any way to measure amperage being pulled?

[scoob8000 10+ year member]

I pulled the wires apart more and let the clamp close and im getting a much clear signal now..
Depressing news..

14.4 and if i rev the engine i get 14.5 //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

So that means im really only getting 460w ???????

It sounds way stronger than 460w...

Do you think its accurate?

Also what can i do to get closer to my 1000w i have a HIFONICS 1606d amp and i know it does WAY better than this..

32.5/14.4

also 2.23 ohm my sub shows as wired?

its wired in series at 1 ohm the sub naturally is 2 ohm.

Its 2.2 ohm, 14.5 amps im reading at 32.5 v
Before i do this: I want to make sure i wont blow this sub..

Its a Phoenix Gold RSDC rated for 600w RMS

Everyone has told me it takes 1000w daily.. Now are they saying 1000w by just reading the ACV or 1000 true watts.. I dont want to blow this sub.

Your clamp is showing you 460 watts, my calculations from your readings say 480 watts (assuming amp is 100% efficient). Sounds pretty close taking impedance rise into consideration..

Try a 60hz tone. Some (especially cheaper, no offense) clamp meters only look for 60hz. Aside from that I'd say it's safe to say you're putting 460-470 watts to the sub.

To answer the original question with a 60 amp fuse, assuming 14 volts at the amp and 80% efficiency you can push about 670 watts.

 

[microhaxo 10+ year member]

The amp has two 70a fuses but a 60a is on the 4 ga wire..

also i turned up the gain and its not getting any better

41.5 ACV gives me 18 amps which means my resistance is rising 2.3 ohm and that means im only getting 500 some..

At this rate i will have to max out the amp to reach 1000w when the amp has been shown to do 1600 rms truely.

That makes NO SENSE at all..

 

[groundpound4200 5,000+ posts]

This is why competitors wire their subs to

 

[microhaxo 10+ year member]

well this sucks,

I got it running 55.6ACV around 19.9 amps and thats about 780w.. Severe SEVERE light dimming.

And it makes no sense, before i was running 460w and i had bad light dimming as well..

I had my alternator checked (works fine) had my battery checked.. Starts my car every day regardless of temperature (works good)

Did the big 3

14.4v going to the amp

Good grounds..

Idk wtf is goin on but ive just about had it with all these issues.

 

[microhaxo 10+ year member]

Update:

Well i have it set at 55.6v on the amp and if i were going by the standard gain setter im pulling 3000w ..... If i go by what my 13.99 ac clamp meter says i am actually pulling ~780w...

I dont know if i should trust this thing at all...

I played 1 TI song and it was hitting so hard that i was afraid i was going to blow the sub.. I played it for about 2 min and opened the trunk and i didnt smell any glue burning or anything. Im just worried about the excursion.

Like i think i might blow the sub if i play :

Young jeezy White girl

Gorilla zoe hood *****

Young jeezy put on

Im afraid to try it..

Is there any way to DOUBLE check that my clamp meter is working properly?

 

[scoob8000 10+ year member]

Find an old extension cord, run a razor blade down the center to slit the two wires apart. (Careful not to nick thru the insulation). Plug it in and plug a 60 watt lamp in the end of the cord. Clamp the meter around one side of the extension cord.

60 watt bulb, 110AC, you should see about half an amp.

 

[microhaxo 10+ year member]

I have a 75w bulb. Plugged her in and without using the PEAK button it shows 0.66 when i use the peak button it shows 0.59

So im guessing its pretty Accurate..

So that being said..

I am powering my 600w RMS sub 780w rms using the clamp meter and some equations..

I know this will sound ridiculus but it almost sounds like the sub might break (im in the car driving) cant see it at full tilt or the neighbors will kill me... Anyway it sounds like i am backing into some bodies or something on the bass hits. Like Paul Bunyans axe hit my car..

Even so at 780w rms the sub wouldnt normally blow right, given that the factory rms for it is 600w and people round here say she can take 1000 daily...

I just love my RSDC and i dont want to do something STUPID and blow it.

And up until now i have just done the GAIN equation to set my subs

DMM and take acvolts square it and divide by ohms and i always thought it was accurate.

after listening to several songs i have decided to just hook it up exactly the way it was before..

at 780w it sounds bad imo. The bass hits and it sounds extremely loud and over strong. Doesnt even sound like music anymore.

So back to 460w for me.

 

[tommyk90 5,000+ posts]

Set it to wherever you feel comfortable having it.

Don't get caught up in the numbers.

 

[microhaxo 10+ year member]

yea i guess. I just dont understand it..

even at the 600w rms recommended by phoenix gold the sub still sounds like its being pushed past what its supposed to do.

also the **** surround was dimpling, i know that the equations dont lie but it seems like PG base their ratings on the simple ACV^2 / ohm rule because it looks like this sub wasnt meant to be played at that at all if you factor in amperage..

 

[microhaxo 10+ year member]

Just re tuned my sub and oddly enough it puts out more AMPS today..

at 40 ACV i get 18 amps, all i did was turn up my LPF a tiny bit and set gains with a dmm and for fun i wanted to check how many amps i was getting. It says 18 amps when before it read 19 amps at 60 ac v.

 

[scoob8000 10+ year member]

Just re tuned my sub and oddly enough it puts out more AMPS today..
at 40 ACV i get 18 amps, all i did was turn up my LPF a tiny bit and set gains with a dmm and for fun i wanted to check how many amps i was getting. It says 18 amps when before it read 19 amps at 60 ac v.

Just adjust it by ear using the DMM as a baseline.

If you like what you hear, then leave it! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

I picked up one of those universal bass knobs for the truck. Turn the knob up the whole way, set the amp up to your RMS levels then as your driving/listening use the knob to adjust to a comfortable level. When you want to show off, just turn up the knob. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[lostdaytomorrow 10+ year member]

Looking for info. on fluke meters and came across this thread. The OP makes some ****ing hilarious posts, and for some reason no one told him about how impedance varies rapidly and drastically during real music. So even though he thought he was only getting a certain amount of power, that is only at that particular frequency with that particular setup of his surroundings (windows up/down, temperature outside, etc.)

For anyone reading this thread later one, just remember Ohm's Law never lies, and the impedance is always changing during real music.