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So before I get a response like....
"Go search the forums you idiot"
Read my whole problem

2002 Honda Civic EX coupe
Stock alternator (Newer 2 y/o)
Decent Silver Battery (4 years old)
14.5 volts across the terminals when running
around 13 when not

CD Player Pioneer Premier DEH-P740MP (Supposed to be one of the best)
Kenwood KAC-629 600 watt amp 2 channel
Pyramid Gold Series 800 watt amp 4 channel
1 Farad Lighting Cap
Big 3 upgrade with 2 gauge wire
-6 inch 2 gauge wire from negative to chassis
-14 inch 2 gauge wire from positive to alternator
-8 inch 2 gauge wire from engine block to chassis
All tightly done and coated with dielectric grease for protection
2 strands 8 gauge fused wire to the cap
1 8 gauge wire to each amp positive from the cap
1 8 gauge wire from each amp and the cap to a shared ground
-The ground is an aluminum distribution block (home depot) bolted directly to the chassis with the paint under it completely removed with a dremel tool

1 8 ohm RF Punch Sub
1 8 ohm memphis car audio sub
wired in parallel on the bridged kenwood amp

Hifonics Zeus 500 watt max 6x9 speakers on the deck 4 ohm each
wired each speaker on one channel of the 4 channel pyramid amp
(2 channels not being used)

stock speakers and tweeters on the door upfront
(not amped)

The problem?
2 problems
When I turn up the volume... I could go and go and go until I blew the subs out of the box. However, after a while (30 min) of sustaining decently loud (still hear each other to talk)output, the pyramid amp goes into protection mode. This usually occurs during a hard base hit.

Upon testing with the multimeter, the voltage to the pyramid amp doesn't drop but a 1/2 volt max and never below 13 during a long bass tone.

The other time it goes into protection mode is when you change the cd.
Testing with the multimeter shows a voltage drop on the accessory lead (blue and white) from normal to zero and back very quickly. I am not talking about the blue wire that is supposed to go to the power antenna. I am talking about the blue/white stripe wire that comes from the head unit itself.

It appears that voltage fluctuation is causing the pyramid amp to go into protection mode, but there isn't to much fluctuation on the remote when bass hits.

When I tested the voltage from the power antenna wire from the wiring harness, it was only 1/2 volt.

Don't even post if your going to knock the quality of the system. It was practically free and sounds very clear.
I have about 50 dollars invested in the system.

Any ideas out there on this one?

Is the blue with white stripe coming out of the cd player really the correct hookup for the amp remote?
The cd player came with the car. No owners manual. Even in the owners manual, it doesn't list what the wire colors are....

 
Rep Power: 812

its possible the amp is going into protection due to too much heat from turning the volume up. does it feel hot when this happens?

 
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I would say thats its slightly above room temperature, but by no means is it hot; definetly not "hot" to the touch.

 
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Also, upon changing the cd, should the voltage on the remote accessory wire be bouncing to 0 and back? The kenwood amp doesn't seem to mind, but this voltage drop and rebound puts the pyramid into protection mode.

 
Rep Power: 812

well with the remote wire, ive heard of people running a dedicated remote power wire from the battery and putting it on a switch, or even tapping to the ignition so it turns on/off with the car and it fixed the voltage drop problem. that may solve both your problems actually, because maybe the headunit is to blame (i noticed its pioneer, they do have alot of issues). do you have the headunit running on upgraded power and ground wires (at least 14 gauge) direct to the battery? that may help things too making sure the deck works properly by receiving the right voltage to operate. if that doesnt work, try the upgraded remote wire i mentioned first. amps are pretty solid and almost never have issues on their own, its almost always related to a headunit causing trouble.

 
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I believe I have some extra red and black 12 guage stranded copper laying around. If you're suggesting I run the head unit power and ground wires directly to the battery terminals, should they be fused? I already have distribution blocks on both of the battery terminals. Also will this cause ground loop problems if the ground for the head unit is that far away from the amps?

I think I will try the remote wire (from the ignition) that turns on the head unit and run it back to the amps. That should solve the voltage drop problem on cd change.

I'll post back as soon as I try that all out.

The system really sounds spectacular when its not going into protection. The pioneer deck has a really nice set of eq settings such as setting HPF or LPF for the different RCA outs. You can even set the frequencies right at the headunit for the LPF and HPFs RCA outs. So if anyone says you cant spend 50 dollars and get a good system...
The subs are in a sealed box and the LPF/HPF are both set at 125hz. Trunk and rear deck are fully DIY deadened with good success.

I wish I could just get these electrical quirks out.

 
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Would it be better to run the black head unit ground back to grounded distribution block for the amps? It is my understanding that grounding all electrical components of a car audio system in the same place is preferable. It is also my understanding that the ground should be closest (shortest ground wire) to the most powerful component. (amplifiers)
Is that correct? and should I ground the head unit to the distro block in the trunk for the amps?

 
Rep Power: 812

ive never had a problem running direct power and ground on my alpine deck. i used 14 gauge and a 15 amp fuse. 12 gauge would work fine too. the stock wires are just too small for aftermarket decks. i put my ground wire to the radiator engine ground and no noise at all, you can put it anywhere but be sure it is a good ground. also check your battery to chassis factory grounds cause those need to be good also.

 
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Alright...
Last night I upgraded the ground and power wires. I T'd into one of my 8 gauge wires that goes back to the cap. I stripped about an inch of copper off the 12 gauge wiring and wrapped it around 1/3 inch section where I removed the plastic coating from the 8 gauge. I then soldered it on tight, giving it a silver dipped effect. Electrical tape went in all directions around the T, until I was comfortable that it wouldn't come off and ground out. I then went up and soldered the new power to the yellow memory wire.
I decided, since I had bunch of extra wire, to be on the safe side and run a 12 gauge wire to the grounding distribution block in the trunk.
Well all that may have helped, but I took out the pyramid amp and threw in another kenwood to power the deck speakers. I did the standard, run at 3000 rpms, with no load, until the engine gets to operating temperatures.
I then juiced the stereo and everything worked well. I am going on about a hundred mile test run today so we'll see how it lasts!