[Problem] Subwoofer keeps cutting out

[-[NoS]-]

just got my new sound system items installed

-Pioneer 12" subwoofer
-JBL gto75.4 amp

problem is that when i turn the volume up to a certain point... (About 20)
the woofer just cuts out

its very annoying

does anyone know why this is happening?

im thinking its the car battery or is it the amp or is it the cables used?
does the position of the amp matter?
its currently mounted on the back seat and the sub is in front of it when its folded up.

http://img357.imageshack.us/img357/430/dsc005984fv6.jpg

i dunno

anyone???

[destrukshn]

how old is the amp?
check if it the protection light comes on the amp.
you might be asking too much of the amp, and then it will cut itself off to protect the amp.

[m3ntAL_l2]

^^^ yea 2nd that check the amp see if its right power for the sub, might b over heating from underpowering

[destrukshn]

how thick is your power cables?
looks quite thin.

[ICACHA]

either...

poor ground
trigger is iffy
fuse & or fuse holder is rooted
amp going into thermal shut down
amp not able to run at low resistance i.e the way the sub is wired

check them and get back to us :)

[-[NoS]-]

the amp is brand new

here are the specs of it
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/2299/dsc00600aco9.jpg

ive got the TS-W306C sub

and from what i can see the amp should run it fine
or am i wrong???

what type of cable should i b using for the sub???

amm... help much does JB hifi charge for an sub amp and cableing install???

[[ricer]]

i think its grounding

[destrukshn]

yes could be ground, and the other things that icacha said.

[-[NoS]-]

bridge

what do u mean by grounding???
where the sub or amp is sitting??

[destrukshn]

where the negative is bolted to the chassis, make sure it's got a clean connection to the body.

[euro69]

check the grounding of the amp...
or it could be that the amp isnt powerful enough.......

[Slow96GSR]

Could be amp protection like thermal, clipping, or ohms. Also could be bad wiring. Have it checked. I would think that if it was grounding the power, the fuse would have blown.

[ICACHA]

if it was a loose ground the fuse would pop, but if it was a poor ground, but not loose the amount of current flow would be, shall we say, slim shady which would limit the amp from working properly.

but hey, we've been doing this for countless years, whats to say that a spring chicken cant come along and do exactly what we do? i think we'd all agree, its called COMMON SENSE :p

[EuroDude]

How is the Sub wired to the amp?
Using two bridged channels?
In Parallel or Serial?
Is the Sub Single or Dual Voice Coil (how many wires did you attach)?


Maybe you are running the sub with 1 ohms, which will overheat the amp and cause it to shut off. The Amp is only capable of 2ohms or more.

[destrukshn]

i don't think that jbl can handle a stable 1 ohm.
that sub is a svc, brigded into 2 channels.

[-[NoS]-]

i just checked and the protection light did come on when it cut out

[destrukshn]

check your grounds.
but your probably asking too much of your amp, turn you gain down and your bass boost down.

[-[NoS]-]

hope the pics help
http://image-cache.ozhonda.com/gallery/data/500/DSC00605a.jpghttp://image-cache.ozhonda.com/gallery/data/500/DSC00604a.jpghttp://image-cache.ozhonda.com/gallery/data/500/DSC00603a.jpg



http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/8008/dsc00603gk5.th.jpg (http://img88.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00603gk5.jpg)http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/6955/dsc00604nb3.th.jpg (http://img88.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00604nb3.jpg)http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/9554/dsc00605ki4.th.jpg (http://img530.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00605ki4.jpg)

[destrukshn]

can't see it.
lol, unless you host it on the ozhonda website.

[-[NoS]-]

hope that fix the pics

[destrukshn]

nah man, i can't see it when your using imageshack, use the ozhonda server, in the gallery section, then link it in here.
lol.

[EuroDude]

He's got the SVC sub bridged on the outer speaker connectors, where it says "bridged", so thats ok. But why is there black electrical tape on the Positive cable going into the Sub?

