Can anyone tell me what is wrong with my car stereo?

[funkyav]

Recently I have been having problems with my Alpine car stereo. When i turn the car ignition on to start the car music comes on no problem however after anything from 5-60 seconds the sound cuts out but the power and display are still on, in fact when playing a CD it still appears that the CD is playing but there is no sound. If i turn off the ignition and restart then the same happens again. Every now and again the sound stays as used to and I can enjoy listening to music. I may well have to take car into car audio place but I wanted to know what i was dealing with as I assume it is only a minor problem? Any help will be much appreciated. thanks

[NazNomad]

http://www.theanswerb...g/Question996327.html

[Buenchico]

I've had similar problems several times, with different cars and different radios. In every case it has NOT been the radio that's at fault. It has always been associated with the car's electrical system. The radio initially works fine for a short period but then the voltage supplied to it drops below a level where it can operate properly.

If you're lucky, you'll find that it's simply a slipping fan belt, resulting in the alternator not charging the battery properly. However it's often a symptom of a defective alternator, which is no longer doing the job properly. (I had one radio which exhibited this problem frequently from the first day on which it was fitted. After the car eventually broke down, requiring a new alternator, I never had the problem again. Two other car radios started exhibiting similar problems shortly before the vehicles' alternators packed up).

Chris

[paintpowder1]

Also,could be that the radio/cd unit's audio output transistors are failing due to excessive heat being generated by them.This usually happens when the speakers are wired incorrectly (impedance too low) - in this case it could take months for the fault to appear,and would show as being intermittent at first - or they are breaking down due to normal wear and tear.