96 Avalon, help w/ sound system

[naksavalon]

Ive currently got a 10' L5 kicker sub woofer w/ a 500 watt jl audio amp. Front doors have 5 1/4' jvc speakers each. Also have Nakamichi tweeters which no longer work installed on the doors already. Deck is very old (at least 10 years old) JVC brand. Under both the drivers and passengers seats are two amps, also very old, Nakamichi brand, which power my speakers. Under the passenger seat I've got a little piece called a "sound processor" right next to the speaker amp. Not sure what it does, (if it even works).

I have been having a slight/annoying problem with my sound system ever since I have had the subwoofer and speakers installed. From time to time, my system will literally take breaks from playing either the bass from the subwoofer or even sound from the speakers. Something along the lines of...while driving and the music sounding great (sub working, speakers playing), the sub may completely give out leaving the speakers to play by themselves. This may last from a couple days to weeks. Often the sub will hint itself, like a tease, but for the most part seem broken. The same goes for the speakers, sometimes the bass will continue to play from the sub woofer and no sound will come from the speakers. When this does happen, I have noticed that pressing on the gas harder/releasing actually can control "turning" on of the speakers.

Im looking to upgrade my system and "fix" this problem from reoccurring. Would installing a new deck make the biggest impact on my current setup? Also, not sure if the old speaker amp & sound processor are helping my situation.

[Blu08Taco]

Sounds like a problem with your sub amp. You may not have enough power to power them all, especially if you are playing them at high volumes. What gauge wiring are you running? Also, have you noticed any dimming of you lights?

[naksavalon]

Im not sure what you mean by gauge wiring....I do notice that my headlights dim in and out in sync with the bass.

[fourwheeler]

you need to increase the "size" of the wire powering your amp by replacing it with a lower number gauge wire which will allow more amperage to power your amps. Sounds like you are starving your amp for electricity and it is shutting down after it plays for a while.

[Jigg007]

You have a voltage drop problems.

Imagine the cars voltage is 12 volts at an idle rpm

Say when the cars rpm increases you have 14 volts.

Lets assume you have a voltage drop from improperly sized wire or poor connections. This will cause a loss of 2 volts.

Now lets say your amplifiers minimum operating voltage is 11 volts.

So at idle you have an amplifier that is turning on and off, but you can kind of control if you increase speed.

However, your sound system seems like it was constructed properly, implying proper sized wiring was used. Which leaves me to think that all the connections are flaky, especially after 10 years from its installation. I think your problem would be easily solved if you detached each wire to the amplifiers and processors, and reattached them. For an extra bonus you could cut and re-strip the ends of the wires.