Make sure you get the Pos and Neg Sub cable correct. If thats ok, then I think the Amp may simply be too underpowered and overheating.

What is the ohms rating of the Subwoofer? 4 ohms?

[destrukshn]

sub is 4 ohms.
rms of 400 and peak of 1000
i'm pretty sure it is.

is it a 4 channel amp?

[EuroDude]

Yes its four channels, the other two look like they are powering 6x9's or something.

The Amp's power cables are quite thick, 8 or 4 gauge I think, so that looks fine.

-[NoS]-, try modifying the bass cut off on the Amp so the sub only outputs very low bass. That should provide cleaner bass hits and possibly ease the Amp up a bit.

[destrukshn]

turn bass boost down and the gain on the bass.

[DC5TYPER]

LoL.

He is using a Boss amp kit. Your wiring is correct and your 4ga wiring is the correct size. The JBL GTO754 is CEA rated amp and makes a minimum 284WRMS Bridged at 4 ohm. In most cases the Boss Fuse in your engine bay is crap. Get a new fuse (Couple Buckz!) get 60Amp Aerpro minimum then go from there. If problems still happens then your overdriving your amp either with amp settings or your headunit or both. Make sure your not using LOUD on the headunit cos it overdrives amps and gives out a strong but shit signal.

Hope this helps

[euro69]

i had the same problem with my alpine amp....
sub was 4 ohms and when i bridged them it became 2 ohms.... which result in using more power in the amp and cause the sub to cut out when i cranked it....

[tron07]

bridging and ohm is 2 different issue....

Your amp could be bridge at 4 ohm, bridge at 2 ohm 1 ohm or even whatever funny combination you can think off...

The ohm depends on your speaker and how you wire it.

[teaseR]

i think the sub is 4 ohms dual voice...
however who ever hookd it up wired it to an 8 ohm... causing power cut
take out ur sub out of its box and check if its wired as 4 or even 2 ohms

[-[NoS]-]

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/304/dsc006111fp7.jpg

u mean this thing???

do i get a new one from like strathfield or JB hifi?

[Noob questions] whats ohms???

[destrukshn]

just the thing inside of it.

[Rasputin]

Unless the inner fuse is coming loose over bumps etc, that couldn't be the issue. I wouldn't be looking there first. But if you do, just make sure that it's in there nice and tight. ("The thing inside of it")

I agree with ICACHA, go through his list.

But my money is on your ground. i.e. the black 'negative' wire, the opposite of your power wire.

Seeing as it only happens on bass hits (big power) it sounds like it IS grounded, however it's insufficient. The contact between the grounding wire to the car body isn't enough.
Did you sand the paint back from the grounding point?
Could the bolt have come loose, and it isn't held down tightly?
Is it grounded to a piece of metal with enough area for dissipation?

Take a pic if you're unsure.


I would go over where the ground cable screws into the amp, as well. Make sure that it isn't loose, and that enough wire is actually pushed into that terminal for it to actually transfer current properly. For the same reason as you need a good connection between the wire and car body. It's no good having a bridge if one half doesn't connect to the cliff at the other side...or does until someone too heavy walks on it. :thumbsup:


Edit: Also, one pair of speakers is still being run off the head unit, right? Do these keep playing when the rest shut off?

[destrukshn]

actually yes it can.
a fuse that is semi blown, as in, blown, but still has a light connection.

[destrukshn]

take a pic of the adjustment screws, where your bass boost is.

also take a pic of your switches where you rcas are.

closer pics so we can see your settings.

[-[NoS]-]

yep...the rear speakers are still running off the head unit... i only hear sounds from that onces the amp shuts down... ill take some pics tomorrow

[DC5TYPER]

Most cases where this happends is due to either these 3-
In order that I have witnessed and fixed

-Crappy lil Battery
-Fuse and Fuse Holder (Has happend a few times with Boss Fuse System)
-Ground Cable

Try borrowing a new Fuse and try it then. Do a process of cancellation. If all is good maybe your battery isnt good enough.

