Sub & Amp Problems!
11-10-2002, 09:55 PM
#1
Sub & Amp Problems!
Ok, well my newly upgraded system is no longer functioning properly!
Everything was working great until Friday, when I noticed my sub dropping out...Here's the deal:
I recently replaced my old amp that had died with a Rockford Fosgate 500.2 amp. The amp works great, although it overheats alot. Like after about an hour of music enjoyment. I have the amp and cap mounted on the back of the rear seats and have tried these few things to resolve the overheating problem; I tried leaving the seat down while driving, seems to help but still knocks out. I also tried turning the gain on the amp way down and bridged both channels (I had it on just the right channel before). No Dice! Only thing left is to replace the new 8 gauge wire with 4 gauge wire. I have 4 gauge from the battery to a distribution block where both my amps are tapped into then I have 8 gauge running to both amps (well to be technical about it, I have the 8 gauge running to the cap and then to the amp and all the grounds are made at the same spot) I am only wondering if this will resolve the problem because I don't want to replace the wire if it won't fix the problem.
Well I had kind of gotten used to the short outage of bass while driving because my interiors stay on and the sub normally comes back after a few minutes. But recently the problems got worse...
My sub amp is just powering my 1 10" Kicker Solobaric L7 (2 ohm), I had this with my old amp and it was great but now I think it's dead. I noticed yesterday that my sub wasn't as loud I would adjust the bass higher hear it and then it would fade out. At first I thought it was my RF amp but this happened again this morning when I first turned my car on. The amp's light was on but no sound what so ever from the sub. I took apart the sub to see if there were any loose connections, nothing! I tried connecting a 6.5" in place of my sub, and I didn't think this would happen, all I wanted to do was check for sound out of it, the speaker did make some sound but also started to smoke. I assume it's just because of the high amount of power that I gave it, but it did tell me that the amp is still putting a signal through and my sub is most likely bad.
To sum things up will the 8 gauge to 4 gauge make the overheating problem disappear? Do they make a distribution block that accepts 4G to 4G (mine is 4G to 8G)? Might it be possible that the overheating killed my sub? Is the overheating normal in this location or is it possible that the amp might be defective, although like I said I get at least an hour before it shuts down and it always comes back after a few minutes? Any ideas/solutions/answers would be greatly appriciated, check out my homepage for pictures of my system
My Audio Page
Everything was working great until Friday, when I noticed my sub dropping out...Here's the deal:
I recently replaced my old amp that had died with a Rockford Fosgate 500.2 amp. The amp works great, although it overheats alot. Like after about an hour of music enjoyment. I have the amp and cap mounted on the back of the rear seats and have tried these few things to resolve the overheating problem; I tried leaving the seat down while driving, seems to help but still knocks out. I also tried turning the gain on the amp way down and bridged both channels (I had it on just the right channel before). No Dice! Only thing left is to replace the new 8 gauge wire with 4 gauge wire. I have 4 gauge from the battery to a distribution block where both my amps are tapped into then I have 8 gauge running to both amps (well to be technical about it, I have the 8 gauge running to the cap and then to the amp and all the grounds are made at the same spot) I am only wondering if this will resolve the problem because I don't want to replace the wire if it won't fix the problem.
Well I had kind of gotten used to the short outage of bass while driving because my interiors stay on and the sub normally comes back after a few minutes. But recently the problems got worse...
My sub amp is just powering my 1 10" Kicker Solobaric L7 (2 ohm), I had this with my old amp and it was great but now I think it's dead. I noticed yesterday that my sub wasn't as loud I would adjust the bass higher hear it and then it would fade out. At first I thought it was my RF amp but this happened again this morning when I first turned my car on. The amp's light was on but no sound what so ever from the sub. I took apart the sub to see if there were any loose connections, nothing! I tried connecting a 6.5" in place of my sub, and I didn't think this would happen, all I wanted to do was check for sound out of it, the speaker did make some sound but also started to smoke. I assume it's just because of the high amount of power that I gave it, but it did tell me that the amp is still putting a signal through and my sub is most likely bad.
