sub shuts off when music too loud

[pihlor]

i dunno why it does it but wen i put my headunits volume to about 20 all the bass songs shut off the sub and i got to restart the head unit to get the sub workin again

[euro_tr4sh]

what amp you using? it sounds like you running the amp to hard and its clippin or overheating and going into protection mode, try turning the gains down

[dmx]

time to change to new and more powerfull amp ;-)

[jatzhardy]

is the connection from the amp to the sub bridged?
if it is all you have to do is un bridge it simply because ur amp cant handle the load

or just buy a new amp =) prefferably a monoblock

[dc2dc2dc2]

yep
can't handle the powah
cuts out
bigger amp ftw

[teh_mechanic]

your amp cant handle the voltage that the head unit is giving it so it goes into protection mode and shuts off.

short term solution - turn the gain down on the amp so it isnt being worked so hard.
long term solution - if you want that much bass or more get a better amp

[solitz]

short term solution - turn the gain down on the amp so it isnt being worked so hard.
long term solution - if you want that much bass or more get a better amp

yes totally agree...you have set the gain too high and this is clipping and leading the amp to go into protection mode as it is overheating
so turn ur gains or if u have a bass booster down and that should solve it from cutting out

[Pumped]

Lots of the same solutions.
Not really helpful money wise

Fair chance it could be your amps earthing, its happened to me before.
Make sure your amp has a solid earth & solid power supply

An amp going into protection usually isnt caused straight away by going to a higher volume, generally from experience it will occur Intermittently and not all the time.

It could be the load but then again i think it would still happen at lower volumes.

[dupac->]

turn the gain down.
lol.
that is all.

[Mugen Civic]

yup the amp circuit protections trips off. Turning off and on the head unit resets the circuit protector.

[[ricer]]

check the grounding
i had an issue with the grounding in my old car
when the bass would come on the protection light will come on at the same time
if i turned it up louder the light would come on stronger and the amp would cut off
put a metal washer between the bolt head and the connector and bolted it back down into the chassis and it was all good

[pihlor]

well the sub is a pioneer tsw121spl
12 inch Subwoofer for Enclosure Applications
2,000 Watts Max. Power Handling
3-Layer Fibre Woven Radial Surround
Dual 4 ohm Voice Coil Windings
Silver Binding-post Terminals
DESIGN & SPECIFICATIONS
12" Subwoofer for Enclosure Applications
2,000 Watts Max. Power Handing
750 Watts Nominal Rating
Qts = 0.328
Xmax = 12.7mm
Fs = 29.9 Hz
Vas = 34.53 litres
Frequency Response: 18 – 2,000 Hz
Efficiency: 89dB
Impedance: 2 or 8 ohms
Lowest Resonant Frequency: 30Hz
Recommended Sealed Enclosure: 42.5 Litres

and the amp i got is a response monoblock 1000 rms

[EuroDude]

If its not a grounding problem, then Amp may be overheating. Try installing a fan on the amp or relocate the amp so it can get decent air ventilation and cool down properly

It also could mean that the Amp simply cannot handle the power output.
i.e. My "700w" sony Amp kept on shutting off and dimming the headlights. I replaced it with a lower wattage Audison and it has never shut off or dimmed excessively, and sounds much better.

[Vinnie]

that amp should be capable of running that sub fine (or any sub for that matter) as long as the gains are set properly and it isnt faulty...

[EuroDude]

Yeah the Sub and Amp seem to be matched up ok.

Perhaps the wiring is incorrect and the ohms are too much for the Amp.

[Dane]

I got an Alpine head unit that was shutting itself off today too. It isn't hooked up to any amps or anything just cranked the volume up to about 20 and the H/U just turned off and then back on at about number 4 volume???????????????????????

