Kenwood Head Unit Shuts off When too Loud!?

**Asierra_999** · 05-27-2009, 05:58 PM

Hi all, I just bought a KDC-MP208 for cheap and it has been shutting off when I turn the volume up past 25 (35 is max) and I have rechecked wiring and moved ground to a good chassis location!?!? any thoughts?! my HIDs stay on and bright but my dash gauges dim, also while driving at an idle the deck would shut off and while driving it stays on!?

**qnz** · 05-27-2009, 07:07 PM

the lights go dim with the music? sounds like your speakers are drawing more power than your headunit can provide. I would try upgrading the ground wires to 8awg to start. if that doesnt work, you might need an amp so your headunit wont be overpowered. or buy a better head unit

**IceDouTGaLanT** · 05-27-2009, 07:32 PM

when you say shuts off, it turn off? or does it stop till you lower the vol and the music starts playing again?

check this thread out sounds like the same issue your having:

http://www.dsmtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210843

**Asierra_999** · 05-27-2009, 10:54 PM

Originally Posted by IceDouTGaLanT

when you say shuts off, it turn off? or does it stop till you lower the vol and the music starts playing again?

check this thread out sounds like the same issue your having:

http://www.dsmtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210843

yes it completely turns itself off and then restarts, if i lower the volume it will stay on! Thanks for the input!!!

**youngin3** · 05-27-2009, 11:46 PM

Your battery might be dipping below 11 volts and that would cause the head unit to shut off to protect itself, just like an amp would. hook up a volt meter and watch it when you turn it up to see what happens.

**Asierra_999** · 05-28-2009, 08:37 AM

Originally Posted by youngin3

Your battery might be dipping below 11 volts and that would cause the head unit to shut off to protect itself, just like an amp would. hook up a volt meter and watch it when you turn it up to see what happens.

Awesome, i found out my water was really low on the battery!? BTW what size battery should out car have?! (ie. 01 I4)

**Boostedgalant56** · 05-28-2009, 10:13 AM

i work at an car audio shop its a blown speaker

**youngin3** · 05-28-2009, 11:03 AM

Originally Posted by Boostedgalant56

i work at an car audio shop its a blown speaker

You can't just say that. How do you know exactly what it is when all he told you is that it turns off when at high volume? Just because you work at a car audio shop doesn't mean you are knowledgeable. You could be the janitor for all we know.

It could be the battery.
It could be the speakers wired up at too little impedance.
It could be faulty wiring.
It could be a speaker wire that isn't hooked up arcing out to ground and putting the head unit into protect mode.
It could be a blown speaker, but I doubt it. I have two blown speakers in my car and they still move, they just sound like shit.

You can't just jump to one conclusion.

**youngin3** · 05-28-2009, 11:11 AM

Originally Posted by Asierra_999

Awesome, i found out my water was really low on the battery!? BTW what size battery should out car have?! (ie. 01 I4)

I can't think of it off the top of my head but it doesn't really matter that much as long as it fits under the hood in the tray and as long as it has enough power to turn the engine over cold.

**Asierra_999** · 05-28-2009, 11:19 AM

Originally Posted by Boostedgalant56

i work at an car audio shop its a blown speaker

Originally Posted by youngin3

You can't just say that. How do you know exactly what it is when all he told you is that it turns off when at high volume? Just because you work at a car audio shop doesn't mean you are knowledgeable. You could be the janitor for all we know.

It could be the battery.
It could be the speakers wired up at too little impedance.
It could be faulty wiring.
It could be a speaker wire that isn't hooked up arcing out to ground and putting the head unit into protect mode.
It could be a blown speaker, but I doubt it. I have two blown speakers in my car and they still move, they just sound like shit.

You can't just jump to one conclusion.

Good points !!! Thanks i didnt think it could be just a speaker but ill check lol

**youngin3** · 05-28-2009, 11:22 AM

I really doubt it would be a speaker. You would definitely be able to hear it before it got loud if it was. Don't go tearing off your door panels just yet. Check everything else. That is the hardest thing for you to have to do...

