Hi Everyone,
New to the forum and to car audio. I'm hoping you all can help me out. A little background:
I am in the final stages of restoring a 1967 Land Rover Series 2a (Safari truck). These never came with stereo's of any kind, so my friend (who installs entertainment systems and avionics in airplanes) came up with an idea:
Put some RCA jacks in a panel, run them to an amp and then run my 2 Infinity Kappa 6X9's and 2 Infinity 1" tweeters from there. The amp is a kenwood KAC-8405 (720 watts Max). All of this runs from my phone since there is nowhere to put a headunit. I have it set up to where the amp cuts on with the ignition switch and I can cut it on using a dash mounted toggle switch so I can listen to music with the car off. The Battery cable runs directly to the starter solenoid, which is constantly hot. The input from the radio is branched off - 1 goes to the radio ignition on and the other to the toggle switch (radio constant on).
I got everything installed, hooked up and tested using a battery charger on the 2 amp setting (just so I can be sure I don't blow the amp or the new wiring harness up). Everything worked GREAT! However, today I went to take the training wheels off and run the battery charger at 10amps instead of 2. Well, when I switch from 2 amps to 10 amps, the amplifier cuts off. Mind you this is without the phone hooked up and no music playing, so its not a volume issue, its a power being supplied to the amp issue.
Any ideas as to why the amp would cut off when I give it more power (10 amps, not 200 amps)?
I really appreciate the feedback and advice.
Thanks,
Jason
New to the forum and to car audio. I'm hoping you all can help me out. A little background:
I am in the final stages of restoring a 1967 Land Rover Series 2a (Safari truck). These never came with stereo's of any kind, so my friend (who installs entertainment systems and avionics in airplanes) came up with an idea:
Put some RCA jacks in a panel, run them to an amp and then run my 2 Infinity Kappa 6X9's and 2 Infinity 1" tweeters from there. The amp is a kenwood KAC-8405 (720 watts Max). All of this runs from my phone since there is nowhere to put a headunit. I have it set up to where the amp cuts on with the ignition switch and I can cut it on using a dash mounted toggle switch so I can listen to music with the car off. The Battery cable runs directly to the starter solenoid, which is constantly hot. The input from the radio is branched off - 1 goes to the radio ignition on and the other to the toggle switch (radio constant on).
I got everything installed, hooked up and tested using a battery charger on the 2 amp setting (just so I can be sure I don't blow the amp or the new wiring harness up). Everything worked GREAT! However, today I went to take the training wheels off and run the battery charger at 10amps instead of 2. Well, when I switch from 2 amps to 10 amps, the amplifier cuts off. Mind you this is without the phone hooked up and no music playing, so its not a volume issue, its a power being supplied to the amp issue.
Any ideas as to why the amp would cut off when I give it more power (10 amps, not 200 amps)?
I really appreciate the feedback and advice.
Thanks,
Jason
The amp automatically shuts off until you supply an audio input?
The 10 amp output of the charger is bad? Are you SURE there is 12 volts on the charger output, when you set it to 10 amp?
Anyhow, RCA jacks are NOT for hooking up speakers. The jacks in a panel have the grounds of both jacks connected together? Metal Panel?
You can't do that. The speaker wires from both channels can't be connected to common ground.
The 10 amp output of the charger is bad? Are you SURE there is 12 volts on the charger output, when you set it to 10 amp?
Anyhow, RCA jacks are NOT for hooking up speakers. The jacks in a panel have the grounds of both jacks connected together? Metal Panel?
You can't do that. The speaker wires from both channels can't be connected to common ground.
Hi,
You have to be careful because some battery chargers when you switch the charger to higher range your are changing tabs in the transformer consequently your are raising the voltage. Read the voltage to see how much voltage it is increase when you switch to the higher current.
You have to be careful because some battery chargers when you switch the charger to higher range your are changing tabs in the transformer consequently your are raising the voltage. Read the voltage to see how much voltage it is increase when you switch to the higher current.
Thank you for your response, Soundguruman.
The 10amps from the charger are good, as all other accessories work as they should. Also, it is providing 12volts.
I should have been more clear in regards to the set up. The RCA inputs are for my phone only. I plug the phone into the RCA inputs, which are wired directly to the amp using phone plugs. Both + and - are soldered to the + and - posts at each end. The speakers are wired to the amp with standard speaker wire (both positive and negative per instructions).
The odd part is, with or without the phone connected, the amp powers up and works well with 2 amps. However, as soon as I upper the amperage to 10, it shuts down. No blown uses or any indication of a short. I am assuming it is supposed to work on more than 10 amps, which is why this has me perplexed.
Thanks again,
Jason
The 10amps from the charger are good, as all other accessories work as they should. Also, it is providing 12volts.
I should have been more clear in regards to the set up. The RCA inputs are for my phone only. I plug the phone into the RCA inputs, which are wired directly to the amp using phone plugs. Both + and - are soldered to the + and - posts at each end. The speakers are wired to the amp with standard speaker wire (both positive and negative per instructions).
The odd part is, with or without the phone connected, the amp powers up and works well with 2 amps. However, as soon as I upper the amperage to 10, it shuts down. No blown uses or any indication of a short. I am assuming it is supposed to work on more than 10 amps, which is why this has me perplexed.
Thanks again,
Jason
tauro0221 - Never thought about that. Unfortunately, my charger only provides an ammeter, not a voltmeter. However, I can use my fluke meter to pull the voltage. Perhaps I should set it at 10 amps before turning it on, instead of 2amps and then switching to 10.
Hi Jason
Have you ever driven a LandRover? You won't be able to hear yourself think, never mind hear a stereo!
3 gear levers (4 if you fit the fairey overdrive) must look terrifying to a nation more familiar with auto gearboxes.
Be aware that in cold weather you will get condensation gathering in the roof channel where it bolts to the side panels. This will come cascading down on you every now and again, usually on a busy roundabout so ensure your speakers are safe from wetness and maybe wear a hat.
John
Have you ever driven a LandRover? You won't be able to hear yourself think, never mind hear a stereo!
3 gear levers (4 if you fit the fairey overdrive) must look terrifying to a nation more familiar with auto gearboxes.
Be aware that in cold weather you will get condensation gathering in the roof channel where it bolts to the side panels. This will come cascading down on you every now and again, usually on a busy roundabout so ensure your speakers are safe from wetness and maybe wear a hat.
John
I'd guess your issue is the battery starter for the moment-once you remove that from the link your live will be an issue, take it off the starter solenoid and go straight to the battery with a suitable fuse between it and the amp.
Hi John,
Ha! Good point! I did drive it for about a year before I torn it down for a frame off restoration (new chassis, bulkhead, galvanizing, etc). That was 20 months ago, so I may have forgotten how loud it is, but if its loud enough it will work. 🙂
Ha! Good point! I did drive it for about a year before I torn it down for a frame off restoration (new chassis, bulkhead, galvanizing, etc). That was 20 months ago, so I may have forgotten how loud it is, but if its loud enough it will work. 🙂
Hi Baron,
Ill charge the battery tonight and give it a go by going straight to the battery.
Thanks,
Jason
Ill charge the battery tonight and give it a go by going straight to the battery.
Thanks,
Jason
I would like to thank you all for the help. Based on everyone's feedback I removed the battery charger from the equation, dropped the battery in (although not fully charged, but certainly pushing more than 10 amps) and the system worked great! It worked even better with more than 2 amps of power, which I am assuming its supposed to. If so, it should sound even better under a full charge.
Once again, thank you all!
Jason
Once again, thank you all!
Jason
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