[ABANG]

with your gears, you should be able to play them very loud without having them cutting off throughout all volume. It seems like you have signal clipping problem. Check your amp gain, and try to set your gain at minimum, and see if the problem goes away. If it did go away, slightly increase your gain to suit your taste.

hope this helps and let us know how you go.

cheers


well the sub is a pioneer tsw121spl
12 inch Subwoofer for Enclosure Applications
2,000 Watts Max. Power Handling
3-Layer Fibre Woven Radial Surround
Dual 4 ohm Voice Coil Windings
Silver Binding-post Terminals
DESIGN & SPECIFICATIONS
12" Subwoofer for Enclosure Applications
2,000 Watts Max. Power Handing
750 Watts Nominal Rating
Qts = 0.328
Xmax = 12.7mm
Fs = 29.9 Hz
Vas = 34.53 litres
Frequency Response: 18 – 2,000 Hz
Efficiency: 89dB
Impedance: 2 or 8 ohms
Lowest Resonant Frequency: 30Hz
Recommended Sealed Enclosure: 42.5 Litres

and the amp i got is a response monoblock 1000 rms

[EuroDude]

pihlor how did you wire the DVC sub? Parallel or Serial configuration?

Did you calculate the ohms when wiring the sub up?

[cutchorama]

Is your car battery getting old? Has your battery ever been flat? You might need a capacitor to allow a steady flow of current to your amp. This could be the case if the battery cannot disperse enough power instantaneously when the amp draws it. Remember, the thinner your wires and the longer they run, the worse it is.

If you want to test it, try putting a capacitor with the amp.

Does it happen when you engine is off?

[Vinnie]

capacitors = pretty much useless, especially when used to try and cover up other weaknesses in the cars electrical system they will only exacerbate the problem.

[cutchorama]

Alot of high performance sound systems need capacitors. They recommend 1 farad per 1000 watts. If it is the power loss from the battery you can either:

upgrade your battery to a gold top
run shorter/ thicker gauge through to your amps
mount a battery in your boot with an isolator
large capacitor to allow smooth power supply

[EuroDude]

Yeah the battery runs the whole car including the engine ignition so the current can vary. For high powered audio systems, you need a Cap to smooth out the current and to provide peak wattage when the battery cannot supply enough juice. A Capacitor is basically a temporary battery.

[rahul]

I have seen a few "high performance" systems and none of them have capacitors. Most ppl agree that capacitors are useless in many situations.

More for the bling factor than anything. Espically in this case, he's only running an avg pionner sub with a response amp.

As you said, upgrade batter if necessary
run thicker gauge wirel 4ga is fine, 0ga is overkill

def upgrade earths with a earth kit even DIY is fine.
find a proper earth and sand it down to the metal.
and have good ventililation.

if all else fails, its probably a faulty amp

[Vinnie]

Alot of high performance sound systems need capacitors. They recommend 1 farad per 1000 watts. If it is the power loss from the battery you can either:

upgrade your battery to a gold top
run shorter/ thicker gauge through to your amps
mount a battery in your boot with an isolator
large capacitor to allow smooth power supply

a good deep cycle battery and upgraded wiring/earths will be far more useful than capacitors. you do not need 1 farad per 1000 wrms, that rule is only if you actually decide to run caps. where did u get that info from?

[cutchorama]

I have a couple of caps at home. Instructions state 1microfarad pet 1wrms. But you don't really need capacitors until dealing with bridged amps/ battery size constrictions. Is your battery more or less than 400CCA? A capacitor will definitely help here if the problem is power not getting to your amps when the bass notes hit. The louder the bass note, the more power your amp needs. If it can't get enough power it will go to protection. Mind you, if you did not ground your amp well, the circuit can only go as fast as the slowest point. Make sure your ground wire is less than 3 feet and touch your actual car chassis.

[pihlor]

the battery is a new heavy duty one my dad got me with the wiring i of the sub i did it the way the man at jay car told me to do which was to connect both ends of the sub the positive together and negitive togeter at both ends and then running that thru to the amp if that makes sense any ways i took it back to jaycar and the bloke fixed it up ! it was the gain lol and yeh do i actually need a capacitor or not? cos i am gonna buy another amp for the speakers next week

[EuroDude]

Do the headlights dim when you play loud music? If yes, you may need to upgrade the battery.


First thing to do is tune the gain.

Turn the engine on
Turn the Head Unit volume to 80% (you want a 20% reserve for quiet songs)
Play some music from CD/MP3
Access the Amp and turn the Gain up until its the loudest you want it to be, or until the sound starts clipping or gets distorted.
Then turn it down a notch.

Now if the Amp still cuts out after that, you need to turn the gain down more. If the gain is too low for you, look into upgrading/relocating/fixing the Amp/wiring. The Amp could simply be overheating, try laying the Amp in a well ventilated area and open the windows, and give it a test.