Finished my first install.. couple questions

[Jakeeck 10+ year member]

i installed my first system yesterday..

15" IA LI with a 1208 d hifonics amp

took a total of 16 hrs lol.. a lot of that time was coming online and researching stuff as i went along.

id say a good 8-10 of actual work

first question: my hifonics amp doesnt light all the way up.. the 4 "lasers" on each side are weak and only the HI lights up.. it did work the first time i tested it.. but as i was messing around with the connection.. the power wire hit the ground wire and it sparked.. could that be why the lights arent working?

second question: the bass doesnt increase equally with my volume.. i want it so the bass is hitting pretty good at a lower volume.. how do i adjust that?

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[Bobby322 10+ year member]

I had the same problem with my hifonics amp. The lights were dim and not stable, but I think it was just a connection. As for the subwoofer w/ volume deal, I think thats a setting on the HU. On my Alpine 9884 I set the subwoofer setting to "2", and that is where the bass doesnt adjusts with the volume as much...

I think

 

[Fender5 10+ year member]

to answer the second question, did you set the gains? or did u just throw it in and not mess with the gain?

im not positive that thats all taht needs to be done. but its wroth a try

 

[Jakeeck 10+ year member]

I had the same problem with my hifonics amp. The lights were dim and not stable, but I think it was just a connection. As for the subwoofer w/ volume deal, I think thats a setting on the HU. On my Alpine 9884 I set the subwoofer setting to "2", and that is where the bass doesnt adjusts with the volume as much...
I think

ok thanks ill check my HU manual..

and what kind of connection would be bad for my lights to be shitty?

 

[Jakeeck 10+ year member]

to answer the second question, did you set the gains? or did u just throw it in and not mess with the gain?

a fellow member, mlstrass set the gains for me when i was at his house picking up my box... ill go check and see what my gains are at

 

[Enellz 10+ year member]

i installed my first system yesterday..
15" IA LI with a 1208 d hifonics amp

took a total of 16 hrs lol.. a lot of that time was coming online and researching stuff as i went along.

id say a good 8-10 of actual work

first question: my hifonics amp doesnt light all the way up.. the 4 "lasers" on each side are weak and only the HI lights up.. it did work the first time i tested it.. but as i was messing around with the connection.. the power wire hit the ground wire and it sparked.. could that be why the lights arent working?

second question: the bass doesnt increase equally with my volume.. i want it so the bass is hitting pretty good at a lower volume.. how do i adjust that?

first off let me say congrats on the install. as far as the answers:

first question: Make sure you have a fuse on the powerwire, because stuff like that can blow up sh*t. But that has nothing to do with it. It should be fine, but its an in the air answer since Im not physically there

second: To me the reason for the lack of bass, is a power issue. How many volts you actuallu have going to the amp, because it seems like its slacking. But a DMM if you can helps in the long run. My advice is to upgrade your electric, Big 3, new battery etc, the alternator should be your last resort because your not running that much power. What size is your alternator? what size battery? and what car? I need specs playa!

Enellz

 

[Chipmunk2k3 10+ year member]

did you install an amp for the mids also? if you installed an amp for your mid's and hi's you may have to lower the volume/gain on your mid amp to match the output of your bass. Your bass may be reaching it's peak way before your mids. if there's no amp for the mids then I second what Bobby32 said. check the settings on your HU

 

[Jakeeck 10+ year member]

ok here are my gains

level: around 3v

phase: 0

Bass EQ: 0

subsonic:28-30

lowpass: 170-200

do those seem ok?

i also did not install bass boost.

 

[Jakeeck 10+ year member]

first off let me say congrats on the install. as far as the answers:
first question: Make sure you have a fuse on the powerwire, because stuff like that can blow up sh*t. But that has nothing to do with it. It should be fine, but its an in the air answer since Im not physically there

second: To me the reason for the lack of bass, is a power issue. How many volts you actuallu have going to the amp, because it seems like its slacking. But a DMM if you can helps in the long run. My advice is to upgrade your electric, Big 3, new battery etc, the alternator should be your last resort because your not running that much power. What size is your alternator? what size battery? and what car? I need specs playa!

Enellz

ya i have an inline fuse about 10 inches from where the power line attaches to the positive terminal of the battery..

and i dont think it's a lack of power.. the sub gets loud but i have to turn the volume up extremely loud and by that point the music is distorted from such high volume. basically the volume and bass dont rise equally

 

[Mr. Slate 10+ year member]

You may want to put a fuse at the amp as well.

 

[Jakeeck 10+ year member]

You may want to put a fuse at the amp as well.

well theres a removable fuse on the outside of the amp.. idk if thats what u mean

 

[mlstrass 5,000+ posts]

I just did an initial "guess" on the gain to get you started, so don't be afraid to slowly turn it up to get the desired level of control from the HU.

Also check the HU for a sub level that might need to be turned up a little.

 

[Jakeeck 10+ year member]

I just did an initial "guess" on the gain to get you started, so don't be afraid to slowly turn it up to get the desired level of control from the HU.
Also check the HU for a sub level that might need to be turned up a little.

would the sub level be the same as bass level? i have that turned all the way up but the volume still overpowers the bass until the volume maxes out, but when the volume maxes the bass keeps getting louder.. i gotta find a way to get them to rise equally

EDIT: just found the non fader setting on my HU.. it's at 0 right now so im gonna try that out.. but first im gonna get spade connectors for my power/ground wire.. with the set-screw amp connectors should i have the spade connector on the top of the plastic coating with the screw coming down on top of it? or should i find one small enough to fit in the circle?

 

[vellocet 10+ year member]

I don't like the fact that everything is not lighting up as it should. Perhaps your gain needs to be turned up higher.

Process of elimination. Check your power wire, and your negative first. Is your negative over 3 feet? Did your scrape paint off before you drilled your negative and is it in the actual frame of the body and not something screwed/tacked onto the car? Check your rca's. Usualy it's just something small and silly. You may have to get a dmm.

 

[Jakeeck 10+ year member]

I don't like the fact that everything is not lighting up as it should. Perhaps your gain needs to be turned up higher.Process of elimination. Check your power wire, and your negative first. Is your negative over 3 feet? Did your scrape paint off before you drilled your negative and is it in the actual frame of the body and not something screwed/tacked onto the car? Check your rca's. Usualy it's just something small and silly. You may have to get a dmm.

ya like i said the lights were fine at first.. but i accidently touched the power to the ground and it sparked but im not sure if it did anything... the amp still works and seems like the sub pounds pretty good even though i had the non-fader on 0.

im thinking its a possibility that since i touched the power and ground together that i may have blown the lights but im not sure.. im gonna go buy a DMM and some spade connectors right now... can you tell me the different places im gonna wanna take readings on with my DMM and what readings i should be getting in those places..

i spent 10 hours in the garage in -5 degree weather so im trying to make sure i know what to do before i get in there so im not staying out there for a while freezing anymore

and could my sub maybe be a little weaker due to the negative degree weather?