Have issue with stereo and 2nd battery...who has done this?

[Carboncow]

Gang,

2007 C180

I'm having an issue with my clarion (new) stereo head doesn't appear to be getting enough power and when I try to (lightly) push the system it starts to cut out on the harder base hits...let me talk to much...

I had a new Clarion M303 I put on and when I would push the head to 25+ on the scale the unit would reboot. I decided the 303 could be having issues so I pulled it and put in a M505 and although it's not rebooting it's clear lying having a power issue.

My "hot" for the stereo goes right to my new deep cycle which is isolated by charged when the boat is running after the starter battery is full.

I do note I don't understand the circuit because as the power lead clearly runs to the side of stereo in the glove box the on/off switch is on the dash...so it's dog legging around for sure...maybe a voltage drop issue?

I do have small inexpensive power amp running a 10 sub but I actually can disconnect that unit to prove it's not robbing the power as the head still starts to drop at a moderate level of volume.

Now if the boat running (thus getting 12.5v+ to the system) the system can be pushed a bit harder before it drops out.

What is your guests?

Voltage drop from the wire running to far?
Maybe a bad cell on my new deep cycle? (note it chargers fine on an external digital charger which throws no codes).

Any other ideas from smarter stereo peeps then me?

 

[radiofred]

How many speakers on the stereo? Also check ohms on them? U might have a bad speaker/speakers. Unplug all speaker and start from there with no speakers and then start adding them 1 by 1 to see if the makes a difference

 

[Carboncow]

How many speakers on the stereo? Also check ohms on them? U might have a bad speaker/speakers. Unplug all speaker and start from there with no speakers and then start adding them 1 by 1 to see if the makes a difference

4 speakers running off the head. Speakers are Polk Audio DB651 rated at 4 ohms and the Clarion head is specs are rated at 4 ohms output (but 8 ohms is allowable). I will check the speakers for proper ohm rating.

So why does a external amp need such a HUGE power cable for even a 100 watt amp but a 25watt head as the smallest power wire possible...seems to me voltage drop over the long run would be a concern, no?

 

[radiofred]

I doubt it's the wire but If u have a multi meter u can check resistance on the wire

 

[CSager]

I had a similar issue when I installed my first amp and sub. I now run the power and negative wires directly to the battery from the amps. I have two batteries one for starting and the other for the stereo I'm running 3 amps one sub and six speakers with no issues, all alpine marine.

 

[Carboncow]

I had a similar issue when I installed my first amp and sub. I now run the power and negative wires directly to the battery from the amps. I have two batteries one for starting and the other for the stereo I'm running 3 amps one sub and six speakers with no issues, all alpine marine.

So you took the head u it off the OEM switch and directly ran it to the deep cycle then? My sub is directly off the deep less then a foot of wire.

 

[CSager]

I kept the stock wiring together but ran it into this switch for a dual battery setup then the amps + and- wires straight to the battery dedicated for the stereo. You can also turn your amp down and see if your speakers clip without the sub at a high level then slowly add the bass back in make sure your battery is good and check your connections.

 

[Carboncow]

Not sure I fully understood your comments but as mentioned early on I do take the sub completely out of the loop to prove it's not robbing all the power...and I still get eat reboot on the M303 and drop outs on the M505...I'm sure it's technically clipping but does't remind me of what I usually interpret as clipping.

So are you stating that both your sub amp and you head are directly wired into battery #2 like me then?

Thanks again.

 

[CSager]

Yep everything to #2 batt my issue was the sub amp and ground once I ran everything directly the issue went away.

 

[Alpha_Dog]

Might seem silly, but this is a quick way to cut the possibilities in half.

If the boat is on our trailer, pull your tow vehicle up to it, disconnect the power feeds to the amps from the battery and run QUALITY jumper cables (with VERY thick copper, not that thick rubber thin wire crap most people have) to the running tow vehicle.

