well i cant help you much with the problem, but i can tell you that if your battery is putting out over 14 volts you amp will shut off to keep from blowing up....
test the alternator and the battery...those are my suggestions...
That's what I was thinking. Something is overloading the electrical system. I'm no expert, but I have a scanguage and mine always reads around 12v iirc. When I flip my roof lights on I see it go to like 14v or so. I have never seen 18v...