funnyent Posted October 31, 2013 Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 Hey everyone- I have a 250 watt DD audio sub in my Mercedes C class and it usually works great. It's connected with an elf audio amp (Local stereo shop makes these amps here in Georgia) to my Pioneer double din and the amp is hooked up directly to the battery by 4 gauge wire. Usually it works great and is loud, but recently it only plays and about half volume and then randomly gets loud (usually when on the highway, or after running the car without the radio on for a while). Anyone know why the amp is doing this - it seems starved for power but it's only a 250 watt system so I don't think this should be the case. My battery rests at 12.6v when car is off and is showing about 13.4 when running. What could I do to fix this problem? Sorry if there's an obvious fix; I just installed this system in August and am still learning a lot about car audio. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowLowCanYouGo Posted October 31, 2013 Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 Have you checked all your ground wires? Sounds like a ground issue. Nothing for now... Did you get that scar tissue when you got your vagina installed? I'd grab Adam's ass and look him in the eyes for a demo of nates truck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funnyent Posted October 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 Have you checked all your ground wires? Sounds like a ground issue. The amp is grounded directly to the frame in the trunk; I also sanded all of the paint away. Should I add another ground to the car battery? Since it's only a 250 watt system I didn't think a big 3 upgrade is required... Mercedes already uses really heavy gauge wiring for the charging system. The thing that annoys me most with this is that I cannot replicate the problems... it just happens randomly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant_Skyrim Posted October 31, 2013 Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 I used to have a sort of similar problem. Make sure to check your RCAs as well, maybe one of your wires is being pinched. Edit: Would it make logical sense that if one of the 2 RCAs was being pinched the the volume would cut out halfway since there's a L and a R channel? Asking this to anybody btw, in my case I ended up replacing a lot of the wiring in general and the problem went away. Also now that I remember a bit more, I think my AUX cable going to my iPod was causing it. Are you using an AUX cord as well? Build in progress Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funnyent Posted October 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 I used to have a sort of similar problem. Make sure to check your RCAs as well, maybe one of your wires is being pinched. Edit: Would it make logical sense that if one of the 2 RCAs was being pinched the the volume would cut out halfway since there's a L and a R channel? Asking this to anybody btw, in my case I ended up replacing a lot of the wiring in general and the problem went away. Also now that I remember a bit more, I think my AUX cable going to my iPod was causing it. Are you using an AUX cord as well? The RCAs that came with my kit are cheap so I think I'll take them out and replace. Any suggestions on brand and where to buy new ones? I'm using an iPhone USB input on my head unit, could that input be causing it at all - not sure how the cheap iPhone cord sends the signal from the iPhone? I guess I could try playing it with CDs and see if that changes anything. I thought the problem was a voltage one, because when turing off the radio for a bit It would sometimes come back on louder, but that could all just be a coincidence. I will look into the RCAs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthsayer Posted October 31, 2013 Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 funnyent. your on the right path. I would say its a voltage issue. truthsayer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funnyent Posted October 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 funnyent. your on the right path. I would say its a voltage issue. What would you suggest doing? I had my car battery tested last week and they said it's fine. I have a 130 amp alternator and even when the bass is at its normal high level the lights never dim. The thing that really confuses me is that it happens so randomly that I can't pin down what would be changing the voltage; I just never know how hard the system is going to hit when I start playing it. Thanks so much for all of your replies everyone! You're really helping me out here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bump4life Posted October 31, 2013 Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 sounds like wiring or signal somewehre. do you have a hi/lo converter to get the signal from OEM Headunit to amp? if so it sounds like one side may be going out so you get full voltage sometimes and half voltage other times. check your RCA throughly from source to amp Buyer/Seller Feedback Thread: http://www.stevemead...5015-bump4life/ MB C220 153 Trunk Car Build Log: http://www.stevemead...d/#entry1840136 MB C280 Ipad Dash SQ Build Log: http://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/194484-bump4lifes-new-benz-tony-c-relay-kit-pictures-ce-electric-audison-front-stage-installed/ My SPL Log: http://www.stevemead...__fromsearch__1 BMW M340 xDrive Stock, for now. Corner Load 10" maybe soon. But does 10s in the 1/4... Best Scores out of a trunk 153.0 sealed legal full tilt clamped 5524 @ 42 hz 154+ windows down, 155+ kick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funnyent Posted October 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 sounds like wiring or signal somewehre. do you have a hi/lo converter to get the signal from OEM Headunit to amp? if so it sounds like one side may be going out so you get full voltage sometimes and half voltage other times. check your RCA throughly from source to amp Thanks, I think I'll just replace the RCAs with some quality ones (found some for $35 that look great) and see if that solves the problem. Hopefully it will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funnyent Posted November 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2013 Well, I got it all figured out I think! I just took a drive and it was loud, so I pulled off and unplugged the left amp RCA and volume went down a little, I put it back and then unplugged the right and volume went down. Then after driving some more the volume on the sub went down as usual, so I stopped and unplugged the left RCA - volume was cut to the sub. I unplugged the right and put just the left in and it was quiet. Either the RCA terminal on the amp is bad, or it's the cheap cables... and I'm assuming it's the cables. Has this happened to anyone else? I'm going to order some new ones from eBay that are of much higher quality and then should be good to go! Not sure why there are doing this but I am happy that it seems to be something this simple and not a voltage problem. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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