Overvoltage killing the stereo?
Anyone run into an issue of overvoltage not letting the radio turn on? I'm wondering if it's the voltage regulator taking the electrical system up to 14+ volts, the radio just doesn't want to work that high.
To see if it helps, I ordered up a voltage regulator to keep a consistent 12V at the radio.
Thoughts? Other options short of replacing the stereo?
Start backtrack checking the power input circuit. Have you checked and verified that you have input power to the sound system with the engine running? Could you have connected into a circuit that is switched off and not energized when the engine is running? Don't disconnect the power input and check it, check it while it is connected to the radio.
Even the most basic automotive electronics is designed to run at 12-14 vdc. Your charging system should not be running above this unless you have a charging problem. If your charging system is not running above ~13.5 vdc, and you verify that there is power to the radio with the power connected to the radio (don't disconnect the radio and read, take parallel readings with it all together), then you could have too much ripple in the sound system input power...where did you connect into for power?
The battery puts a load on the regulator and acts as a capacitive filter to smooth out most of the ripple. You might try running power straight to the battery just to see if that cures the problem. A regulator for the sound system might work but you will need to be careful about harmonics damaging both systems. Also, the sound system might be putting too much current demand on the voltage regulator and it is shutting down.








