I apologize for the long post but I’m absolutely lost. I have a 19 GTI, and installed my amp and sub nearly the same day I brought it home brand new. I’ve never had any issues and it’s been working 4 years no hiccups. Recently something has changed and I can’t figure it out. I am by no means a professional but I’ve always installed simple additions like this to my vehicles with no trouble.
My original setup in this car was an Infinity 12” (forget the model) but years ago I changed to a Kicker 43CVR122. I’ve had this wired in parallel to an Alpine MRP-M500. Close to 20’ of 4 gauge power to the battery with a BOSS 100 amp fuse 4 inches from the battery and a Leiges Audio 4 gauge to 8 gauge reducer fuse block with 4 inches of 8 gauge running to the amp. I used T Tap connectors at the rear outs on my stock head unit with close to 20’ of 16 gauge speaker wire running to the hatch where my amp is. I’ve got about 9 inches of 4 gauge ground wire running directly to the chassis where I sanded down to bear metal. This setup has not given me any trouble over the years.
Recently my amp started going into protect mode almost immediately upon turning my radio on. It will stay on at low levels but once I turn it up, it cuts out. I actually had another new sub sitting around, same model so I switched it out, checked my wiring and same result.
Checked my wiring and noticed the ground had become just a little loose so I tightened it up, it won’t budge and still nothing.
I checked the rest of my connections and found the first 2 inches of my power line had been burnt at the battery. I also found that one set of my speaker leads was not registering any ohms. I tried that direct to a speaker with no amp and it wasn’t giving any audio. So, I’ve replaced the power line start to finish and I retapped the leads off my head unit with brand new connections and new 16 gauge speaker wire. I’ve got good audio on both sets direct to speakers now. I’ve also checked the remote wire with no issues.
Lost, and knowing this amp is really old, I swapped over to a BOSS R1100M. It’s not the best amp but I don’t need much and I’m not one to play my music for the neighborhood. It’s working to a point but still going into protect mode once my volume is about half way. As a last ditch effort, I finally switched the sub to be wired in series and knocked the gain way down. Playing with the different levels, it’s still going into protect mode depending on the appropriate levels, I.e. half gain, 3/4 or less volume. I really don’t feel like this should ever hit this issue but it won’t stop. I can also monitor my power levels on my battery and the only time it ever fluctuates is if I’m listening in accessory and not running the car. I’ve legitimately changed everything and I’m really starting to wonder if this has something to do with my head unit, which I really don’t think I’m willing to replace. But if I remove the amp and sub from the equation, the stereo works fine even at full blast. Are there any cheap ways to test the whole setup without my head unit? What else am I missing?
My original setup in this car was an Infinity 12” (forget the model) but years ago I changed to a Kicker 43CVR122. I’ve had this wired in parallel to an Alpine MRP-M500. Close to 20’ of 4 gauge power to the battery with a BOSS 100 amp fuse 4 inches from the battery and a Leiges Audio 4 gauge to 8 gauge reducer fuse block with 4 inches of 8 gauge running to the amp. I used T Tap connectors at the rear outs on my stock head unit with close to 20’ of 16 gauge speaker wire running to the hatch where my amp is. I’ve got about 9 inches of 4 gauge ground wire running directly to the chassis where I sanded down to bear metal. This setup has not given me any trouble over the years.
Recently my amp started going into protect mode almost immediately upon turning my radio on. It will stay on at low levels but once I turn it up, it cuts out. I actually had another new sub sitting around, same model so I switched it out, checked my wiring and same result.
Checked my wiring and noticed the ground had become just a little loose so I tightened it up, it won’t budge and still nothing.
I checked the rest of my connections and found the first 2 inches of my power line had been burnt at the battery. I also found that one set of my speaker leads was not registering any ohms. I tried that direct to a speaker with no amp and it wasn’t giving any audio. So, I’ve replaced the power line start to finish and I retapped the leads off my head unit with brand new connections and new 16 gauge speaker wire. I’ve got good audio on both sets direct to speakers now. I’ve also checked the remote wire with no issues.
Lost, and knowing this amp is really old, I swapped over to a BOSS R1100M. It’s not the best amp but I don’t need much and I’m not one to play my music for the neighborhood. It’s working to a point but still going into protect mode once my volume is about half way. As a last ditch effort, I finally switched the sub to be wired in series and knocked the gain way down. Playing with the different levels, it’s still going into protect mode depending on the appropriate levels, I.e. half gain, 3/4 or less volume. I really don’t feel like this should ever hit this issue but it won’t stop. I can also monitor my power levels on my battery and the only time it ever fluctuates is if I’m listening in accessory and not running the car. I’ve legitimately changed everything and I’m really starting to wonder if this has something to do with my head unit, which I really don’t think I’m willing to replace. But if I remove the amp and sub from the equation, the stereo works fine even at full blast. Are there any cheap ways to test the whole setup without my head unit? What else am I missing?
