View Full Version : EW or any auto sound expert help
Richie064
07-24-2006, 08:36 PM
EW i brought my honda accord over to you awhile back lol but anyways i brought it over for a problem with the feedback and you fixed it thanks but now i think it's my alternator not giving out enough voltage or my amp is going dead i dont know, but here is my problem:
after about 5 minutes of bass (not to hard) and im at a stop light it will hit pretty hard but as i take off it starts cutting out and i have to lower everything just to get my subs to start hitting. But then if i stop at a light and i turn everything back up to normal it hits hard then again as i go it will stop the bass. im lost. I had my battery tested and my alternator tested when the car is running and the guy said everything was fine i changed out my fuses to see if that would help and it still drops the thumping. I also checked the wired that are grounded and there good and everything into the amp is secured tight. What is it?
Tiny Tim
07-24-2006, 11:23 PM
Have you checked the wiring all the way from the head unit to the amp?
evil jose
07-25-2006, 12:29 AM
Just curious but when you had the battery and alternator tested did you have the system cranked? If not you didn't have the problem diagnosed properly. Just my $.02. Otherwise I'm with Tiny Tim, check wiring. Maybe a ground or something is loose.
Richie064
07-25-2006, 01:57 AM
Nope havent checked the wiring all the way from headunit to amp, and for testing it under fully load it was when i had gotten an oil change i didnt know if they would like a system blasting right next to where the waiting area is so i didnt bother.. but the battery is brand new i just bought one like a month ago. I feel like its my alternator im sure yall might be right but its hard to test i think because like i said when im just at a stand still while my cars running everything is working pretty much properly but once i go then the bass just cuts out and kind of comes on and off until i stop again :| fkn honda..
Your alternator will perform better when you are driving vs. being stopped at a light, so it doesn't sound like that is the issue. Honestly sounds like something is loose. Check from hu to amp, as mentioned. Also check all of the wiring going from your amp, into your box, and to your subs. If one of your subs is getting a bad connection and comes loose, you are not only missing the bass from that sub, but you also raise the impedence, and therefore get a lot less power from the amp.
Sounds like a loose power or ground connection. It could be any number of things. Does it do the same thing if you sit still and rev the engine?
Richie064
07-25-2006, 02:36 PM
ahh ok so its not the alternator, alright ill check all the wiring again maybe i overlooked one or a couple. And trying to rev it yeah i have tried that and it still plays let me go check the wiring and ill get back to this.
dont know who installed your system, but one thing that is common with less inclined shops is the routing of power wires. through firewall and under/around brake pedals and/or gas pedals. The motion of braking or gasing tends to move power wire and if a loose connection in the engine bay will cycle amp. check fuse in engine bay also. ANL is the worst, because you have to periodically check tightness of bolts. ANL's tend to back off some. Good to check every few weeks or so, or a little loc tite does wonders. You usually can tell by a little burnt area around set screw that holds ANL. Glass fuses arent as bad, but good to check. Check the impedence of your subs, if you have a coil that is starting to short, the amp will cycle, but usually amp goes into protection. A good place to start is to see if your amp is going into protection, or is it actually shutting off?? Also check your amp turn on wire, take a voltage reading, make sure you are getting good voltage, possible head unit is cycling the turn on lead also. Hope some of this helps...Always best to have a reliable shop check into it, especially if loose wiring. Have some really nice pics here in the shop of cars that burned to the ground over faulty wiring. Good luck on the troubleshooting
Richie064
07-25-2006, 05:29 PM
Ok well i did another test drive and right as i turned off my street it kept cycling through the bass bass no bass bass no bass every second i checked the wiring and it seems tight ill check under the gas/brake pedal i didnt think about that. And when i rev it in nuetral(SP?) at a stop it does go out when i hit high rpms. In drive i cant get my rpm past 2200 so thats for EW. And for checking the readings of the voltage lvl i guess ill have to take it to a car shop because i dont have a reader for it :|. Autosounds installed my system so i know its done properly. Do you think it could be this new battery that i bought?? its 600 cold cranking amps 750 cranking amps at 32 deg. Faren. 110 reserved capacity.
Tiny Tim
07-25-2006, 11:26 PM
Best thing would be to grab a friend and have him step on the gas in neutral and look at the amp. As dman said check to see if the amp shuts off or goes into protection mode. Check the gain on the amp. You might have it too high. Doesn't sound like the battery because it if was I would think you would have more issues than your sub.
Richie064
07-26-2006, 03:57 AM
Ok ill try that now Umm i dont know what happens when the amp goes into a protection stage what should i be looking for if this happens and if it does what do i do?
