(solved)for unknown reason orion sub putting amp into protect mode.

[justin0943]

which power acoustik gothic series do you have some of them not 1ohm that could be the problem but it sounds like something loose

[Terry Lee]

which power acoustik gothic series do you have some of them not 1ohm that could be the problem but it sounds like something loose

i currently have a tma T1000.1 hooked up to the sub, which is 1 ohm stable, the power acoustik is my other amp, it is not 1 ohm stable, which is why i've asked , when i do get this working, would hooking my sub up as a 4ohm instead of 1 ohm make it sound any better. ive unhooked my entire amp and rehooked it up during all this. nothing is loose. did you watch the video i posted? ill copy the link onto my first post of this thread, theres starting to be alot.

[775Tundra]

4 ohms will draw less power from the amp. Sounds better? Depends on the rest of your setup.

[justin0943]

then idk in the video it seems a loose wire some where

[bbeljefe]

After watching the video, I'm wondering if the problem is either:

a) Your timing is coincidental to the amp going into protection mode. In other words, you wait for the amp to come out of protection and then by the time you get the woofer half way into the cabinet, it goes into protection mode again.... then you wait till it comes out of protection and then by the time you get the woofer half way back into the cabinet... protection again. If that's the case, you're likely not chasing a woofer problem so much as a gain problem.

The terminal cup or whatever wire entry method used in that box has a wiring problem. If it's a terminal cup or a set of bolts, it could be that a wire is bare or stripped too long and when you put the sub into the cabinet, one of the speaker wires flexes over onto the other and causes a short. If its a knot tied in the wire on each side it could be a similar problem with the speaker wire.

But regardless.... I would advise you against running that woofer at high power in free air (outside the box). If you didn't have a woofer problem before, you will develop one by doing that because the voice coil ir reaching mechanical max and bottoming out on the back of the motor. It sounded like an air chisel running with no load on it in the video. ← Another ill advised but irrelevant practice.

Also, I'd make sure that the bass control on the head unit is flat. Also make sure no loudness or bass enhancement features are on. Then turn the bass boost on the amp off. Set the gain to ten percent, the crossover to ~80 and the infrasonic filter to ~25. And I'd leave those settings there unless or until you either learn how to properly set the gains or you can have someone who knows do it for you... for the sake of protecting your gear.

To check the speaker wiring, you can set your DMM to continuity (it will have the symbol of a sound wave & or a diode). Disconnect the speaker wires from the amp and the woofer and connect one end of them to the meter's probes. Make sure they other ends do not touch one another or anything else. Wrap the other end around the probes, have someone hold them to thee probes or use alligator clips because you'll need free hands to test them. Now, with the woofer out of the cabinet, go along the speaker wire with your hands, pushing, pulling and moving it side to side. Flex it to and fro and the entire time you're doing this, you should never see or hear anything happening on the meter. If you ever hear a beep or see a reading on the meter, you've got a shorted speaker wire. If not, the speaker wires are good.

If the speaker wires are good and if your other wiring tests have all been proven positive, then you've got a problem with the woofer or the amp(s). Honestly, knowing that you've free aired the woofer at full power and knowing that you've used the system with everything that could be maxed out maxed out, I wouldn't be surprised if any one or all of the components are damaged. But let's hope not.

If the speaker wires check out okay, put the woofer back in the box with the settings I advised above and make sure the speaker plays. We're not worried about how hard it hits right now, we only need to see it working inside the cabinet. Once you get to that point and since you now own a DMM... we'll teach you how to set your gains to get the most out of your woofer and amp. But just remember, once you get to that point, if the bass isn't enough to make you happy, turning up the bass boost and gains will only get you short term pleasure and long term pain.... because you'll have to buy new shit and the old shit won't be worth a plug nickel on Craigslist. ;-)

[Terry Lee]

After watching the video, I'm wondering if the problem is either:

a) Your timing is coincidental to the amp going into protection mode. In other words, you wait for the amp to come out of protection and then by the time you get the woofer half way into the cabinet, it goes into protection mode again.... then you wait till it comes out of protection and then by the time you get the woofer half way back into the cabinet... protection again. If that's the case, you're likely not chasing a woofer problem so much as a gain problem.

The terminal cup or whatever wire entry method used in that box has a wiring problem. If it's a terminal cup or a set of bolts, it could be that a wire is bare or stripped too long and when you put the sub into the cabinet, one of the speaker wires flexes over onto the other and causes a short. If its a knot tied in the wire on each side it could be a similar problem with the speaker wire.

But regardless.... I would advise you against running that woofer at high power in free air (outside the box). If you didn't have a woofer problem before, you will develop one by doing that because the voice coil ir reaching mechanical max and bottoming out on the back of the motor. It sounded like an air chisel running with no load on it in the video. ← Another ill advised but irrelevant practice.

Also, I'd make sure that the bass control on the head unit is flat. Also make sure no loudness or bass enhancement features are on. Then turn the bass boost on the amp off. Set the gain to ten percent, the crossover to ~80 and the infrasonic filter to ~25. And I'd leave those settings there unless or until you either learn how to properly set the gains or you can have someone who knows do it for you... for the sake of protecting your gear.