To sum things up will the 8 gauge to 4 gauge make the overheating problem disappear? Do they make a distribution block that accepts 4G to 4G (mine is 4G to 8G)? Might it be possible that the overheating killed my sub? Is the overheating normal in this location or is it possible that the amp might be defective, although like I said I get at least an hour before it shuts down and it always comes back after a few minutes? Any ideas/solutions/answers would be greatly appriciated, check out my homepage for pictures of my system
My Audio Page
11-10-2002, 10:28 PM
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 121
Re: Sub & Amp Problems!
Originally posted by 2MuchMAX4U
Ok, well my newly upgraded system is no longer functioning properly!
Everything was working great until Friday, when I noticed my sub dropping out...Here's the deal:
I recently replaced my old amp that had died with a Rockford Fosgate 500.2 amp. The amp works great, although it overheats alot. Like after about an hour of music enjoyment. I have the amp and cap mounted on the back of the rear seats and have tried these few things to resolve the overheating problem; I tried leaving the seat down while driving, seems to help but still knocks out. I also tried turning the gain on the amp way down and bridged both channels (I had it on just the right channel before). No Dice! Only thing left is to replace the new 8 gauge wire with 4 gauge wire. I have 4 gauge from the battery to a distribution block where both my amps are tapped into then I have 8 gauge running to both amps (well to be technical about it, I have the 8 gauge running to the cap and then to the amp and all the grounds are made at the same spot) I am only wondering if this will resolve the problem because I don't want to replace the wire if it won't fix the problem.
Well I had kind of gotten used to the short outage of bass while driving because my interiors stay on and the sub normally comes back after a few minutes. But recently the problems got worse...
My sub amp is just powering my 1 10" Kicker Solobaric L7 (2 ohm), I had this with my old amp and it was great but now I think it's dead. I noticed yesterday that my sub wasn't as loud I would adjust the bass higher hear it and then it would fade out. At first I thought it was my RF amp but this happened again this morning when I first turned my car on. The amp's light was on but no sound what so ever from the sub. I took apart the sub to see if there were any loose connections, nothing! I tried connecting a 6.5" in place of my sub, and I didn't think this would happen, all I wanted to do was check for sound out of it, the speaker did make some sound but also started to smoke. I assume it's just because of the high amount of power that I gave it, but it did tell me that the amp is still putting a signal through and my sub is most likely bad.
To sum things up will the 8 gauge to 4 gauge make the overheating problem disappear? Do they make a distribution block that accepts 4G to 4G (mine is 4G to 8G)? Might it be possible that the overheating killed my sub? Is the overheating normal in this location or is it possible that the amp might be defective, although like I said I get at least an hour before it shuts down and it always comes back after a few minutes? Any ideas/solutions/answers would be greatly appriciated, check out my homepage for pictures of my system
My Audio Page
Ok, well my newly upgraded system is no longer functioning properly!
Everything was working great until Friday, when I noticed my sub dropping out...Here's the deal:
I recently replaced my old amp that had died with a Rockford Fosgate 500.2 amp. The amp works great, although it overheats alot. Like after about an hour of music enjoyment. I have the amp and cap mounted on the back of the rear seats and have tried these few things to resolve the overheating problem; I tried leaving the seat down while driving, seems to help but still knocks out. I also tried turning the gain on the amp way down and bridged both channels (I had it on just the right channel before). No Dice! Only thing left is to replace the new 8 gauge wire with 4 gauge wire. I have 4 gauge from the battery to a distribution block where both my amps are tapped into then I have 8 gauge running to both amps (well to be technical about it, I have the 8 gauge running to the cap and then to the amp and all the grounds are made at the same spot) I am only wondering if this will resolve the problem because I don't want to replace the wire if it won't fix the problem.
Well I had kind of gotten used to the short outage of bass while driving because my interiors stay on and the sub normally comes back after a few minutes. But recently the problems got worse...