Tiny Tim
07-26-2006, 07:33 AM
Ok ill try that now Umm i dont know what happens when the amp goes into a protection stage what should i be looking for if this happens and if it does what do i do?
most amps have a light.
the good thing about this site, is there are some friendly people here who take the time to reply to posts and try to help out. Everyone out there i wanna say thanks, in case no one has in the past. As far as the problems. its really hard to diagnose over the internet. everything hit on above were good starting points. If you are close to the n. dallas area carrollton area bring it buy and we can check it out, if not close, then try to stop by a shop somewhere for them to check it out. Will save you hours of misery and a headache. good luck
dennis
thunder audio
972-418-6100
I have not had the nuts come loose on an ANL fuse holder. The Stinger models have lock washers which may help. We mostly use maxi fuses for 3 main reasons:
1. The solder melts out of the end of AGU fuses so it may look good but will not pass current.
2. Most of the AGU fuse holders tend to melt, distort, etc when placed under the hood.
3. Where is a customer going to find an AGU fuse at midnight on a saturday night?
I have not had the nuts come loose on an ANL fuse holder. The Stinger models have lock washers which may help. We mostly use maxi fuses for 3 main reasons:
1. The solder melts out of the end of AGU fuses so it may look good but will not pass current.
2. Most of the AGU fuse holders tend to melt, distort, etc when placed under the hood.
3. Where is a customer going to find an AGU fuse at midnight on a saturday night?
So do the Hooker Audio, and the Street Wire models we use. And still see it. Its common knowledge to check this because it does happen. Our preference on upper system is breaker anyway
wheres a customer gonna find a maxi at midnight?? LOL.. Our customers can get one at midnight. But will cost em for getting me out of bed!!LOL
I like the circuit breakers. What's the biggest they make? I've seen 150 and 200 amp, but I need something bigger.
Richie064
07-26-2006, 02:46 PM
yeah i do thank yall for taking the time and trying to help with all your advice, i like to atleast try and see if its just something so simple, before i go waste a tech's 5 mins and figure out it was a wire or the amp etc. and then get charged the hour :P
NeedleSharp
07-26-2006, 02:46 PM
if everything worked fine before the batterey... it could be sum faulty cells?? check ALL the fuses b/c maybe your power wire coulda grounded out while they were switching... (blown too many fuses by the power grounding out on the frame :o )
a freind cam by yesterday and his sub kept doing sumwhat of the same thing you were saying but it was more spontanious and less respondent to the RPMs and what not as it is in yours... he had 2 subs hooked up in parralel in a bandpass box and one of the subs coils blew and caused one to short out causing the amps protect to turn on very rapidly on hard hits... the power looked like it was dimming on the amp... check it out... i disconnected the bad sub and everything worked fine!
another good idea is if there IS any lighting diferential when your subs cut out, try disconnecting the speakers from the amp and see if the protect or w/e still comes on. if it does then try disconnecting the RCA inputs going into the amp. that should rule out if its the speaker or the RCA in.
NeedleSharp
07-26-2006, 02:47 PM
lol if u wanna cum down to carrollton i'll do that shit for free at my houst haha
Tiny Tim
07-26-2006, 02:48 PM
I like the circuit breakers. What's the biggest they make? I've seen 150 and 200 amp, but I need something bigger.
yeah me too. are you running a single power wire for all of your amps?
Tiny Tim
07-26-2006, 02:49 PM
lol if u wanna cum down to carrollton i'll do that shit for free at my houst haha
gross
NeedleSharp
07-26-2006, 02:51 PM
gross
LOL!! wow... didnt even read over that
momo stallion
07-26-2006, 02:53 PM
gross
x2. that shit is gross.
when you feel the need to have gay relations with board members, please use PMs.
Richie064
07-26-2006, 02:54 PM
ahhaa i live in fort worth but ill go do a quick test drive and let it start its problem then get my buddy to rev while i check the light and see if one of the gains is turned up and fuses again just to make sure everything is good.
NeedleSharp
07-26-2006, 03:07 PM
x2. that shit is gross.
when you feel the need to have gay relations with board members, please use PMs.
i keep forgettin that but you didnt mind a few weeks ago now did u? :eek: dont be shy...
So do the Hooker Audio, and the Street Wire models we use. And still see it. Its common knowledge to check this because it does happen. Our preference on upper system is breaker anyway
wheres a customer gonna find a maxi at midnight?? LOL.. Our customers can get one at midnight. But will cost em for getting me out of bed!!LOL
Since maxi fuses are commonly used in cars fuseboxes, they are easy to get at autozone, O'reily's, and probably the grocery store too. You won't find a AGU or ANL there.
