Amp Turns On But Subs Don't Play? All Brand New?

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DirtyBird1

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I have new 5th Gen Type R's in a ported box and a Sundown 1200d mono block amp. I have the subs wired to 1 ohm, and just installed everything (brand new) Amp turns on but when I turn the gain up, the subs don't play or anything. I've switched the RCA's around, still nothing. I have most of the tuning dials turned up about a quarter just to make sure nothing zero'd is stopping them from playing. What could this be? Again, all brand new stuff, amp turns on, everything is plugged in correctly, but the subs don't play?

 
This might be a silly question, but, are you playing something connected to the head unit via bluetooth? I've had that happen to me recently and bluetooth was set for front speakers only.

 
Wow, good catch! Also, I would use a CD with burned test tones. That will give you the best clarity. Otherwise, you could use a flash drive loaded with 320kbps MP3 test tones. Don't bother with bluetooth or aux-in for setting your gains.

 
Yes, I am playing via bluetooth through my Kenwood. Why would it only play up front on bluetooth?

Great catch.. wow!

Yes,.. by default the Kenwoods have Bluetooth set to play Front Right and Front Left only.. Which your subs of course would never be hooked to through your Pre-outs. As was said,.. in the settings you have an option to set it to "All" I believe.. you'll find it.

However, it bears repeating that you really don't want to set your amp gains with a Bluetooth source,.. Use CD or USB for sure.

Impressive soundstreamer lol.. You nipped that in the bud real quick,.. are you the Amp Whisperer? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fro.gif.c695f1f814b01c4ad99fe7f8cccadd29.gif

 
Thanks guys!! I will burn a CD quick and get to it in the morning!

 

---------- Post added at 09:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:52 PM ----------

 

Soundstreamer, I owe you a beer //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 
I put some music on to a usb drive. My SW level on the head unit is all the way up and all my audio settings are "flat" I turned the sound up 2/3rd of the way (no distortion) I turn the gain up on the amp up and up but still nothing from the subs. I turned the gain up a little and messed with all the other amp settings a little and still nothing. I know for sure that the RCA's are plugged into the HU fine. Is there a way to use a voltmeter to test if the RCA's are sending out a signal? I have the subs wired to 1-ohms using the jumper wires Alpine included.

 
dont use the jumpers that are provided they dont last. I would try disconnect one sub and see what happens. Might be out of phase. double check sub connection at the amp and make sure you get an ohms reading from the sub box.

 
You can set your volt meter to AC and play a test tone from your head unit. With the volume about 2/3rd's up, you should be getting around 2 -3V from a 4V head unit on your RCA's. If your HU is a lower powered 2V, you might be getting as low as 1V, but you should get something. If you play music, the readings should bounce with the beat... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 
I'll check the RCA's first when I get a chance. I just don't want to end up unscrewing the subs out of the box cause getting the rubber cover on the the Alpine to line up with the predrilled holes and everything was a pain //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rage.gif.0ad8a6e5565b5fddce406566fdd05149.gif The head unit is a 4 volt preamp output. I had the rca's in my old Jeep before putting them in my GTP so they could've gotten damaged somewhere along the line //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

 
The deck is zero'd in so all speakers are playing at the same amount, I have the sw level on the deck all the way up and messed with the amp settings, nothing came on. I'm thinking it's either the RCA's or the sub wiring

 
The deck is zero'd in so all speakers are playing at the same amount, I have the sw level on the deck all the way up and messed with the amp settings, nothing came on. I'm thinking it's either the RCA's or the sub wiring
So did your RCA's give you a reading? With my 4v pre-outs, I get 3.99 volts straight from the RCA's. -- I measure by plugging the RCA's into the Amp, and measuring the voltage on the speaker terminal(s) with the gains at zero,.. but you can measure straight from the RCA ends themselves (but it can range anywhere from 2-4.x volts on a 4v pre-out).

If your RCA's are giving you a proper voltage reading with a test tone going then you should be getting something out of the amp and speakers.

Measure the speaker terminals going to Sub(s) with RCA's in and gain set at appropriate levels.. if that level is good.. then it's definitely between the speaker wire and sub(s) itself/themselves.

Which brings me back to the first check,.. have you had a chance to check the voltage from RCA's going to sub(s) ?

 
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DirtyBird1

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