still getting REDUCED ENGINE POWER message
10-04-2007, 09:47 PM
#1
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still getting REDUCED ENGINE POWER message ok ive done some pin pointing to catch u up to speed i got a new alarm and stereo 1500wts of stereo i have a 6.0 in my half ton out of a hummer i up graded my altenator to a 145amp i also upgraded the charge wire to a two gauge the problem only occures when the stereo is on and mainly at night due to the fact the lights are on the stereo will flicker and then a Reduced engine power messege appears crippling my vehicle without warning i have to turn it off arm and disarm the vehicle which resets everything and i can drive the most common reasons a gm will say reduced engine power is from voltage being too high and low and bad ground wires i think im dealing with both here but at night when it happens i have the stereo all the way down so that there is no heavy draw to the amps the voltage meter is steady i think its mainly bad ground from the install im going tomorrow to raise hell and have them fix it but i thought i would see if anyone had some input sorry for my spelling and punctuation in a hurry
10-04-2007, 09:55 PM
#2
must be in a hurry, that is one llooooooooonnnggg sentence 
so if I'm getting this right, you only have this problem when you turn the stereo on, correct?
What it sounds like to me is you have a short someplace that when you turn the radio on it starts grounding out really badly. Here is a test to do - turn the car off, and test the voltage at the battery. Then turn the key to accessory, and test the voltage again. Then turn the radio on and test the voltage again. If the voltage drops a lot when you turn the radio on, it is most definitely related to that system.
Next step - disconnect the power to the amplifier(s). Turn the radio on. Does it still drop down a lot or not? If so, then there is an issue with the HU, either internally or one of the connections to it. If not, then there is a problem with the amp(s). If you have more than one amp, hook up one at a time until you have the problem again. Then disconnect all the amps except the one that caused the problem. If you still have the problem, you know it is related to that amp. Check ALL the connections to it. If the connections are all good then the amp is most likely shorting out inside someplace.
Hope this helps!
so if I'm getting this right, you only have this problem when you turn the stereo on, correct?
What it sounds like to me is you have a short someplace that when you turn the radio on it starts grounding out really badly. Here is a test to do - turn the car off, and test the voltage at the battery. Then turn the key to accessory, and test the voltage again. Then turn the radio on and test the voltage again. If the voltage drops a lot when you turn the radio on, it is most definitely related to that system.
Next step - disconnect the power to the amplifier(s). Turn the radio on. Does it still drop down a lot or not? If so, then there is an issue with the HU, either internally or one of the connections to it. If not, then there is a problem with the amp(s). If you have more than one amp, hook up one at a time until you have the problem again. Then disconnect all the amps except the one that caused the problem. If you still have the problem, you know it is related to that amp. Check ALL the connections to it. If the connections are all good then the amp is most likely shorting out inside someplace.
Hope this helps!