**01blackG** · 06-03-2009, 09:33 PM

Originally Posted by Asierra_999

Good points !!! Thanks i didnt think it could be just a speaker but ill check lol

I take it you still havent found the problem?
Ok I will tell you my little problem with the kenwood that i bought and had in my G. It wasnt the chepest kenwood but it wasnt the most expensive. To my point though. After a bit of hard hitting my radio would shut off / stop playing. So i noticed the face of the radio was a bit hot. And after the radio did it for the 20th time or so I finally pulled the trim off stuck my hand to the back of the radio and burnt the s*** out of my hand. My fix was to rig a cheap computer fan just under the radio to circulate air around the back side of the radio. After i did that, i never had a problem again.
Check the radio make sure its not over heating. Our G's have a tendency to do that to radio's because of all the heater duct work that is located right behind the radio its self.

Let me know if it is and i will hook you up with some quick instructions on how to make a decent fan and holder for the fan that will fit.

**Asierra_999** · 06-03-2009, 10:39 PM

Originally Posted by 01blackG

I take it you still havent found the problem?
Ok I will tell you my little problem with the kenwood that i bought and had in my G. It wasnt the chepest kenwood but it wasnt the most expensive. To my point though. After a bit of hard hitting my radio would shut off / stop playing. So i noticed the face of the radio was a bit hot. And after the radio did it for the 20th time or so I finally pulled the trim off stuck my hand to the back of the radio and burnt the s*** out of my hand. My fix was to rig a cheap computer fan just under the radio to circulate air around the back side of the radio. After i did that, i never had a problem again.
Check the radio make sure its not over heating. Our G's have a tendency to do that to radio's because of all the heater duct work that is located right behind the radio its self.

Let me know if it is and i will hook you up with some quick instructions on how to make a decent fan and holder for the fan that will fit.

Turns out for me it was a Dead/dying battery and a bad amp, the combination of both was causing the head unit to shut off into protect mode! As for my new head unit (the cheap kenwood) it seems to be working without getting hot at all ....the PC fan is a great mod to do and I shouldve thought about that too since my prior head unit was a DVD flip out I added a 30mm fan too! well now that im fixed I just need a new amp! ha Thank you all for your input it was truly appreciated.

**fliegendaffe** · 06-08-2009, 11:49 PM

yeah this sounds like protection mode on the deck. just make sure all the grounds are good at every point in the car and make sure you're not playing it too loud without the car running because draining your battery too fast could cause it to shut off.

**tamim13** · 11-30-2010, 04:38 PM

I understand this is an old thread, but could a weak alternator cause this issue? I've been having this issue for about 2 years now, but finally my stereo couldn't take it anymore and turned off for good :(

I read the linked thread on dsmtalk -
"I realize this is a very old thread but I figured I would post for future readers. It's very important to get the resistance load correct when connecting speakers to any amplifier. Connecting two speakers in parallel will cut the ohms load in half. For instance: if you have 2 - 4 ohm speakers connected in a parallel configuration it will reduce the resistance that the amp "sees" to two ohms. When this happens the speakers draw to much power and the internal protection circuits in some modern amps will cause it to shut down in order to protect itself. "

Does anyone know if ours are in a parallel configuration at the rear? Also, does anyone know if our front door speakers are 2ohm or 4ohm? Our rears are 4ohm. I have a kenwood excelon and stock speakers (non infinity)

**evil-G-nius** · 11-30-2010, 05:04 PM

fronts are 6....I just pulled mine. Wait....you 7 or 8G?

**tamim13** · 11-30-2010, 05:05 PM

Sorry, 8g, and I was referring to the impedance, does the 7G come with 6ohm impedance?

**evil-G-nius** · 11-30-2010, 05:36 PM

yeah, my fronts were 6 and my rears were 4

**Techn0Nut1996** · 01-24-2015, 02:13 PM

My dad was having the exact same issue with his 1991 Miata, I know it's a different car but all he had to do to fix it was clean the ground. I know you moved the ground already, but maybe its the ground in your wiring harness that attaches to the headunit? Or something along those lines?