hoping if he doesnt get his money back they will at least fix it for him or get it running.

is this a rip off:

HU

HU install

OEM to DIN conversion plastic plate thingy (idk what its called)

amp wires

amp wiring install

sub grill

and protection plan

for $500

 

[lionel2 10+ year member]

cheapest place i know..they do a decent job is bestbuy..they charged me 69.99 for a 4 channel installation..best job i have seen in awhile...and its all protected..something breaks they fix it free if you got all the 4 year plans and stuff...its fast cheap and realiable..i know my car audio shop charges like 80/hour...just make sure the installer is good..see pics of what he has done...they usually have them posted

 

[lionel2 10+ year member]

i estimated about 400..depends on price of HU

 

[andar 10+ year member]

HU was 70 bucks, and another local install shop that i called today said they would do it for 250. my friend knows nothing about car audio and didnt shop around

 

[lionel2 10+ year member]

your buddy needs a pioneer a really good one..a $70 Hu just wont do it...with the money you get back get a decent HU like a 199.99 one or something

 

[wilzyx 5,000+ posts]

yeah well im hoping if he doesnt get his money back they will at least fix it for him or get it running.
is this a rip off:

HU

HU install

OEM to DIN conversion plastic plate thingy (idk what its called)

amp wires

amp wiring install

sub grill

and protection plan

for $500

the place my bro went to was a guy who worked by himself at his own business and for about $100 got his h/u, amp, and sub put in.

 

[wilzyx 5,000+ posts]

your buddy needs a pioneer a really good one..a $70 Hu just wont do it...with the money you get back get a decent HU like a 199.99 one or something

i wouldnt get a pioneer just because of all the ground problems they have, look into like the entry level eclipse h/u or an alpine or something.

 

[andar 10+ year member]

turned out the amp had internal issues

so they gave him a deal on a open box bazooka amp

they hook that up to the new MTX he bought yesterday

the guy hooked it all up and he had us sit in the car and listen to it and it sounded great. so then he goes to put everything back together and he tests the sub out and he turns it on and the amp goes into protection and wont work. they test the sub, and it was dead and they said that the old kenwood blew it. so they replaced it with a higher class MTX that they had open box b/c they were out of the one he bought. so i guess everything worked out for the best. thanks for ur help