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Anyone start tearing down a 2019 to install sound system?


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6 hours ago, GarretAK said:

the xv amp doesn't need the LC2i. I believe the rear speakers are the ones to tap into on the newer systems. 

 

 

Thats one reason i stepped up to the VX amp is so i wouldn't have to mess with the LOC or nav tv.

The VX amp's input is essentially the same as an LC2i, LC7i, or any other LOC, the only difference is that it's integrated into the amp. But if the installer wired it wrong, either chose the wrong wires or hooked them up incorrectly, as Jon suspects happened in his case, the VX amp wouldn't change anything.

 

Personally, I'd prefer to keep things like an LOC separate. I know it looks cleaner without having a bunch of different components wired together, but when everything is integrated, and one section has an issue, it takes the whole system down and is more costly to replace. Say your LOC goes down, if it's integrated, you're done, replace the whole amp. But if it's not integrated, all you need to do is replace the LOC, and whether it's a cheaper passive unit or a powered unit like an LC2i or LC7i, it will still be cheaper to replace than a VX amp. Just my $.02.

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20 minutes ago, Jon coulson said:

Looks like I’m gonna sell my JL setup I don’t have enough posts to sell in marketplace if anyone reads this and is interested stealthbox with 2-12tw3’s hd750/1 amp and bass knob 1750 obo. 2300 new 

Would you consider selling the stealthbox separately?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Update about my NAV-TV experience in 2020 AT4.

 

I finished a complete install a week ago.  Components in the front, coaxials in the rear doors, AudioControl D-4.800 amp for mids/highs and AudioControl LC-800 for subwoofers.  I was going to wait until the NAV-TV unit was updated until I installed everything, but I got tired of waiting and went through with the install.  I bought the NAV-TV unit in December, and I did not update it.  It came straight out of the box and I installed it in my truck.  It has worked perfect without cutting off.  I have had zero issues.  The signal from the unit is perfect and the output sounds incredible.  Everything can be tuned perfect with the built in DSP in the AudioControl amp.

 

I am not an expert but it seems like certain amplifiers are causing the problems.  I am not sure if it is an overheating issue or the unit going into protection mode (if it has one).

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1 hour ago, LA_33 said:

Update about my NAV-TV experience in 2020 AT4.

 

I finished a complete install a week ago.  Components in the front, coaxials in the rear doors, AudioControl D-4.800 amp for mids/highs and AudioControl LC-800 for subwoofers.  I was going to wait until the NAV-TV unit was updated until I installed everything, but I got tired of waiting and went through with the install.  I bought the NAV-TV unit in December, and I did not update it.  It came straight out of the box and I installed it in my truck.  It has worked perfect without cutting off.  I have had zero issues.  The signal from the unit is perfect and the output sounds incredible.  Everything can be tuned perfect with the built in DSP in the AudioControl amp.

 

I am not an expert but it seems like certain amplifiers are causing the problems.  I am not sure if it is an overheating issue or the unit going into protection mode (if it has one).

Going by my experience in car audio, roughly 30 years doing all my own installing up 'til the last couple installs (can't bend like I used to) there are a few reasons for an amp cutting out.

 

First is wiring (either an issue with power wiring or speaker wiring). There can be hard shorts to ground that take it out immediately (blowing the fuse) or intermittent shorts that happen during movement, which happens quite a bit in a vehicle. There's also shorts between the two leads going to the speakers.

 

Next is too large of a load connected to the amp (wiring the speaker load beyond/below the amp's limits). Some manufacturers are conservative with their amp's spec'd limits. That way if the customer does go a bit beyond the amp's limits, it will still work properly, acting like a buffer.

 

Too high of an input signal could also cause an issue if it overloads the amp's input stage. It might blow/overheat an internal component. Or if the input stage can handle it, the signal might be clipped, aka distortion, which can take out the output stage of the amp or overdrive the speakers. That can lead to a blown voice coil or cause the speaker cone to extend beyond it's mechanical limit and get high centered on the pole piece.

 

Then there's inadequate ventilation for the amp. An amp needs space around it for heat to be wick'd away. This can also apply to amps with built in fans as the need space to blow the heat away from the amp. This is a big issue in vehicles when amps are mounted under or behind seats where there may be little to no ventilation. My installer suggested mounting my amp behind the rear seat, but I'm not ok with that as there is little to no space around the amp back there. And if you run an amp hard it's going to be an issue. I'm guessing that may be the reason for most of the people on here having this issue. It could also explain why one amp had the issue and another doesn't, since some amps either don't run as hot or have better built in ventilation than others. Having no ventilation also causes another issue in that it will heat up the surfaces around it, which then reheats the amp in kind of a cascade effect.

 

Lastly, it could just be an issue with the amp's internals. For example, if it has bad components in the power or amplification stage (bad transistor or IC) that could also cause it to have an issue. The only real way to know if this is the case is to swap out to another amp of the same model and see if the problem is still present. Of course if both amps came from the same batch, it's possible they could both have faulty internal components.

 

I've seen all of these issues before, either on my own installs (bad internal components on a couple), or those of friends, even stories from installers. The key to finding out the culprit is methodical troubleshooting, trying to isolate as much of what you can, to narrow down what's in play. For example, try running the amp with no speakers hooked up and see if it still shuts down. If that's ok, you've probably eliminated the power wiring. Then hook up the speakers but keep the volume low, that should help eliminate speaker wiring and possibly tell you if the input signal is too high or not. Or if you're using 2 subs only hook up one and turn it up, that should tell you if you have too big of a load on the amp. Lastly, try to move the amp to a better ventilated area, like just sitting on the seat or the floor, that should tell you if it's a ventilation issue. 