My sub amp is just powering my 1 10" Kicker Solobaric L7 (2 ohm), I had this with my old amp and it was great but now I think it's dead. I noticed yesterday that my sub wasn't as loud I would adjust the bass higher hear it and then it would fade out. At first I thought it was my RF amp but this happened again this morning when I first turned my car on. The amp's light was on but no sound what so ever from the sub. I took apart the sub to see if there were any loose connections, nothing! I tried connecting a 6.5" in place of my sub, and I didn't think this would happen, all I wanted to do was check for sound out of it, the speaker did make some sound but also started to smoke. I assume it's just because of the high amount of power that I gave it, but it did tell me that the amp is still putting a signal through and my sub is most likely bad.
To sum things up will the 8 gauge to 4 gauge make the overheating problem disappear? Do they make a distribution block that accepts 4G to 4G (mine is 4G to 8G)? Might it be possible that the overheating killed my sub? Is the overheating normal in this location or is it possible that the amp might be defective, although like I said I get at least an hour before it shuts down and it always comes back after a few minutes? Any ideas/solutions/answers would be greatly appriciated, check out my homepage for pictures of my system
My Audio Page
Brett
Almost forgot. I doubt switching to 4 gauge will help that much.
11-10-2002, 10:53 PM
#3
Re: Re: Sub & Amp Problems!
Originally posted by bahmax
First, a question. Is your sub a dual 2 ohm or dual 4 ohm? From your post it sounds like it is a dual 4 ohm wired in parallel. If so, I would not put a 2 ohm load to your amp with both channels bridged. The amp is probably not able to handle that load. Try running each channel to each pair of voice coil leads. This will reduce your amps strain a little (and the output a little). A second possiblity is the amps location. Is it right up against the back seat. Maybe it is overheating because it can not breathe. Move your box out a little and/or consider putting in a fan or two. Lastly double check all of your connections. Most importantly the ground for your amp at both ends. Hope this helps.
Brett
Almost forgot. I doubt switching to 4 gauge will help that much.
First, a question. Is your sub a dual 2 ohm or dual 4 ohm? From your post it sounds like it is a dual 4 ohm wired in parallel. If so, I would not put a 2 ohm load to your amp with both channels bridged. The amp is probably not able to handle that load. Try running each channel to each pair of voice coil leads. This will reduce your amps strain a little (and the output a little). A second possiblity is the amps location. Is it right up against the back seat. Maybe it is overheating because it can not breathe. Move your box out a little and/or consider putting in a fan or two. Lastly double check all of your connections. Most importantly the ground for your amp at both ends. Hope this helps.
Brett
Almost forgot. I doubt switching to 4 gauge will help that much.
Robert
11-10-2002, 10:57 PM
#4
if you had a pair of 2 ohm coils wired in parallel, then you were running the amp at a 1 ohm load.. no wonder the things is going up in smoke!
wire the thing in series, or wire each coil to a separate channel on the amp. should solve your problems - IF you haven't ruined the amp and sub yet.
If you need help with the wiring, I highly suggest having a chat with a local installer to help you get everything correct.
wire the thing in series, or wire each coil to a separate channel on the amp. should solve your problems - IF you haven't ruined the amp and sub yet.
If you need help with the wiring, I highly suggest having a chat with a local installer to help you get everything correct.
11-11-2002, 07:10 AM
#5
Originally posted by Matt93SE
if you had a pair of 2 ohm coils wired in parallel, then you were running the amp at a 1 ohm load.. no wonder the things is going up in smoke!
wire the thing in series, or wire each coil to a separate channel on the amp. should solve your problems - IF you haven't ruined the amp and sub yet.
If you need help with the wiring, I highly suggest having a chat with a local installer to help you get everything correct.
if you had a pair of 2 ohm coils wired in parallel, then you were running the amp at a 1 ohm load.. no wonder the things is going up in smoke!
wire the thing in series, or wire each coil to a separate channel on the amp. should solve your problems - IF you haven't ruined the amp and sub yet.
If you need help with the wiring, I highly suggest having a chat with a local installer to help you get everything correct.
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