Xeeeeeem

This has been bugging me alot lately. The sub cuts out out of nowhere. (the sub is almost new, month old) Sometimes when its loud, sometimes when its semiloud. The amps run off a distribution block and the speakers keep working while the sub doesnt. EVen if i shut the system off or restart my car, it still doens't turn back on.

I've ruled out these possibilities:
Its not the amp, (it stays lit) Unless the system protect is on (shouldn't it reset after restarting?)
Its not the wiring of the sub (2ohm stable)
All wires are wired in in the sub, no loose wires
No loose wires in the amp

Possibilities of fault
Faulty sub (its new tho, and works just fine when working)
Wiring in the deck

My sub sometimes cuts out on bumpy roads (railroad tracks) but today it was a flat road.

This sures got me puzzled


Amp is an alpine 600x1 at 2 ohms, and the sub is 600rms at 2 ohms. Ported box

LayinLo

Sorry man, seen this happen way to often. Could be a couple of things faulty install or faulty/cheap equipment.

It's possibe that the amp is just overheating, is the amp extreemly hot to the touch. If it is try hooking up another amp. Also, check for pinched or cut lines.

Xeeeeeem

Ruled out the sub. Hooked up another one when the bass is not working.

I took a sharp turn and the sub turned back on. Cranked it up and 1 minute late it cut out again. Then it turned back on again later and did the same thing, one minute later.

The amp is not overheating, i touched it and its not hot.


The equipment is top of the line for the most part. Alpine amp, alpine deck, good remote wires and good kit.

Anyone else??

okiaristo

the thing that i would say is a bad wire placement (shorting out) but that should reset as soon as you cycle the amp on and off. is the amp running more than the subs? if it is a dedicated sub amp, i think you might have a shorting problem in your amp that is touchy. try to get a buddy's amp and use it for a while. i would swap with them and see if it does it for them or if theirs does the same in yours. also when it does shut down, put a meter on it and make sure all the wires are doing the things they are supposed to. good luck

Xeeeeeem

Thanks, i have an audiobahn laying around which i will try. If the wiring is at fault here....where would be a good place to look?

When you say when the amp shuts down, using a meter, make sure the wires are doing the things their supposed to. What do you mean by this?

THanks

Xeeeeeem

With those familiar with the Alpine Amp brand, (When the sub isn't working) my blue light flickers. I put a meter to it, it read 1/2 volts. So there is power going to the amp.

I have a 8 guage 4 way distribution block. There is a 4 guage wire going to the sub amp. I split the 4 gauge power wire in 2 and pluged them into the 2 left sockets. I tightened them down and viola, the sub worked. The blue light was bright and vivid again and tested out at 12 volts. I bumped for about 2 hours after which it cut out again. Dang....back to the drawing board.

After a while, the sub kicked back in again and i havent turned it more than half way up. It seems to work except...I pushed on the brakes and it cut out. Same stoplight, i pushed on the gas in went back on.

I have a flimsy board in the trunk covering the gas tank. I shook it pretty good and it kept on working.

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY IDEA!!! PLEASE!!!

Thanks

engin_ear

iTrader: (1)

look at how the sub's voice coils are wired to the amp - do you have 1 sub or 2?, how many total voice coils (any dual VC's on one sub?), then look at how they wire into the amp - is the amp in bridged mode? if not, are all the +'s and -'s wired correctly? consult the owner's manual of your amp if not sure, you can download it if you don't already have it.
if any of this is screwed up, your amp goes into protection mode because of the incorrect impedance (too low). It will always cycle in and out of it if the problem is not corrected. This will happen as soon as you require it to produce enough current, such as when you turn up the bass or volume.

Xeeeeeem

The thing is, this set up worked great for a few months before doing this. Its wired to 2 ohms, just like the amp asks, the + - are correct as well. Since its a mono amp, its wired in to red and black.

brownz

iTrader: (1)

Here are a few things to look into:

1) Faulting or near faulting fuses. check the inline under the hood. Should be close to your battery. If your distro block has fuses check those also. Sometimes a slight gap in a fuse can cause this problem.

2) Voltage issues. Your battery may be dying, or you may have an alternator problem. If you are running a powerful amp, you may not be sustaining power to the amp, so it cuts out. The immediate solution to this problem is to install a capacitor. 1 farad should work well for 600 watts. You may want to run your car and throw some tracks on with alot of bass. Use a volt meter to check the power being delivered to your amp. If you are droping below 12-13 volts, this is most likely the problem. Solutions other than a capacitor could be a new battery or a deep cycle battery.

3) If you are running off of a stock deck or you are using a hi lo convertor. Replace the hi low. You've probably shook the hell out of it/had it over heat/ or your getting general clipping and your amp is going into protect mode because the effective gain is too high.

Good luck!

okiaristo

change your turn on (remote) wire. i would bet that is giving you problems. when you hit the brakes, the volts on the circuit drop and shut the amp off. try to run a new line off of a switched fuse and see if that helps. it doesnt have to be pretty because after a few days you will know if it solved the prob, then you can route your existing turn on wire to that power source.

Xeeeeeem

My distribution block runs my speaker and sub amp, and my speaker amp works always.

Voltage is good, theres a meter in my radar detector which is hardwired in to the cig lighter. The Amp is almost new. I also have a 2 farad cap.

Its an alpine deck.

Thanks for the input. The gain is cranked all the way up so i may turn it down a little bit but i dont think that will solve the problem. The sub is not clipping, it doesnt sound distorted.

I'm about 80% sure its the amp. If anyone is familiar with Alpine amps, what its doing is the blue light is dim and its flashing brighter and dimmer about 4 times a second (when the sub doesnt work) When it does, it lit bright blue. This leads me to believe there is a loose contact in there.

Sometimes when i give it a good wack or shake it when it sits on the back panel, itll go back on. Then i'll take a right turn and itll turn off, once i take a left within seconds, it powers back on.


Thanks

engin_ear

iTrader: (1)

Well, only turn left.

(Doctor, Doctor, it hurts when I go like this...)

Xeeeeeem

AHhh...it was the ground. Morons at Ultimate put the "Ground" screw so when i took it off, i could see the asphalt thru the trunk. Resulting in serious rust. From all the salt kicked up from the rear right tire resulting in rust eating away 1 mm of metal. So far so good, problem solved

Thanks for the input everyone