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SEV Unregistered guest | I hate it when things start going terribly wrong straight after they appear to be going fine in the first place. Okay firstly I just installed an LG head unit replacing an old Sony head unit that has a stuffed laser (not dirty, just stuffed). Basically this is just a change over with the head units. The speakers are standard in the car and there's no amps or any other equipment involved. Anyways I wired the unit up properly according to the diagram and I started the car and everything was working normal. I drove the car for a bit just listening to my favorite CD's just making sure the speakers are still fine and everything's great there. I then drove around to a friends joint and this is where it went all hairy! I switched off the car and then went to do something else, came back around 30min later to turn the car on again to go back home but then the frigging power antenna starts clicking and I can't start the engine! All the lights work in the car but it's like the car has a flat battery and won't start. I then take my key out of the ignition, made sure everything was off and locked the car up (electronic locks) but the power antenna clicks a couple times and does it again about 30sec later and didn't do it anymore after that. I then unlocked the car and got back in again and decided to disconnect the head unit (Since obviously this is causing the problem!) and I then jump started the car. After a few tries with the ignition the car started and all the lights were working properly and so on. After a couple minutes I switched the car off and tried to start the car again. Dead in the water! It's getting late so I've gone home now and left my car at my friends joint and I'll jump start her again and leave her running for a greater period of time which I should've done but I hoped the battery just needed a kick after the head unit was disconnected. So anyways after this episode can anyone shed some light as to what kind of problem is causing my car to lose a considerable amount of power in such a short space of time!? Just to add a few things, the old head unit was wired in such a way where the 4 rear wires from the unit were connected to 2 wires each so for example the rear left channel +ve connected to 2 wires from the car and the -ve connected to another pair of wires. Isn't this called bridging? I thought that was strange but I followed that wiring with new source unit and it looks like this could potentially be the problem or part of it. That's the feeling I have. The new head unit involved is this one here: http://www.lge.com/catalog/prodmodeldetail?actType=search&page=1&modelCategoryId =CTG1000463&categoryId=CTG1000461&parentId=CTG1000437&modelPrefix=40AACC&globalC ode=TCH-700&globalSuffix=000000&model=NOTHING Sorry for the long link. Click on the 'manual' link to see the wiring diagram if you so wish but yeah if anyone has had a problem like this, is there a way to fix it please! Cheers and thankyou in advance. |
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Bronze Member Username: JayjPost Number: 92 Registered: May-04 | Sounds like you have a major short somewhere. try to trace your wires to search for any problems. Make sure there are no nake.d wires anywhere. Also unhook that crazy wiring from the speakers and just run one positive and one negative to each speaker. |
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SEV Unregistered guest | I've jumped started the car again and the problem persists. After taking off the battery leads from both cars and letting the engine run for 30min I switch the headlight dial to low-beam and that nearly stalled the engine, then high-beam and the same goes there. So obviously everytime another electrical component activates, the battery tries to compensate by itself. I don't think the alternator is charging the battery at all! I switched off the engine and she wouldn't start again. I've disconnected all the wires that were connected to the head unit (incl. the crazy wiring) and there were no n.aked wires whatsoever in the whole installation or during trying to fix the problem. Other than that this is an extremely perplexing problem as now when I go to start the car there's very little power for anything at all now but the funny thing is is when I use the shifter to get the nut off the negative terminal on the battery suddenly there's enough power for the cabin light and other electronics for when you have the key out of the ignition but the car door open. Well it looks like it's going to the Auto Electrician. At least he/she has a brain. Yes I'm probably the first to admit it, I don't have one! ;) However all is not lost, I shall learn from this lesson and that's the only way we learn in life, trial and error. Thanks for the feedback JayJ! |
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Silver Member Username: Jonathan_fGA USA Post Number: 405 Registered: May-04 | It could also be that the battery isn't holding charge. With the car running for 30 minutes, it sounds like if the problem was the alternator, then the battery would have died already saying that just switching to low beam made the car almost stall, and the ignition pulls current for 30 minutes straight. Get a voltmeter and run it on the battery terminals both when the car is on and when it's off. If the voltage rises when the car is running, the alternator is charging. If it stays the same or drops, the problem is either the battery or the voltage regulator. |
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New member Username: SuppabobPost Number: 10 Registered: May-04 | You could have blown the alternater as well.. |
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SEV Unregistered guest | YaY! AUD$200 for a new alternator! |
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Silver Member Username: Jonathan_fGA USA Post Number: 442 Registered: May-04 | I wouldn't buy either before having it checked out. Go to any auto parts store, they shouldn't charge more than 2 bucks to test either of them, so say 6 bucks to test the alternator, regulator, and battery. That's a lot cheaper than paying 200 for a new alternator in case it doesn't fix the problem. Also, voltage regulators fail more often than alternators, and produces the same effects as a failing alternator, so the problem would seem to be the same when it really isn't. Regulators are much cheaper, unless the regulator is integrated into the alternator (many new cars are) which you'd have to buy the whole alternator, anyway. |
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New member Username: JeremycKunsan AfbSouth Korea Post Number: 3 Registered: Jun-04 | Just to add a little to what johnathon said. Wnem you check the battery with the car running, make sure you are getting around 14 to 14.4 volts. If you are try turning on the lights and see what the votl meter does. It shouldn't drop more than a few points. If it does drop alot then it is the altanator, or the voltage regulator. The reason I sugest this, is that the alternator could be putting out 14.4 volts, and still not be able to put out enough amps. |