weird radio problem, please help....

[TippinOver]

ok, i have an Alpine CDA-9811 that was bought brand new about 4 years ago. in that time it has been used in 3 different cars, used and abused....

with that said...

at nighttime, when i have my headlights on, and the radios playing....if i switch from low to high beam, the radio shuts off, then turns right back on, playing exactly where it left off, and all the settings for bass and etc are the same....this also happens when i switch from high to low....Another time it happens is when the RPMs get low (say i dont give it enuf gas starting from 1st) and the car tries to stall out...the radio will do its restart thing. Note that this doesnt happen consistently every time....its an off-on again thing....for one trip into town it might do it, on the way back, it might play fine...

the radio is plugged into the stock Honda harness, the wires connecting the radio to the car have butt connectors, full solid connection, and have been secured with zip ties...

could this just be a power overload with my Alpine? i know its older and might just need replaceing, but i'm tyin to figure out if its the cd player or my car...

 

[Eran]

for all it's worth, it'd probably be best to replace it. it does sound like something is either cutting draw from your accessories, or overloading them.

 

[boricuacvc]

if its one of the top end alpine radios, ur stock acc and 12v wire might not supply enuf current to it, so you might need to run a new constant wire directly from the battery. just a suggestion.

 

[slambed_civic]

if its one of the top end alpine radios, ur stock acc and 12v wire might not supply enuf current to it, so you might need to run a new constant wire directly from the battery. just a suggestion.

hes right. most alpines require a certian amount of voltage to stay running. kenwood eXcelon and most eclipse models are similar. at low RPMs i bet itll do it when you hit your brakes as well. find a better constant power.

 

[io_303]

my radio started doing that when my alternator was going out. As soon as the current draw was getting higher than the crippled alternator could handle the radio would start skippin g on a non scrached cd and then it would shut off