Amplifier Trouble Shooting Issues

[hoit]

OP

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.

the good stuff aint cheap, the cheap stuff aint good.

do lots of research, and google, then do more. read a lot, ask a little.

for the most part, everyone here has similar interests, and want the best for themselves, as well as you, but.........in all honesty, taking the time to research, and save up for quality equipment....you will be much happier in the long run, and...

will hopefully remove yourself from being the punch line of jokes around here. just my opinion.

[Syphlyn]

Yeah I read the OP and thought it was a troll thread but now I realize it's serious.

I bet with all the money you've spent you could have gotten a decent single 10/12/15 and a good amp to push it with PLUS build/design a box for yourself (or get one made). Probably have less issues, and spent the same amount or less. Do some research (it's actually very interesting) and get a first good quality build going! I researched for months before I did my very own first build. Turned out almost perfect, I made a few minor mistakes but everything worked out and it sounds amazing AND I did it all by myself...best feeling in the world when I show people and tell them it was all me (Joe X did help with my box design though).

When you've got all these issues and resort to blaming a distribution block you really should seek the help of a local professional.

I have a feeling this is going to become a story that the local guy tells all his friends.

[Dominique Jacob Redlin]

I appreciate you guys for what your trying to tell me.

The only thing that I can see what I have done wrong is the fact that I have cheap subs and that I haven't put in my 4 gauge wires yet.

I completely agree that cheap equipment will hurt in the long run. In the future I seriously would love to get the spendy stuff and have a better system. The way that my subs sound right now- im content with. I seriously doubt that I will have a fire though. When something goes wrong the first thing to go is your fuses. Two 75 amp fuses and a 100 amp inline fuse block should prevent that for the most part. I'm not overloading my amps and my subs because of how they're tuned. As I've stated before my friend and I tuned the amp so that it didn't surpass 75% we did this because both sets subs are brand new and I wouldn't want to push full power yet. The block was bad, which prevented good power to go to my amps and my cap which cut sound. Simple as that, after the block was replaced the problem was solved. What more can I say? I will seriously consider upgrading amps and eventually my subs but money prevents that at the moment.

[SIDE SHOW]

so now you can turn the deck all the way up and your subs don't cut out? (if not you don't have your amp setup correctly) do a search on setting gains

[BigMike916]

Recently I put in a brand new system. I had my two 15 inch earthquake Tremor X154 just running off of a 2000 watt pyramid america amp. I bought two 10 inch boss subs and started to put in a double amplifier set-up with a 8.0 farad power cap, with distribution blocks and all that. I ran into a number of problems. The first thing that I ran into is lack of power. I checked my power cable and ended up just completely re-wiring with a new 8 gauge wire. That fixed one problem, but still no lights or sound. I pulled my stereo out and double checked my remote and everything was solid there. I checked my ground wire which I mounted behind a panel screwed in with an existing screw. I finally had lights and sound, the bass was great. But it was short lived. I decided to get 4 gauge power and ground wire just to be on the safe side, but I haven't put them in yet. I had power, lights, and everything the only thing is- now my subs cut in and out randomly. I had my bass know turned all the way down, i turn my stereo up and my subs come on very silently. I slowly turn my bass knob up and they get louder and then right underneath about halfway on the bass knob the subs sound like they cut out and they make horrible scratching sounds, kind of. Is it possible to have bad RCA's? I'm stumped here.

I am concerned that you grounded your ground wire with an "existing screw". Please make sure to use a BOLT that you can tighten up to at least 15-25 ft lb. Not a screw. Be sure that ALL your ground connections are TIGHT. At the car battery(no corrosion), at the amps, and at your grounds. It is best to go directly to the frame if you can, clean the paint off in that spot, and BOLT it to 15-25 foot pounds (or as tight as you can get it by a hand ratchet and socket OR a wrench) and try not to use anything smaller than a 5/16 (3/8 is better) size BOLT. Keep the ground cables as short as you can and PLEASE BIGGER POWER AND GROUND CABLE. 1/0 would be good with the power you are claiming. Start with the simple first. Tight and clean power and ground connections.

[BigMike916]

I appreciate you guys for what your trying to tell me.

The only thing that I can see what I have done wrong is the fact that I have cheap subs and that I haven't put in my 4 gauge wires yet.

I completely agree that cheap equipment will hurt in the long run. In the future I seriously would love to get the spendy stuff and have a better system. The way that my subs sound right now- im content with. I seriously doubt that I will have a fire though. When something goes wrong the first thing to go is your fuses. Two 75 amp fuses and a 100 amp inline fuse block should prevent that for the most part. I'm not overloading my amps and my subs because of how they're tuned. As I've stated before my friend and I tuned the amp so that it didn't surpass 75% we did this because both sets subs are brand new and I wouldn't want to push full power yet. The block was bad, which prevented good power to go to my amps and my cap which cut sound. Simple as that, after the block was replaced the problem was solved. What more can I say? I will seriously consider upgrading amps and eventually my subs but money prevents that at the moment.

