Head unit hot ??

[Big Al]

I've got a 94 with the jbl ,but notice that I must turn up the volume to 80% on the highway. This leads to the head unit getting quite hot. Could the factory amp be damaged or it it too weak? I'm considering replacing it. Any suggestions if I do.

 

[Exploder99]

hot? are you using the factory speakers? i wouldnt worry about it getting hot unless it is effecting the performance. ive nboticed my faceplace getting hot on a 20hour raod trip but thats about it, it worked the same.

 

[rock883]

Ok, you live in Toronto Canada(according to your profile), and I assume it is freezing up there, right? It may not be the fact that you are turning the volume up high that is making it hot. There is an air duct directly above the HU, and since its cold outside, you are turning the heat up and the heat running through the air duct is getting to the head unit and making it pretty hot. This may not be all your problem but probably most of it is because of this. I noticed mine was hot one time while playing it at low volume levels, and I had my HU keys in my car, so I pulled it out, and noticed that the air duct was quite hot and might have been causing the problems. There's not much you can do about it, just don't keep the heat on long, or it could damage your HU. Maybe you could somehow squeeze a little 12V cooling fan right behind the HU to cool it down quite a bit.

 

[RFR2212]

I don't see any reason to be worried...I'll crank my cd player up at 95+ degrees w/ no A/c and when I'n done playin a cd, you can barely touch it when it comes out.
Pete

 

[Big Al]

Thanks for the responses. System is using original factory speakers. As far as the heating vent problem I'm afraid I get the same heat problem in the summer with the air on.
I've talked to a stereo place ( crutchfield.com ) and it seems the amp is quite weak and its not unusal to have to crank up factory stereos near to the max. For the cost of putting in a new amp , I'm told I could put in a more powerful head unit and save money.I would just lose the sub-woofer which is no big deal apparently. For the time being I'll just wait it out. I'm sure something important will need replacing soon enough.

 

[JTang]

Yeah, that's a very common prob. I figure as long as you have a CD player, it's alright. Tapes, I'd be a little more concerned about, make copies of them. I had a single one time, and it was so hot that it caused the ribbon to tear apart. That single is pretty much lost and unavailable on release in CD format. Too bad, cause it was a good remix.

 

[yob_yeknom]

would this work?

What if you wrapped the air duct with insulation? Or maybe that foil tape? Is there enough room to get in there and wrap up the air duct? I'm sure somebody on this board has thought of that. Question is did it work?
I have the same problem with my HU getting very hot. If that will work I'll pull mine back out and do the same.