Tiny Tim
07-26-2006, 03:29 PM
Since maxi fuses are commonly used in cars fuseboxes, they are easy to get at autozone, O'reily's, and probably the grocery store too. You won't find a AGU or ANL there.
and wal-mart.
yeah me too. are you running a single power wire for all of your amps?
Yep. 1/0, 250a ANL fuse at the batt, to the (maxi fused) distro block with four 4ga outs, three of which go to my big amps, and one that goes through another distro block (maxis again) with two 8ga outs, one for a smaller amp, and the other to my power inverter. Basically the same setup for my ground (except not fused) and grounded to frame. I had a breaker on my last couple of systems, and loved the ability to hit the button, open the circuit, and disable everything whenever I wanted.
I don't see a need at this point to run two power wires, although it may be a good idea if I go through with my (insert mad scientist voice here) evil upgrade plans. :eek:
Are you running two?
Since maxi fuses are commonly used in cars fuseboxes, they are easy to get at autozone, O'reily's, and probably the grocery store too. You won't find a AGU or ANL there.
Ok EW, Im not gonna sit here and argue a point with you or anyone else on a damn Maxi fuse. seems to me you may be confused with a atc. lol..I was located next door to a autozone, and i sold MORE maxi fuses and agu's in 3 years than i have in 10 yrs at that location. Try going into your local Autozone, or Grocery store and buying a maxi fuse 60 amps on up, lol.....They dont have em!!
Ok EW, Im not gonna sit here and argue a point with you or anyone else on a damn Maxi fuse. seems to me you may be confused with a atc. lol..I was located next door to a autozone, and i sold MORE maxi fuses and agu's in 3 years than i have in 10 yrs at that location. Try going into your local Autozone, or Grocery store and buying a maxi fuse 60 amps on up, lol.....They dont have em!!
Walmart has them up to 100 amp.
Ok EW, Im not gonna sit here and argue a point with you or anyone else on a damn Maxi fuse. seems to me you may be confused with a atc. lol..I was located next door to a autozone, and i sold MORE maxi fuses and agu's in 3 years than i have in 10 yrs at that location. Try going into your local Autozone, or Grocery store and buying a maxi fuse 60 amps on up, lol.....They dont have em!!
Most people don't have a maxi fuse larger than 60A on their system anyway and I am not confused as to Maxi and ATC. As jluv said, hit up walmart 24 hrs for up to 100A maxi. It does not matter. I'm just saying the shop I work at chooses maxi for a few reasons and one is that the customer can get a new fuse easily if they need one. For more than 100A, we have breakers and ANL.
Richie064
07-26-2006, 05:45 PM
okook enough fighting with each other :P, Ok so i checked my gains and the left gain was 75% and so was the right gain for the subs but when i was checking them my stereo was on and when i looked the left sub was hitting pretty damn hard while my right sub was barely moving but it was still you know hitting to the bass and all my settings are set up evenly well. I looked inside the sub to see if anything was messed up and all the wires etc. looked good. anyways i turned down my gain to about 25% both sides and it seems to be working good did a couple of test runs + the neutral and it didnt seem to go out.
okook enough fighting with each other :P, Ok so i checked my gains and the left gain was 75% and so was the right gain for the subs but when i was checking them my stereo was on and when i looked the left sub was hitting pretty damn hard while my right sub was barely moving but it was still you know hitting to the bass and all my settings are set up evenly well. I looked inside the sub to see if anything was messed up and all the wires etc. looked good. anyways i turned down my gain to about 25% both sides and it seems to be working good did a couple of test runs + the neutral and it didnt seem to go out.
The issue is your sub, then. Sounds like the voice coil is shorting out, and when that happens, you're not only losing output from that sub, but you are probably having impedence rise, which on most amps, means less power, even to that one that is working fine. Also, sometimes when one sub stops working, it can still move with the other one(s), especially if they are not sealed off from each other in the box.
Richie064
07-26-2006, 06:49 PM
only one word for this... SHIT!
only one word for this... SHIT!
What kind of sub? Look at this as an excuse to upgrade!
