Okay, so ive got a Kenwood DDX318, love the unit works amazing and is more then enough for me. Worked well for 3 months until it started cutting off and restarting randomly.
I pulled the unit out to redo the wiring and check for shorts, everything was okay. What i noticed is, when i turn the car on (4th gen runner btw), the fan in the back of the HU does NOT spin! I assume the fan is dead and does not cool the head unit properly when it is hot. It is a very small fan im thinking of pulling it and replacing it. From what I can recall when I first installed the unit, the fan DID spin when the truck was started.
My idea was too pull the fan and some how mount a computer fan behind the unit, running of the trucks power. Good idea? Bad idea? This would be a last resort if I am unable to find a replacement fan, then again i think a 120mm PC fan might provide better cooling.
I was going to have the unit serviced, Kenwood refuses to do so since it was purchased on Amazon (a nonauthorized dealer). I got it from Amazon since I was able to get almost 1/4 of the price knocked off for a brand new unit. It only came with a 30day warranty/return policy from the seller. I may just fight Kenwood on this and see where I get. Worst that can happen is they point me to a repair facility again.
I also have another question for the car audio enthusiasts out there. Will running a 4channel amp for my front and rear speakers reduce the stress on my head unit and reduce the amount of heat? Regardless I will still get some type of cooling solution applied but I was just wondering, I read something like that while googling and searching my issue.
Here are some specs on my gear FWIW:
The head unit, according to the manual, provides 50 x 4 watts for my speakers maximum power:
Maximum Power (Front & Rear)
: 50 W × 4
Full Bandwidth Power (Front & Rear)
(4 Ω, 14.4 V, 1% THD)
: 22 W × 4
Is what it says exactly.
I have 2 alpines in the front and 2 kickers in the back and 2x 12inch subs on an amp in the trunk.
These are the Alpines:
Amazon.com: Alpine SPS-610 6-1/2" 2-Way Type-S Series Coaxial Car Speakers: Car Electronics
Rated at 160 Watts RMS per pair (I assume 80 watts per speaker)
and these are the kickers:
Amazon.com: Kicker DS65 6.5" Coax Speakers (Pair): Car Electronics
From what i read, i THINK they are rated at 50 rms each
So, assuming Kenwood might charge almost twice what I paid for the unit to have it serviced (I think i was actually quoted 250 though i paid 280 for the unit), can any one give me some input? What type of cooling solution can you suggest? And will running my speakers off an amp reduce stress and heat on the head unit?
I will continue to google and search the forums. This is actually my last resort, posting this thread. I normally like to search and find out these things on my own before posting. It almost 3AM and ive been googling for about 3 hours and i spent about 1 hour skimming topics here. Please forgive me if this is covered already and i missed it. Ill continue my search in the morning/afternoon.
Thanks for any help and input!
I pulled the unit out to redo the wiring and check for shorts, everything was okay. What i noticed is, when i turn the car on (4th gen runner btw), the fan in the back of the HU does NOT spin! I assume the fan is dead and does not cool the head unit properly when it is hot. It is a very small fan im thinking of pulling it and replacing it. From what I can recall when I first installed the unit, the fan DID spin when the truck was started.
My idea was too pull the fan and some how mount a computer fan behind the unit, running of the trucks power. Good idea? Bad idea? This would be a last resort if I am unable to find a replacement fan, then again i think a 120mm PC fan might provide better cooling.
I was going to have the unit serviced, Kenwood refuses to do so since it was purchased on Amazon (a nonauthorized dealer). I got it from Amazon since I was able to get almost 1/4 of the price knocked off for a brand new unit. It only came with a 30day warranty/return policy from the seller. I may just fight Kenwood on this and see where I get. Worst that can happen is they point me to a repair facility again.
I also have another question for the car audio enthusiasts out there. Will running a 4channel amp for my front and rear speakers reduce the stress on my head unit and reduce the amount of heat? Regardless I will still get some type of cooling solution applied but I was just wondering, I read something like that while googling and searching my issue.
Here are some specs on my gear FWIW:
The head unit, according to the manual, provides 50 x 4 watts for my speakers maximum power:
Maximum Power (Front & Rear)
: 50 W × 4
Full Bandwidth Power (Front & Rear)
(4 Ω, 14.4 V, 1% THD)
: 22 W × 4
Is what it says exactly.
I have 2 alpines in the front and 2 kickers in the back and 2x 12inch subs on an amp in the trunk.
These are the Alpines:
Amazon.com: Alpine SPS-610 6-1/2" 2-Way Type-S Series Coaxial Car Speakers: Car Electronics
Rated at 160 Watts RMS per pair (I assume 80 watts per speaker)
and these are the kickers:
Amazon.com: Kicker DS65 6.5" Coax Speakers (Pair): Car Electronics
From what i read, i THINK they are rated at 50 rms each
So, assuming Kenwood might charge almost twice what I paid for the unit to have it serviced (I think i was actually quoted 250 though i paid 280 for the unit), can any one give me some input? What type of cooling solution can you suggest? And will running my speakers off an amp reduce stress and heat on the head unit?
I will continue to google and search the forums. This is actually my last resort, posting this thread. I normally like to search and find out these things on my own before posting. It almost 3AM and ive been googling for about 3 hours and i spent about 1 hour skimming topics here. Please forgive me if this is covered already and i missed it. Ill continue my search in the morning/afternoon.
Thanks for any help and input!