To check the speaker wiring, you can set your DMM to continuity (it will have the symbol of a sound wave & or a diode). Disconnect the speaker wires from the amp and the woofer and connect one end of them to the meter's probes. Make sure they other ends do not touch one another or anything else. Wrap the other end around the probes, have someone hold them to thee probes or use alligator clips because you'll need free hands to test them. Now, with the woofer out of the cabinet, go along the speaker wire with your hands, pushing, pulling and moving it side to side. Flex it to and fro and the entire time you're doing this, you should never see or hear anything happening on the meter. If you ever hear a beep or see a reading on the meter, you've got a shorted speaker wire. If not, the speaker wires are good.

If the speaker wires are good and if your other wiring tests have all been proven positive, then you've got a problem with the woofer or the amp(s). Honestly, knowing that you've free aired the woofer at full power and knowing that you've used the system with everything that could be maxed out maxed out, I wouldn't be surprised if any one or all of the components are damaged. But let's hope not.

If the speaker wires check out okay, put the woofer back in the box with the settings I advised above and make sure the speaker plays. We're not worried about how hard it hits right now, we only need to see it working inside the cabinet. Once you get to that point and since you now own a DMM... we'll teach you how to set your gains to get the most out of your woofer and amp. But just remember, once you get to that point, if the bass isn't enough to make you happy, turning up the bass boost and gains will only get you short term pleasure and long term pain.... because you'll have to buy new shit and the old shit won't be worth a plug nickel on Craigslist. ;-)

alot of great advice, and ill be trying it out today,

i do want to add that my amp does not have an infrasonic filter, only gain, x-over and bass boost, also im curious but the other guy said something like most people dont sett the xover past 30 or 60hz i cant remember, and if i put it at 80pct that will be about 230hz. i wiring issue is something ive thought might be the problem also, the wire going into the box actually looks like a ghetto job, it looks like theres only a whole bunch of clear caulk gobbed up all at the entrance and a little bit into the box holding the wire still and making it air tight.

anwyas in a little bit here after i get some coffee in me im going to be doing stuff, so ill post updates.

[775Tundra]

We mean 80hz on the xover not 80 percent

[bbeljefe]

Is this your amp? If so, it does have an infrasonic filter, it's just labeled "subsonic". If so, set its dial at about 11 o'clock and set the crossover at about 10 o'clock and if not, it would be tremendously helpful if you could give me the exact model or post a link to same. And as Tundra said, we mean 80hz for the crossover not 80%. Eighty percent would have you crossed over at about 150-160hz. It's very important to pay attention to those details when setting up a system. ;-)

As far as the speaker wiring goes, there are a number of schools of thought on the way yours is done vs. terminal cups vs. bolts. In the end, what you have is not necessarily bad, so long as it's sealed up well and the knot isn't too tight. One benefit of that method is that it eliminates four possible points of bad connection but the drawback is that the knot can cause a short if the wire's jacket is thin and the knot is too tight. It can also act like an inductance, robbing power from the circuit but that's another discussion...

[Terry Lee]

Is this your amp? If so, it does have an infrasonic filter, it's just labeled "subsonic". If so, set its dial at about 11 o'clock and set the crossover at about 10 o'clock and if not, it would be tremendously helpful if you could give me the exact model or post a link to same. And as Tundra said, we mean 80hz for the crossover not 80%. Eighty percent would have you crossed over at about 150-160hz. It's very important to pay attention to those details when setting up a system. ;-)

As far as the speaker wiring goes, there are a number of schools of thought on the way yours is done vs. terminal cups vs. bolts. In the end, what you have is not necessarily bad, so long as it's sealed up well and the knot isn't too tight. One benefit of that method is that it eliminates four possible points of bad connection but the drawback is that the knot can cause a short if the wire's jacket is thin and the knot is too tight. It can also act like an inductance, robbing power from the circuit but that's another discussion...

thats the right model of my amp, but it does not look like that. here i posted a video, easiest to upload and share from my phone, it also shows how the speaker wire goes into the box. i did pick up resistance doing the test with the wires, so there must be a short in my speaker cable. i have pretty thick speaker cable in that, so im curious where can i get other speaker wire at that type of thickness? or is that not necessary? all the speaker wire i have sitting around is more for car speakers, and im not sure if walmart would carry it, i know best buy does, but im not sure if i need such a thick gauge of speaker wire. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SYG7pFc1YY

[Terry Lee]

since im going to redo all my speaker wiring out of the box, and obviously i have to recaulk it, should i hook it up to my other amp? as a 4ohmor should i keep it hooked up at 1 ohm on this tma amp? since the sub is 1500 watt rms and this amp is only 1000 watt max, im thinking 4ohm on my other amp would be better, plus sound quality is supposed to improve, i dont know if it matters but i have all aftermarket speakers installed in my car as well, so any advice on this would help. thanks alot.

what gauge wire do i normally want running from my amp to my sub anyways?

(my other amp )

http://i.seimg.net/images/254916/big/ovn21800.jpg