Netw0rked

so i just got a JVC head unit with the ipod plug in thing. i wired it all up, but i used to screw caps and not solder. turn it on, works great, but the heat sink in the back gets REALLY hot after about three minutes of use. i'm worried it's gonna end up melting the wires or something so i unplug it. the OEM harness doesn't have a ground wire for some reason but the JVC head unit has a super long ground wire so i used electrical tape to tape it to the chassis behind the dash. might not be the best ground. any advice would be much appreciated, and i know somebody is gonna say "do a better ground." what would be the best bet for a secure and reliable ground?

thanks guys.

nomurstock

Heat sinks always get extremely hot to the touch, but the wire and crimp caps can withstand the heat. If you are that worried about it, make sure to place the harness as far away from the back of the heat sink as possible. Do not tape your ground down, find a bolt that is on bare metal, remove it, crimp an eye-hook on the end of the ground wire, if the ground wire does not already have one, and bolt the wire to the bare metal. If there is no bolt, get a metal tapping screw from your local hardware store along with some star washers, find a good bare metal ground spot and drill the metal tapping screw.

Netw0rked

oh, one more thing that probably should have been a big note, when it gets really hot it smells like it starts smoking. is it just because it's brand new and "breaking in" from what i've heard? might be a dumb question, sorry.

98formulaLS1

here's a couple suggestions:
-screw caps are not appropriate for automotive wiring. They are suitable in the home, where they remain in a suitable position for years, with no vibrations. I highly suggest you at least with automotive crimps.
-unplug the iPod connection and see what the difference in heat is.

Is the iPod interface charging the iPod also? Does the interface only have one connection to the H/U? or does it also connect to +12v & GND? If it only have one connection to the H/U, then the H/U is responsible for providing the additional current to charge the iPod too!

If none of those items reduce the heat output from the heatsink, and it still smells like smoke or feels hot enough to melt plastic, I would consider finding your receipt or warranty information.

Fabrik8

Screw caps are not appropriate for stranded wire in any application, home or not.

I'm guessing that something is wrong though, because no matter what the heatsink shouldn't be getting that hot that soon. I would double check what you have for speaker loads on there, because the majority of heat rejection is from the speaker amplifier. If you have a load that's too low impedance, the amplifier power dissipation will go up a lot (and power is dissipated as heat).

So I think you have a problem, whether it is the ground or not I don't know, but the ground needs to be fixed no matter what.