Amp goes into protect mode with heavy bass at medium to high volume

[poolman966554]

On top of the other things suggested , i say your starting battery may be weak. I drove my 97' civic for 12 years and never had a problem handling 700W. that said, try a buddies sub just to rule it out.

 

[wew lad 5,000+ posts]

The amp reads about 12.45 volts when music is playing normally, and when it goes into protect it barely drops to about 12.41.

Where are you measuring this? It needs to be at the amp inputs, literally the screws that tighten down the cable.

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

I bet thats your problem right there. You don't have a good enough electrical system to supply the amp. Whats the voltage at the amp when it goes into protect? You only have 30-40a to supply the amp, if it needs more current your voltage will drop.

This sounds like the issue as well. The higher volume on the HU, the more amps are being pulled from alt, supplying power to amp, and thus cannot supply any more at high volume because it's too weak/not strong enough therefore amp goes into protect.

Has the big 3 been done yet?

 

[zavvier]

Where are you measuring this? It needs to be at the amp inputs, literally the screws that tighten down the cable.

I am measuring at the power and ground terminals.

I tried the sub from my 4runner, ran into the same issue.

Has the big 3 been done yet?

What are the big 3?

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

I am measuring at the power and ground terminals.
I tried the sub from my 4runner, ran into the same issue.

What are the big 3?

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=big+3+car+audio+upgrade

 

[zavvier]

So the big three improves current flow, which is most likely the problem, even though the voltage drop was negligible. Am I measuring voltage at the right place, or should I be measuring it at the subwoofer terminals or somewhere else?

 

[zavvier]

On top of the other things suggested , i say your starting battery may be weak. I drove my 97' civic for 12 years and never had a problem handling 700W. that said, try a buddies sub just to rule it out.

Do you think I could connect jumper cables from another car to the battery to boost the power and confirm whether or not the battery is the problem?

 

[zavvier]

On top of the other things suggested , i say your starting battery may be weak. I drove my 97' civic for 12 years and never had a problem handling 700W. that said, try a buddies sub just to rule it out.

Do you think I could connect jumper cables from another car to the battery to boost the power and confirm whether or not the battery is the problem?

Or would it be better to try a newer, larger battery from another car?

 

[honkyg 10+ year member]

i can tell you with high certainty that the most likely culprit to this issue is the fact you used an angle grinder and not a wire brush or stripping wheel to remove paint, thus gouging of the contact surface between lug terminal and chassis ground reducing surface contact,... that's all i can think of using the process of elimination other than the amp being shot.

 

[zavvier]

i can tell you with high certainty that the most likely culprit to this issue is the fact you used an angle grinder and not a wire brush or stripping wheel to remove paint, thus gouging of the contact surface between lug terminal and chassis ground reducing surface contact,... that's all i can think of using the process of elimination other than the amp being shot.

It did it immediately after first powering up the system, so I doubt the amp is shot. The angle grinded part is pretty smooth, but I drilled through the ring terminal to make the hole bigger to fit around the seat belt bolt, effectively reducing its contact patch with the chassis. Is this most likely the problem? Should I get another ring terminal and find another place for the bolt where I don't have to drill a bigger hole through it?

 

[THATpurpleKUSH 5,000+ posts]

I would definitely move it, seat belt bolts aren't good grounding locations.

 

[tymoto21 10+ year member]

if you are measuring 12.4v when the amp protects i dont think its not a power issue. you will be able to measure low voltage at the amp terminals and it probably wont protect until 10.6v

what about running just one channel?

try switching if it still happens

i have a jbl amp that if i connect a speaker to the left rear channel the amp has no sound. disconnect it and sound from the other channels

 

[THATpurpleKUSH 5,000+ posts]

An insufficient ground can cause issues regardless of the voltage. It's best to not overlook it in order to rule it out as the cause of the problem.

 

[zavvier]

Do you think the reduced contact patch due to the drilled hole could have anything to do with it?

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

Drilled hole, no. However, if the remaining contact area was grinded away with the grinder around the area of the hole will have an affect to it.