here is my problem, I have stock unit and eclipse front and rear and 1 10" JL sub. Soundstream 555 running all speakers.

I always listen to my music in high volumn, here is the problem: after listening about 30-45 minutes, the system will shut down automatically, then in a second it restarts on its own, and shun down and so on(if I don't shut it down).

what cause that happen?

I don't think it is the amp because if so, only the amp will shut down, not the hu, right?

what do I need to do to fix it?

this morning, after riding to work, when I was trying to park, the battery went dead suddenly. the car was like parking slow. so I need to jump my car! how come the system will drain the power out of the battery even I have the car running like about 30 mins?

please help me fix it.

thanks

 

If you are going to listen to your system LOUD for a long
period of time your engine should be running. If you dont
want to run your engine, keep it at a moderate level so
your battery wont go dead.
Maximadave

 

That is exactly what my problem is, my battery went dead even I was running my car.

thanks

 

Have your batt checked out. You probably have a dead cell.
Replace it with a Optima battery. Youll have tons of
reserve capacity in the Optima.

Maximadave

 

It could be a bad battery or alternator. After you jump the car, do you have ample power? Did you check all your connections for a possible short?
Or maybe an HU problem, possiblly a bad component overheating in the HU?

 

Have you measured your power draw? You may want to consider a separate battery dedicated to your sound system. Also, adding capacitors will also help 'dampen' the draw on your battery. Your system shutting down and powering back up could be a built-in safety feature on your amp if it overheats. PPI and Rockford Fostgate hi-end amps do that. Also, do you have anything keeping your amp cool?

 

Its most likely a bad battery. How many total watts are you running?, just looking at your setup, I doubt it would be enough to put extreme stress on your alternator, but I need to know the specs of your amps.

A friend of mine runs about 1500 watts off the stock 1991 alternator without problem. Im running about 1800 off the stock alternator, a Diehard Silver, and a 1 Farad Cap.

Do you ever have any problems starting your car?

 

The soundstream rubicon 555 goes 550W peak, I think.

 

there is nothing wrong with the HU, it should be the amp overheated, but at the mean time, i do have 2 3" fan one is pulling, one is pushing though.
anyway, i think the amp has the protection circuit that protect the system.

but after reading your replies, i think i need to replace my batt see how it works. luckily I have a yellow top from my 91 max. haha

I hope the alternator is still good, how do I check that anyway?

Thanks everyone for the inputs.

Chris

 

my rubicon 555 5 channel is only 500 watts.

no cap, I do have problem starting my car like I mentioned this morning, after 45 min playing loud, when I tried to park, it suddendly out of power and I had to ask ppl to help me jump start.
sucks!

 

The battery is your problem, get a new one.

 

I didn't change the battery yet, but the car is ok with this battery as long as I don't play my music loud for a long time(it is not that long )

so the battery is good, just not good enough for the system.

how people usually charge for replacing the alternator?

what if I change my alternator?

 

The alternator recharges the battery and provides power when the car is on. If you have a bad battery, you'll have the same problem and changing the alternator won't solve anything. A genuine nissan alternator costs a lot more than a heavy duty battery. I'd troubleshoot the battery first if I were you. If the battery is not the problem, you can take it back since it's an easier install than the alternator. BTW, how old is your battery? If it's fairly old, you might want to check the battery water.

 

Jashick is right...and even if the battery were fine, 550 watts is not enough power to shut your entire system off after 30-45 minutes.

 

It is probably not the alternator. But, running the system loud for extended amount of time with out the engine at higher RPM's will drain the battery, especially without a cap, even a high output alternator. The 99 max's alternator supplies between 35 and 85 amps at low engine speeds. A max of 110 amps at higher engine speeds. So if your engine doesn's run at highway speeds for most of your trip to work your battery could be dead by the time you get there. When you have a cap it charges when the system is turned on, usually forcing the alternator to recharge the battery. After this point the cap helps to supply a more stable power output to the amp. But you still need to keep the engine above idle to keep the battery charged, as a cap can only store energy for a short period of time. And a standard lead acid battery once discharged fully, as yours has at least once, will never recharge to it's new capacity.

 

jmax, so replacing a battery and adding a Cap is so far the upgrade i should have, is that what you saying, i think it is.

Thanks

Thank everyone again.

 

That will probably solve the problem with out ever actually diagnosing the exact culprit. But if we are wrong you could still need a new alternator, or just a better set of power/ground wires. Or maybe there is a short somewhere and that is what's draining the battery. A guy I work with had a shorted wire running to the door light and it took two or three trips to the dealer to diagnose and repair properly. Of course, he does drive a Ford so you expect that sort of problem.