Richie064
07-26-2006, 07:18 PM
hahaha well im in a money bind atm too. But they are audiobahn AW1251T. amp = rockford fosgate punch 800a4
Richie064
07-26-2006, 07:32 PM
2X 12” NATURAL SOUND WOOFER
45 oz. Strontium Magnet
Power Handling: 400 watts RMS
Frequency Response: 24Hz - 1kHz
Efficiency: 92.1 dB
PHAT Foam Surround
Non-Pressed, Non-Transfer Paper Cone
KM3’ Coated for Virtually No Cone Distortion
2” 4-Layer ASV Voice Coil
Dual 4 Ohm
2 or 8 Ohm Operation
Mounting Dimensions: Depth; 5 1/4”
Hole; 10 7/8” Diameter; 12 1/2”
MULT-CONNECT Lug Lock Terminals
and the amp
4-channel Power Amplifier
RMS Power (4 ohms)
100W x 4
RMS Power (2 ohms)
200W x 4
RMS Power Bridged/Mono
400W x 2
Stable Into (stereo/mono)
2 ohms / 4 ohms
Distortion Max (4 ohms)
0.05%
Frequency Response (+/- 0.5dB)
20Hz - 20kHz
Signal-to-Noise (A-weighted)
>100dB
Input Sensitivity (low level)
250mV - 4V
Bridgeable
Yes
Punch Bass
0dB to +18dB @ 45Hz
(rear channel only)
Crossover Frequency
50Hz to 210Hz (HP-FULL-LP)
Crossover Slope
24dB Butterworth
Height
2.60 in (6.60 cm)
Width
9.60 in (24.38 cm)
Length
14.70 in (37.33 cm)
NeedleSharp
07-26-2006, 09:45 PM
didnt i say it was a blown voice coil 4 effin hours ago!! shit yall... its cuz im a noob isnt it :(
lol it really isnt that big of a deal... i can pick up those audiobahns for 60 bucks i think... and about the one sub moving that IS a good point but most likely the sub is still moving but barely b.c the coils gone... try disconnecting the damn bad sub (like a fricken said!!!) and crank that ho up... if it works and doesnt cut then hit me up and i'll get that sub for yea.
NeedleSharp
07-26-2006, 09:48 PM
Most people don't have a maxi fuse larger than 60A on their system anyway and I am not confused as to Maxi and ATC. As jluv said, hit up walmart 24 hrs for up to 100A maxi. It does not matter. I'm just saying the shop I work at chooses maxi for a few reasons and one is that the customer can get a new fuse easily if they need one. For more than 100A, we have breakers and ANL.
walmart's audio department is only open till 9 PM buddy :p (the audio manager leaves at 9 and he is the only one with the key for the cases) lol i about shit my pants when i found out but i drove to 2 diff locations and its the painfull truth!!
walmart's audio department is only open till 9 PM buddy :p (the audio manager leaves at 9 and he is the only one with the key for the cases) lol i about shit my pants when i found out but i drove to 2 diff locations and its the painfull truth!!
Walmart has an "audio" department?
I'd be really surprised if you can't get maxi fuses any time at Walmart. It's not like a high dollar item that gets locked up.
NeedleSharp
07-26-2006, 10:13 PM
yea on the audio manager part that was my bad tho, its the car department manager that has the key and that leaves...
i can only speak for the one off old denton and the one off hebron but yes they are sold in a case as well as car RCA cables and amp kits... and yes they DO have an audio department where they keep all thier bad ass stuff like sony explodes and DUAL products (very high end) and many others :cool: ! Lol!
Richie064
07-26-2006, 10:13 PM
didnt i say it was a blown voice coil 4 effin hours ago!! shit yall... its cuz im a noob isnt it :(
lol it really isnt that big of a deal... i can pick up those audiobahns for 60 bucks i think... and about the one sub moving that IS a good point but most likely the sub is still moving but barely b.c the coils gone... try disconnecting the damn bad sub (like a fricken said!!!) and crank that ho up... if it works and doesnt cut then hit me up and i'll get that sub for yea.
haha ill c how its goes with the one sub then :p
DECHman
07-28-2006, 03:39 PM
Also always remember to upgrade the ground wire to the body at the battery on any big Honda amp install, or most other cars for that matter because they have a thin wire to the body that your amp will have to "share" with most other electrical accessory in the car....
Don't hassel EW his advice if free and backed by years in the industry.
NeedleSharp
07-28-2006, 07:23 PM
Also always remember to upgrade the ground wire to the body at the battery on any big Honda amp install, or most other cars for that matter because they have a thin wire to the body that your amp will have to "share" with most other electrical accessory in the car....
Don't hassel EW his advice if free and backed by years in the industry.
VERY good point... That is Definately a very good chance of the problem... if u cant get to the cable and/or dont wanna mess with it jus to find out sumtin, you can just run a cable straight from the battery to the amp (this would of course be only to test this theory)
cant believe i didnt think of that! :o lol
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