 

Those are simple troubleshooting steps you can take, but some aren't 100% foolproof. It could still be a power issue that only appears when the amp is being used at full capacity. But eliminating as much as you can before talking to manufacturer tech support will save you time on the call, and doing it before taking it to a reputable installer can save you money. Just my $.02.

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13 hours ago, JMO76 said:

Going by my experience in car audio, roughly 30 years doing all my own installing up 'til the last couple installs (can't bend like I used to) there are a few reasons for an amp cutting out.

 

First is wiring (either an issue with power wiring or speaker wiring). There can be hard shorts to ground that take it out immediately (blowing the fuse) or intermittent shorts that happen during movement, which happens quite a bit in a vehicle. There's also shorts between the two leads going to the speakers.

 

Next is too large of a load connected to the amp (wiring the speaker load beyond/below the amp's limits). Some manufacturers are conservative with their amp's spec'd limits. That way if the customer does go a bit beyond the amp's limits, it will still work properly, acting like a buffer.

 

Too high of an input signal could also cause an issue if it overloads the amp's input stage. It might blow/overheat an internal component. Or if the input stage can handle it, the signal might be clipped, aka distortion, which can take out the output stage of the amp or overdrive the speakers. That can lead to a blown voice coil or cause the speaker cone to extend beyond it's mechanical limit and get high centered on the pole piece.

 

Then there's inadequate ventilation for the amp. An amp needs space around it for heat to be wick'd away. This can also apply to amps with built in fans as the need space to blow the heat away from the amp. This is a big issue in vehicles when amps are mounted under or behind seats where there may be little to no ventilation. My installer suggested mounting my amp behind the rear seat, but I'm not ok with that as there is little to no space around the amp back there. And if you run an amp hard it's going to be an issue. I'm guessing that may be the reason for most of the people on here having this issue. It could also explain why one amp had the issue and another doesn't, since some amps either don't run as hot or have better built in ventilation than others. Having no ventilation also causes another issue in that it will heat up the surfaces around it, which then reheats the amp in kind of a cascade effect.

 

Lastly, it could just be an issue with the amp's internals. For example, if it has bad components in the power or amplification stage (bad transistor or IC) that could also cause it to have an issue. The only real way to know if this is the case is to swap out to another amp of the same model and see if the problem is still present. Of course if both amps came from the same batch, it's possible they could both have faulty internal components.

 

 

I've seen all of these issues before, either on my own installs (bad internal components on a couple), or those of friends, even stories from installers. The key to finding out the culprit is methodical troubleshooting, trying to isolate as much of what you can, to narrow down what's in play. For example, try running the amp with no speakers hooked up and see if it still shuts down. If that's ok, you've probably eliminated the power wiring. Then hook up the speakers but keep the volume low, that should help eliminate speaker wiring and possibly tell you if the input signal is too high or not. Or if you're using 2 subs only hook up one and turn it up, that should tell you if you have too big of a load on the amp. Lastly, try to move the amp to a better ventilated area, like just sitting on the seat or the floor, that should tell you if it's a ventilation issue. 

 

Those are simple troubleshooting steps you can take, but some aren't 100% foolproof. It could still be a power issue that only appears when the amp is being used at full capacity. But eliminating as much as you can before talking to manufacturer tech support will save you time on the call, and doing it before taking it to a reputable installer can save you money. Just my $.02.

Hopefully people having trouble will read this post and get their problems solved. 
 

 

13 hours ago, ArcherMP said:

Nav-TV has posted an update dated April 30th. 

 

https://navtv.com/media/products_file/2020/04/30/ZEN-AVB-GM_SW.zip

Since mine is working perfect I am afraid to install the update. I will give NAV-TV a call and see what they say. Thanks for the link. 

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12 hours ago, LA_33 said:

Hopefully people having trouble will read this post and get their problems solved. 
 

 

Since mine is working perfect I am afraid to install the update. I will give NAV-TV a call and see what they say. Thanks for the link. 

On 12/26/2019 at 6:49 PM, BrettMatthews said:

Thanks for posting this! Very interested to see how it goes with the harness installation as I’m planning on doing this in the spring. 

 

On 8/10/2019 at 7:55 AM, asalinasz39 said:

5c7ae67966529628cd8cffff8cd43c56.jpg

Just a 1.5” in the front with motofab lower strut spacer. Still have 1” rake and stock duratracs 32.3” tall.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

On 2/25/2020 at 10:34 PM, FWaT4 said:

35x11.50x20 Ridge Grapplers. Bought the truck last thursday and had these installed two days later. Zero rub, smooth, ride great

12 hours ago, LA_33 said:

Hopefully people having trouble will read this post and get their problems solved. 
 

 

Since mine is working perfect I am afraid to install the update. I will give NAV-TV a call and see what they say. Thanks for the link. 

I’ve been in touch with NAVTV (Mine has been shutting off) and here’s the explanation.  The early units had a part that wasn’t what they originally designed bc the supplier replaced a chip with one the supplier thought would work the same but apparently didn’t.  This means it’s a hardware problem.  They shipped me a new unit which I plan to install tomorrow then send the original unit back to them.  I’ll let you know how it turns out but they say this will solve the problem.

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7 minutes ago, LA_33 said:

Does your NAV-TV unit turn completely off or did the volume drop and have a staticky signal?

Actually both, more often drops the volume but sometimes when I reset it there’s static when it comes back on.  I got the update and that made it happen less often but still happens 

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11 minutes ago, TNAT4 said:

Actually both, more often drops the volume but sometimes when I reset it there’s static when it comes back on.  I got the update and that made it happen less often but still happens 

I guess I talked to soon about mine working perfect. Been working perfect for over a week. Hours of run time and this afternoon the volume dropped pretty low and it had a staticky signal. It was in and out on the 15 min drive. Hope they will replace mine also. 

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