You should never have to turn your gains up past 50% (my rule of thumb) and definately not to 75%.

[BigMike916]

Just because an online retailer sells a crappy product as well as good products doesn't mean the crappy product is any less crappy. It's "good for the money" meaning you get what you pay for, and you gotta pay good to play good. i guarantee you dont have any of your amplifier settings even close to correct since you stated none of it is over 75% (thank you google/yahoo answers), and even if you were to have someone do it all properly for you, those amps are so cheap and inefficient that i'll be surprised if you're getting even half of what they claim to put out.

What size fuses do you have running to these amplifiers? Do you have bare metal grounds? (Deaning the shiny silver stuff, not painted or oxidized/corroded.) I say your issues stem from a lack of quality grounds, starting off. Then it would be your incorrect amplifier settings. Then the $80 amplifiers that are supposed to put out thousands of watts.

Can you post a pic of where your ground is?

At the moment I can't take a picture and post, but I can in the future. I drilled a hole into the frame of my emergency roadside kit holder and bolted down my 8 gauge amplifier and it solved that issue. I believe that my issue lies in my RCA's with an interference or the wire itself is bad.

You can be the judge of whether or not it's a good deal or a bad deal- http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_88882_Autotek-Mean-Machine-M4000.1D-Factory-Refurbished.html The only thing is I got a brand new model and not a refurbished model. They recently discontinued the amplifier like a day ago which concerns me. I have two 75 amp fuses inside the 4000 watt amp and then a 100 amp fuse in my inline fuse block.

Make sure the rca's are not ran along with the power along the same side of the car side by side. separate them. rca's down driver side and power down passenger side or vice versa. a quick way to check is try another set from your deck directly to the amp over the seats and into the trunk, completely bypassing the other ones.

[Syphlyn]

I appreciate you guys for what your trying to tell me.

The only thing that I can see what I have done wrong is the fact that I have cheap subs and that I haven't put in my 4 gauge wires yet.

I completely agree that cheap equipment will hurt in the long run. In the future I seriously would love to get the spendy stuff and have a better system. The way that my subs sound right now- im content with. I seriously doubt that I will have a fire though. When something goes wrong the first thing to go is your fuses. Two 75 amp fuses and a 100 amp inline fuse block should prevent that for the most part. I'm not overloading my amps and my subs because of how they're tuned. As I've stated before my friend and I tuned the amp so that it didn't surpass 75% we did this because both sets subs are brand new and I wouldn't want to push full power yet. The block was bad, which prevented good power to go to my amps and my cap which cut sound. Simple as that, after the block was replaced the problem was solved. What more can I say? I will seriously consider upgrading amps and eventually my subs but money prevents that at the moment.

That is NOT how you set your amps. You will clip your amplifiers and subwoofers to complete shit. Depending on your vehicle and it's charging system if you're clipping you could just as easily fry your alternator and your battery.

[Dominique Jacob Redlin]

I re-grounded, drilled in a hole with a good sized bolt so that definitely cleaned up any of those problems. Since I haven't had the time to take a real good look on the amplifier settings since we re-tuned them- I'm not precisely sure what everythings set at. I already have my 4 ga wire and its ready to go, but it's pretty terrible outside and I don't have a garage or a shop to work in

[Syphlyn]

I appreciate you guys for what your trying to tell me.

The only thing that I can see what I have done wrong is the fact that I have cheap subs and that I haven't put in my 4 gauge wires yet.

I completely agree that cheap equipment will hurt in the long run. In the future I seriously would love to get the spendy stuff and have a better system. The way that my subs sound right now- im content with. I seriously doubt that I will have a fire though. When something goes wrong the first thing to go is your fuses. Two 75 amp fuses and a 100 amp inline fuse block should prevent that for the most part. I'm not overloading my amps and my subs because of how they're tuned. As I've stated before my friend and I tuned the amp so that it didn't surpass 75% we did this because both sets subs are brand new and I wouldn't want to push full power yet. The block was bad, which prevented good power to go to my amps and my cap which cut sound. Simple as that, after the block was replaced the problem was solved. What more can I say? I will seriously consider upgrading amps and eventually my subs but money prevents that at the moment.

You should never have to turn your gains up past 50% (my rule of thumb) and definately not to 75%.

That is false also. The amount your gain is turned up is determined by your headunits preout voltage. My HU has 2v preouts so my gain is set higher to compensate for the low voltage.