Kenwood Stereo in 5KCS problem

[Ameer Antar]

I think the problem is the connection of the amps to the antenna lead. That
lead only supplies tiny amounts of current. All it's supposed to do is tell
the antenna to turn on or off. The antenna uses a separate power lead to
actually run the motor inside it. Basically I think you're drawing WAY to
much current through there. You should connect the amps directly to a good
12V line, but then they'd be on when the car is on or all the time if you
use a battery (unswitched) 12V lead. To fix that, you can just use a relay
to control the situation. Any automotive relay from a parts store should
handle the current, maybe 10A? RadioShack also has similar relays, but just
make sure the coil is rated for 12V. Then connect the coil leads. One goes
to the antenna lead, the other goes to the ground. You should also use a
small diode across the coil leads. This prevents any power spikes on the
line when it opens and closes. (Otherwise it'll act sorta like an ignition
coil, and generate high voltage and may damage very sensitive electronics
that don't have power filters.) The side of the diode w/ the white band
around it goes towards the antenna lead side, (which is the + side of the
relay coil). Now the switch connections should be straight forward. If it's
an SPST relay, there's only 2 connections left, and one goes to the power
line, the other to the amps. If it's SPDT or even DPDT, the connections
would be the same, you just have more switches ganged together in there.
Just make sure to connect to 2 of the tabs that actually switch on/off
together (not the 2 outer ones, usually a diagram of the connections is
given for this).

I think your best bet is to bypass the Bose amps altogether. Most likely
the amps are getting old, and many of the components inside are aging and
changing values, esp. capacitors which tend to cause many of the common
Bose amp problems. Electronic technology does change a lot, so I bet the
specs aren't even that good compared to a newer unit. And really Bose is
known for their speakers, not their amps. All this means running new wires
to the speakers though. So consider whatever might be your best option. Let
me know if you need help w/ the connections, maybe I can send a wiring
diagram to help if needed. Good luck!

-ameer


At 06:20 PM 7/5/2002, you wrote:

Message: 17
Date: Fri, 05 Jul 2002 15:40:46 -0600
From: Steve Sherman <spsherm at attglobal.net>
Reply-To: spsherm at attglobal.net
To: quattro <quattro at audifans.com>
Subject: Kenwood Stereo in 5KCS problem
I've been playing around with the wiring for my 87 5KTQW and this
Kenwood stereo system. The wagon had up til now used the stock
radio/cassette and has the stock Bose system in it. I think I have
things figured out, except for one annoying and killer problem. I was
hoping someone who might have figured this out...
Power/ground/ front speakers all pretty normal. For the rear speakers,
I was trying to follow a post in the archives. I connected the rear amp
power to the power antenna lead of the new stereo, and connected just
one of the speaker leads to the new stereo for each rear channel. Odd
thing is, if the stereo is playing when I connect the rear speaker
leads, everything is fine. However if the rear leads are connected when
the stereo is turned on, then no speaker output anywhere...
I suspect some odd check in the new stereo, that is checking to see
what's connected, or maybe the rear amp looks like a short as it is
being powered up? Probably other possibilities too.
Anyhow, I was hoping someone on the list had run into this before and
come up with a solution, the magic resistor here or whatever.
TIA

--__--__--