If you no longer have problems then it's clearly within the battery/alternator of the boat (pretty sure the alternator in these boats is like 30 amp, which probably isn't enough to sustain your battery while using that stereo.. If you still have that problem with teh jumpers, then run the amp directly (meaning a VERY short DIFFERENT wire) and see if it solves it. A running tow vehicle will CERTAINLY have more than enough power to run all of it, so when you finally make the problem go away, you will know for sure what it was.

All that said, did oyu take a multi-miter to check what voltage that battery is running at? since the alt is so low powered in these boats (i believe) it may low (or damaged) and not putting the power you expect it to be putting out.

Let us know what the results are to this and we'll go to the next steps. I used to install competition stereo's professionally in a past life, i should be able to help you get this figured out, along with all the other really knowledgeable people on this forum.

 

[Albysure]

I have the same boat and year and had the same issue. I'll take a look at it tomorrow or Sunday but I think the red and yellow I had to put together from the stero to the red on the boat.

 

[Alpha_Dog]

I have the same boat and year and had the same issue. I'll take a look at it tomorrow or Sunday but I think the red and yellow I had to put together from the stereo to the red on the boat.

Yellow (sometimes orange) needs to be direct to the battery. Red is switched and can come from the ignition switch. Yellow has the large current draw, red does now.

 

[Carboncow]

Yellow (sometimes orange) needs to be direct to the battery. Red is switched and can come from the ignition switch. Yellow has the large current draw, red does now.

RED that was originally on the OEM on/off switch was the switched power on my boat...no question. IT's the heavier gauge and if it's turned off it has memory to for the stereo...so I about 99.99% sure it's not memory hot. I never did figure out where the orange/yellow goes and assumed it's somewhere in the ECM wiring harness. We always have the memory/orange/yellow no matter what I try. This has been pretty confusing.

I got the boat home this week and will dive in more. I really didn't want to remove the yellow/orange from the harness as I might. Reading these comments I having 2nd thoughts on a few things. Again that heavy gauge red runs from the battery, port side to the stereo...still not sure where it picks up and routes off to the on/off switch on the dash. All very odd and possibly to blame.

 

[Carboncow]

OK kids...made some headway today.

Ran temporary heavy duty hot and ground to the clarion wiring harness and things started to get better...less clipping. I noted that the clip of the head would cause the subwoofer amp to clip too (clipping light goes out) even when sub wasn't being driven by a signal...very interesting.

I then removed the new hot wire and things were still good...so the need was a new direct run to for the ground cable directly from the battery to the head.

Now the only question I still have...if I put a voltage meter on the deep cycle while it's been driven pretty hard by the head & sub amp it will drop on the heavy hits to about 12 volts...this is on a fully charged battery. If I hook the head and sub amp to the starter battery it does a way better job on the hard hits..staying at 12.3-12.4 volts.

Do deep cycles drawl down like this by design or do I have a questionable (new) deep cycle for some reason?

As of now I'm running the head off the starter battery and the sub amp off the deep cycle...which is not ideal for safety but seems best for the stereos happiness!

 

[Alpha_Dog]

Do deep cycles drawl down like this by design or do I have a questionable (new) deep cycle for some reason?

As of now I'm running the head off the starter battery and the sub amp off the deep cycle...which is not ideal for safety but seems best for the stereos happiness!

Is the alternator goign to only the starter battery? this woudl explain it as the alternator is probably putting out 13.6 volts, so there is more power available there.

 

[Carboncow]

Is the alternator goign to only the starter battery? this woudl explain it as the alternator is probably putting out 13.6 volts, so there is more power available there.

This is all done (testing) with the boat off...as that is how we use the music most of the time. Both batteries were fully charged today before I started working via my external digital. I use a battery combiner that chargers both the starter as well as the deep cycle as long as the starter is "topped off".

As mentioned the deep cycle takes a bigger hit when the power is requested with the volts dropping down far more then the starter battery. I need to know if this is expected behavior or a symptom of an issue that is adding to my diagnostic woes.