What battery do you have in the car?

[ICACHA]

either...

poor ground
trigger is iffy
fuse & or fuse holder is rooted
amp going into thermal shut down
amp not able to run at low resistance i.e the way the sub is wired

check them and get back to us :)

to the original poster, HAVE YOU CHECKED OUT THIS LIST???

if not why not?

your problem should stem from one thing in this list.

if you're technically challenged, pay an independant to go through your install and find the fault, its not rocket science :)

[-[NoS]-]

century ns60s

[-[NoS]-]

pics of the ground wire
http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/4278/dsc00643vj5.th.jpg (http://img292.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00643vj5.jpg)http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/977/dsc00642ue5.th.jpg (http://img241.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00642ue5.jpg)http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/5837/dsc00649hw0.th.jpg (http://img294.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00649hw0.jpg)

"trigger is iffy"

whats the trigger?

[mrwillz]

its the lil thin wire going into ur amp which tells the amp wen to on/off

[-[NoS]-]

ahh i c

[ICACHA]

-;1014331']pics of the ground wire
http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/4278/dsc00643vj5.th.jpg (http://img292.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00643vj5.jpg)http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/977/dsc00642ue5.th.jpg (http://img241.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00642ue5.jpg)http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/5837/dsc00649hw0.th.jpg (http://img294.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00649hw0.jpg)


You do realise that only one hole is needed for ground, that is providing you have a ring terminal on it hahahahahahahahahaha ghetto install mate :thumbsup:

[destrukshn]

who the fock installed that?!!!
lol
ahhahahaha
plus you can use existing bolts.
lol.

[DC5TYPER]

One sometimes isnt good enough and one can get loose. This style is 'it has to farken work'!

[destrukshn]

One sometimes isnt good enough and one can get loose. This style is 'it has to farken work'!
yes, but isn't it so much easier, if you get a terminal.
lol.

[EuroDude]

bwahaha NoS what have u done to that earth :p

The easiest and professional way is to solder the earth cable to a ring connector (or whatever u call them) and secure it under an existing bolt in the chassis, like this:

http://www.tcar.co.uk/Moding/MGBoot/Step22.JPG

[aka_NSX]

i cant believe it ppl do that such of installation :eek:

[aka_NSX]

The easiest and professional way is to solder the earth cable to a ring connector (or whatever u call them) and secure it under an existing bolt in the chassis, like this:

http://www.tcar.co.uk/Moding/MGBoot/Step22.JPG

most of professional installer dont do the earth (grounding point) like the one on ur pic, GOOD installer always go direct to the bare metal of ur car thats why u need to scrap all the paint to get a VERY GOOD earth point

[EuroDude]

^ True, although the bolt threads and hole threads are bare metal, and you would wanna scrape away the surface/oxidization on the ring connector.

So it should be fine for most low-mid powered Amps.

[civic racer]

Wot size cabling are you running from the battery to the amp and wot size earthing to do you have from the amp to the body of the car.

[civic racer]

ok i only read the first page. now i know get a screw driver and get rid of all those screws you need to sand away all the paint around all those holes dont be shy make sure its bare metal, add a ring terminal use 1 or 2 screws and fill the rest up with silicone or something so they dont rust out.

[-[NoS]-]

we can now close this thread

turns out the amps got issues and is over heating

thanks for the help ppl
u reallly did help

cheers

[DC5TYPER]

yes, but isn't it so much easier, if you get a terminal.
lol.

It has a ring terminal. You cannot see it from all the screws. The red cover on the 4ga Ground wire also covers the ring terminal. Also this was a job done at home, not full payed installation.

[destrukshn]

okay, but still wouldn't have to use so many screws.
he didn't even have to drill it in there.
it could of just used a exishing bolt like a seat belt bolt, or a the bolts that keeo the upper side seats up.