QuestionI had a friend install an alpine 9847 for in me in my 2001 camry gallery series. When I first heard it, it sounded great. After driving if for a couple of days, i realized that when I go over some bumps the sound will cut off to either the right or left side, and sometimes it will just get softer overall. If I tap the underside of the receiever( still have an open space where the cassette player was in stock receiver) it will usually go back to normal. It seems like there is a wiring problem, as sometimes i can actually hear the distortion as its switching from one side to the other. I haven't installed the metal frame that it came with, you know the one that slides back and forth, a cradle? I was feeling around in the back of the receivers to make sure the connections where good, and I got burnt by an incredibly hot spot on the back of the receiver. OUCH! I didn't know it could get so hot! Is that part of the problem? Thank you so much for your advice.
Burnt in MD,
Armando
AnswerHi Armando...
This problem is surely annoying, but it could also be a very, VERY serious one.
I am concerned that without the trim ring installed, and with a bad wiring harness, you may have a short from power, through the chassis of your player, and then eventually going to ground.
The immediate danger is, of course, what you just experienced: like an electric stove the metal chassis around the stereo slowly gets hot as power flows through.
The long term risk is that this could melt or ignite some material inside the dash or so overload your electirical system that your battery may explode (which is difficult and hazardous to clean) or possibly even cause an electrical system fire.
Please re-install the unit using the proper metal trim-ring and wiring harness, and double-check all power cabling.
If, after that, the problem persists get back to me and we can check through the speaker cabling. Solving this first issue is extremely important.
I wish you luck!
