[1996 Mariah Z252]

This has everything to do with amps (obviously) every bass note or when its just loud in general it will shut itself off (due to lack of power)
take a look at this video showing the voltage drop. In the video its not turned up all the way. (and all the way up isnt even close to ear piercing loud)

https://youtu.be/rihTLdn8kjs

Howcan i fix this? I plan to upgrade the speakers soon, so it would have to work for that. Alternator, Amplifier? Any ideas? Thanks. (happens when the boat is running and when it's not.)

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[GaryDoug]

Check the fuse block. I assume on your boat that it is under the dash somewhere. I found that mine had a loose fuse (plastic had deformed under heavy current over the years) in the block. Fortunately on my boat there were a couple of spare fuse positions and all I had to do was move the wire and fuse to the next one. The voltage gauge went from just over 10 volts normally to over 12 at rest and 13-14 when charging.

[tbrookens]

If that doesn't do the trick, let us know!


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[1996 Mariah Z252]

Originally Posted by GaryDoug

Check the fuse block. I assume on your boat that it is under the dash somewhere. I found that mine had a loose fuse (plastic had deformed under heavy current over the years) in the block. Fortunately on my boat there were a couple of spare fuse positions and all I had to do was move the wire and fuse to the next one. The voltage gauge went from just over 10 volts normally to over 12 at rest and 13-14 when charging.

My radio has built in fuze. And its in there securely. Weird thing is is that this happened on my other radio

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[GaryDoug]

Originally Posted by 1996 Mariah Z252

My radio has built in fuze. And its in there securely. Weird thing is is that this happened on my other radio

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That may be but it's possible that the radio is connected to the ignition circuit, and that fuse was the one loose on my boat. The voltage gauge wouldn't be jumping around just beause of the fuse in the radio. Trace it back to where it connects.

[Motoxxx43]

If you have not found an answer to your problem I may have a few things you might consider looking at.

What are the specifics to your current stereo- bone stock? Amplifiers, subs, etc..

How old is your battery?

Be 100% sure you have good battery connections- clean terminals.

Might not hurt to check the wiring for the head unit as mentioned above- the unit should be on a switch (yellow/red) and from there to fuse panel.

This problem of shutting off makes me think of a bad ground initially. It is the voltage drop that has me thinking battery issue.

Keep us posted

[1996 Mariah Z252]

Originally Posted by Motoxxx43

If you have not found an answer to your problem I may have a few things you might consider looking at.

What are the specifics to your current stereo- bone stock? Amplifiers, subs, etc..

How old is your battery?

Be 100% sure you have good battery connections- clean terminals.

Might not hurt to check the wiring for the head unit as mentioned above- the unit should be on a switch (yellow/red) and from there to fuse panel.

This problem of shutting off makes me think of a bad ground initially. It is the voltage drop that has me thinking battery issue.

Keep us posted

I replaced the groud cables becuase they were all corroded and that didnt work. The batterys are at least 3 years old. They are deep cycle batterys too. To test if its the battery, i have a spare brand new lawnmower battery. Would that work? Thanks.


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[1996 Mariah Z252]

Originally Posted by Motoxxx43

If you have not found an answer to your problem I may have a few things you might consider looking at.

What are the specifics to your current stereo- bone stock? Amplifiers, subs, etc..

How old is your battery?

Be 100% sure you have good battery connections- clean terminals.

Might not hurt to check the wiring for the head unit as mentioned above- the unit should be on a switch (yellow/red) and from there to fuse panel.

This problem of shutting off makes me think of a bad ground initially. It is the voltage drop that has me thinking battery issue.

Keep us posted

Crazy theory but, would I need a 2nd alternator to power the radio and other accessories? Just replaced my Alternator last July.


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[Motoxxx43]

Good to know! If the ground cables were corroded there is a very good possibility the (+) side is just as bad.

As for testing the batter with a lawnmower battery: I don't think that is the best way of testing it. That battery may not have the kinda power needed to run your system.
If your current batteries have been on a tender they should still be decent.
(This still reminds me of a bad connection BUT I'm hardly ever right the first time!)

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[1996 Mariah Z252]

Originally Posted by Motoxxx43

Good to know! If the ground cables were corroded there is a very good possibility the (+) side is just as bad.

As for testing the batter with a lawnmower battery: I don't think that is the best way of testing it. That battery may not have the kinda power needed to run your system.
If your current batteries have been on a tender they should still be decent.
(This still reminds me of a bad connection BUT I'm hardly ever right the first time!)

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I also cleaned off the positive cables. They had a bunch of hard to scrub of green stuff on them.


Thanks.