Marine Electronics Forum - Speakers shut off after 5 minutes

I have a Clarion CMD7 (brand new just bought it yesterday) hooked up to a Rockford 700W amp. I have 4 speakers hooked up to the amp. I turn on the radio and it plays music for 5 minutes and then the speakers shut off..... I disconnected the amp and connected the speakers straight to the radio and they didn't shut off. When the amp is hooked up and the sound goes off the light on the amp is still on. I don't know whether the amp is bad or not.... If anyone has any suggestions before buying a new amp I'd appreciate it.:tht_rulez::tht_rulez::tht_rulez::tht_rulez:

It sounds like the amp is over heating....I would double check your connections and just take it back for another one to be sure....

Sounds like your amp is clipping. Running it too hard.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipping_(audio)

Also make sure you use the right size Hot and Ground wire. small ones will over heat it...

daughtrylc- I have checked all of the connections and the amp doesn't feel hott.

EODContender- I have the level all the way down.

The wire for the Hot and Ground are really thick.

Have you looked in the maual at the trouble shooting page?

Bad head unit...thermally tripping, probably

EODContender- Unfortunately the boat came with the amp and it didn't have any papers.

Glen E- This is the second head unit I install. The first one was a Sony and it did the same thing.

The head unit stays on and the speakers continue to play if they are connected directly to the head unit. They only shut off if they are connected to the amp.

You can get the manual online if you google the model number of the amp. That could help steer you in the right direction.

Just downloaded and read the 4 troubleshooting tips they have and I've done them all. I think I'm going to just have to bite the bullet and buy a new amp....

I don't know much about this audio stuff at all, but are each of your 6 speakers hooked up individually to separate amp outputs or are they wired in parallel or series in 2 channels? > Does the total impedence for each circuit match the amp output impedence requirements? For example, if hooked up three 4 ohm speakers a side in parallel you may have too much current demand on the amp as the impedance would then be 1.33333.. ohms. Forgive if my use of the the impedence term vs resistance is technically incorrect.

This... might.... help:
http://www.bcae1.com/spkrmlti.htm
It even has a bunch "plug-in" calculators !

TTaxi- I have 4 speakers and they are wired in parallel. Two speakers are 200 Watts max 40 watts nominal power handling and 4 ohms. The other two speakers are 260 Watts max and 120 watts RMS and 4 ohms.

So this is a two channel amplifier with 2 sets of 2 speakers in parallel, correct? If so, remove two of the speakers and only run two. See if the amp shuts down. If it does not, then you are stressing the amplifier with your load.

Bit the bullet and bought a new 840 watt 4 channel amp. I will install tomorrow and update.

Sorry I somehow registered 6 speakers instead of your 4 . That wiring with the 2 ch amp creates the effect of having one 2 ohm speaker on each side.

Curious , is this for a very large boat? 840 amps output must demand a lot of amps input. Not to mention the neighbor factor .:o:grin:

Sorry I somehow registered 6 speakers instead of your 4 . That wiring with the 2 ch amp creates the effect of having one 2 ohm speaker on each side.

Curious , is this for a very large boat? 840 amps output must demand a lot of amps input. Not to mention the neighbor factor .:o:grin:

TTAxi: Not really. That's total watts (that's watts, not amps)

I own a Clarion XN-3210 2-channel amp Clarion XN-3210 @ 360 watts driving 2-Pioneer 8" speakers. The Clarion XN-3410 4-channel amp is 720 watts.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_33984_Clarion-XN3410.html

840 watts isn't over-the-top.

It's for a 20' seacraft. The watts is nothing out of this world. I have a 1200 watt 4 ch amp on my big boat pushing 4 6.5" speakers.

Sorry again, meant to type watts, too tired.
You must be able to hear that Ok all the way to the bow of the SC. ;)

Enjoy.

I hate to ask but since no one else did. How is the voltage going to the amp are you sure it is getting enough power? What you describe sure sounds like a power problem.

Unless the remote turn on for the amp somehow got wired into a power lead that is switched on/off after certain time period. Like reserve power in vehicles.

Boat has brand new batteries that are connected to an onboard charger. It happens even when the charger is connected. The remote is wired directly from the amp to the remote on the radio.

Anticipating feedback... Having the same problem on a buddys boat. Big ground / power wire. (check) , New fusion headunit, 4 speakers, off brand boss amp. Shuts off after 3-4 minutes of loud loud music.

Anticipating feedback... Having the same problem on a buddys boat. Big ground / power wire. (check) , New fusion headunit, 4 speakers, off brand boss amp. Shuts off after 3-4 minutes of loud loud music.

In my car, recently I was having a similar issue. It ended up being the fuse on the amps power wire. I replaced it and had no problems afterward

Update! I installed the new amp and it works amazing! doesn't shut off anymore so problem fixed.

WE are having the same problem but when the music shuts off , it shuts off the fusion headunit with it.. Could this still just be an amp issue? Would an amp be able to tell the headunit to turn off?

Would an amp be able to tell the headunit to turn off?

none i've ever seen wired the right way...