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platinum_drew

CEG'er
Joined
Aug 8, 2003
Messages
425
I recently re-installed my Alpine CDA-9851 CD player in my mazda6, and I've come across several problems, most of them cured with minor troubleshooting and the PITA of pulling everything back out, yet one problem persists.

I had this CD player in my contour about a year ago, only had it installed for like 5 or 6 months before I got rid of the tour. ever since it's been sitting in my room waiting to be re-installed. I've noticed (how could I not) that when I play it on AM/FM it works just fine, but whenever I play a CD, it'll play for maybe 30-45 seconds, then the entire deck will lose power for 1-2 seconds, then turn back on. sometimes it will like blink on/off a few times, but it always eventually powers back up. I'm stumped. I checked all my connections. could it be a bad connection? a short somewhere? is my CD player fried somehow?

I'm desperate for solutions...
 
Considering that it plays fine in AM/FM I would most likely rule out a power connection issue. Personally, I haven't heard of anyone ever having an issue like this but it sounds like it might be an internal problem with the HU.
 
ok, I have a new development (kinda)...

I took everything out, re-did the power and ground connections behind the HU. put on AM/FM, fine as usual. put on the CD player, and it played uninterrupted for several minutes. I decide to turn up the volume to see how it handles it, and sure enough, as I turn up the volume I can see the lights behind the buttons and the scroll wheel (not the actual LED display itself) blink and pulse. the pulsing gradually speeds up and eventually the HU turns off. the louder the volume, the faster the pulsing accelerates to a turn-off.

I just put in all my stereo equipment. the HU, amp and subs at the same time. it just doesn't make sense to me why it only happens when I play a CD. if I have the AC on, it also speeds up the process. it's like when the CD player is on the HU is sucking a lot more power or something and can't keep up and has to shut off for some reason.

this give anyone any insight? could the remote wire to the amp have something to do with it? ah, why can't installs be smooth and successful every time? :(
 
The radio is acting like it hasn't got enough current available to it. I remember seeing that flickering light problem in demo boards in stores. If speakers are running directly from the head unit, try fading them front rear and see if the flickering changes. Is the deck's yellow wire going to the battery or a large fused source?
 
Check your speakers, it sounds like you may have a low resistance speaker in your setup. If you wiring is fine, (I'd double check with a multimeter 1st) then it sounds like the deck is shutting itself down.... when these blink offs occur.... does the HU stay on and the sound shut off, or does the whole unit shut off.... if the HU is staying on but the sound is shutting off, you deck is shutting down its internal amp, kinda like a power protect on your sub amp... In that case... meter the resistance of each speaker... make sure there around 4 ohms...

Try this too, take your head unit out and play it, now when it shuts off touch the back of the heat sink ( be careful) and see if it's tooo hot to keep your hand on, or just fine... You may want to check your ground, and make sure your ground has a resistance of .2 ohms or less...

I hope you used a wiring harness as well for this install....

Hope this helps a little...
 
I doubt that this would be a current draw issue related to the speakers, because that would also show up when using the radio, right?

I was thinking this may possibly be a curent draw issue for the deck as a whole, since it only happens when "pushed" by using the CD player and accelerated by turning up the volume.

I'd suggest first checking the vehicle's battery and charging system in an attempt to eliminate them. With the car off, measure the voltage at the battery. It should be somewhere around 12.4-12.6 volts. Now start the car and re-measure the voltage at the battery. It should be somewhere between 13.6 and 14.6 volts.

Next, repeat these steps, but do it using the power and ground connections that the deck is hooked to. Your measurements should be basically the same as at the battery. If they are not, then that is your problem. If they are, then it seems as though the deck has an internal problem.

One other thing to check to verify if it is the deck or the car... hook up the deck temporarily to another car (can be straight to the battery under the hood and hooked to loose speakers, doesn't have to be though the vehicle's wiring in the dash). If the problem goes away, it is your car and/or its wiring. If the problem is still there then it is in the deck.
 
The CD player on a radio usually is louder than the AM/FM radio itself... I bet if the radio was left on a for a long enough period, the same problem would happen. A speaker presenting a 1 ohm resistance at the deck, would cause the deck's internal amplifier to work harder, which in turn draws more amperage from the deck, which would cause the dimming of the deck's lights... and also cause the internal amp of the unit to shut off after a period of time. Running the radio at a higher output, would increase this, because the internal amp would be outputing higher the louder it is turned... which would accelerate your problem. Like I said, check to make sure all of your speakers are at about 4 ohms, Most aftermarket decks are meant to have speakers between 4 - 8 ohms hooked up to them.... If it's not that then we need to move on to the radio's ground and make sure it is good, Ground should be multimetered, then check to make sure your constant power is good.... Are you running this radio through a factory amplified system? or is it bypassed?
 
thanks for the replies everyone.

the car has a premium sound amp, but I bypassed it. I'm not sure the impedence of the speakers, so I'll have to check that out. I was in the car for 4 hrs straight yesterday, and when played long enough, the AM/FM does shut down too. when I turn the bass and everything all the way down, and keep the volume moderate, it seems to let it play longer. I'm guessing it is a current draw problem. I'll run through the suggestions posted ASAP and I'll let everyone know how it goes. thanks again
 
Well I don't know if you have a notebook computer, but if you need some one to talk you through anything, I could chat with you on skype, I have a Mitchell On-demand program if you need wiring walk throughs and the like. Probably be best if you had a bluetooth headset to run with your notebook too if you have high speed and want to voice chat that is.... let me know...
 
The CDA-9851 is not a V-power amplified unit. I know on the V-powered Alpine units they recommend upgrading the power/ground to 10ga from the fuse block for current draw and warranty issues. I've never heard of a current draw issue with a normally operating non-Vpower unit.
It may be possible as said earlier that you are having an ohm load issue with the speakers but I highly doubt it.
Possibly your ground is not solid and when you get to the higher volume and power levels the ground cannot keep up so the unit shuts itself off.
 
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