"click-click"

Very.

 

45.. yeah.. kinda loud. you blast music. system tops out at 63.. well.. it says 62.. then the next notch is MAX. the system will not blow at MAX. we.. unless you have the bass up all the way and a song with a really good bass response.. and it's from a cd. that's about the only way.

what you described is very strange. trip to the dealer maybe?

 

ever since i started listening to AM radio, my volume setting is 25 to 30. Going at higher speeds, i'll turn it up to 35 or possibly 40. I usually don't pass 40 anymore. Strange for me, seeing 45 was my listening volume.

if only i could effectively get rid of all that road noise. I was thinking of the dynamat ( spelled correct? ) and sound bocking film for the windows. the only companies that i found that do window film are designed for residential and commerial building.. or houses. wonder if it would work with a car?...

 

When I'm "rockin' out" and singing along, I'm around 52

Dave

 

seneros: did you get it fixed yet? What did it turn out to be? After reading the long post on the JBL system, I've been guessing that it is a malfunction in the amp... the click-click was maybe attempting to start, and then shutting off.

 

Someday I'll have to figure out how you equalize the volume of MP3s when you burn a CD. Some are a LOT louder than others, and one volume setting just doesn't cut it. When 'cranked' to 50, "Layla" is fine but when "Original Sin" kicks in, I have to leap at the volume control and go down to 45 or so.

I still want someone to perfect a 'crank' button, where the settings I'm at are saved and the car goes to loud mode instantly. Then when I'm done, the same button would uncrank things and let my ears recuperate.

I sure hope an iPod is capable of taking care of the loudness problem for me. I'll retire my homemade disks in a heartbeat if it works out better that way...

 

Did the MFD beep when you pressed its buttons? If so, that would probably rule out the amp as the problem. If not, then its a good chance it is the amp, though the header could be causing AVC corruption, but then the NAV wouldn't work either.

 

Sounds like the amp then. Nav drives the door speaker directly with its own amp.

 

If you were creating the mp3s, the program you're using should have a "normalize" option. I use audiograbber (because it has LAME support in Windows unlike iTunes), and it does normalization of the volume. I set that to 98% max volume.

If it's mp3s you've acquired through other sources, then your mp3->audiocd burner software should have normalization options. I know iTunes does although I'm not sure if it carries through into the audiocd burning process, and I need to look it up for Nero.

 

Often they don't. Logic isn't all technician's strong suit. But then having experience in discussions on sites like this can give us insights that dealer techs don't get. I am sure they have no clue that the beep is generated by the amp. For a while, we weren't sure, but the actuall packet on AVC commanding the beep has been scoped out. The packet was from MFD to AMP.
So, if you had beeps, it probably would not be the amp, as it would be concluded the amp was receiving beep command from MFD, and was able to create the beep throught the actual amplifiers.
Does the header respond, even though you get clicks? In other words, can you change stations and CD tracks? If so:
Header works, though no sound. Amp has no sound (but clicks) including beeps that don't depend on the header.

 

That totally convinces me that the amp is bad.

Think of this as a component home stereo system. You have a separate CD player that works fine, but you turn on the amp and you get nothing but hum. Your remote control operates both.

Your remote can change CDs and tracks, but it can't change the amp volume. Your system normally would beep if you pressed something on your remote, but now all you get is hum.
You also have a telephone speakerphone that has speaker outputs that you hook up directly to your speakers. It also can switch in and out the amp to the speakers as needed. It works with the remote, and you can make phonecalls fine.
What would you conclude is bad?

Now, the header is equivalent to your CD changer, the amp is like the amp, and the remote is the MFD.
Again, what would you conclude is bad?

Hopefully when the dealer said they were replacing the entire stereo, they meant the header AND the amp. Its overkill, but it will get the job done.

By the way, they could have checked if the amp was getting any analog signal from the header. If it was, then the header is definitely good. The scantool has a scope function so they should have done this.