Going CRAZY trying to figure this out

[Humpty 10+ year member]

So I have a 2005 crew cab silverado. I have a 15" L7 kicker sub wired at 2ohm, it is rated at 1000w rms. I have an alpine mrp-m2000 amp, wired with 0 gauge stinger kit with a 175amp fuse. I have done the Big 3 in 0 gauge and I have just installed a 320a HO Tenney Alternator. My Hu is a JVC avx840.

Now with my bass boost off on the amp and deck and bass levels normal in the settings I can only turn the volume up until about 20 after that the sub starts to cut out intermittantly. If i turn the volume or the bass down a little then the sub will continue to play. When the sub cuts out the amp light is still on.

It is driving me crazy trying to figure this out. I have dropped alot of money on this setup and still cannot fully enjoy it. I have the day off tomorrow so I would like to get at this problem and see if I can't figure it out. Any ideas what the problem could be or anything that I could check on or try? Im starting to lose sleep over this...

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[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

bad ground,bet you grounded at a seat belt bolt huh !

 

[Humpty 10+ year member]

self tapped a screw through the floor of the cab. When i tested it with the DMM it read 0 ohms.

Should I be drilling a hole in the floor and grounding to the frame?

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

ok thats good then ,check power when the subs cut out.might be a power issue or amp issue

 

[Humpty 10+ year member]

check the volts at the amp? If the volts are low its a power issue? if the volts are okay its an amp issue?

I originally thought it was a power issue that why I ended up getting a HO alt, but nothing changed when I put that in.

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

check the volts at the amp? If the volts are low its a power issue? if the volts are okay its an amp issue?I originally thought it was a power issue that why I ended up getting a HO alt, but nothing changed when I put that in.

yes ,i've seen issues like this in the past with the mrp amps,thats why i dont sell them

 

[Humpty 10+ year member]

so your thinking it may be the amp?

I could call around tomorrow and see if I can get it tested somewhere...

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

just check the voltage at the amp like i said.what ever your issue is ,is when played at higher levels.is the amp mounted to your box ?

 

[Humpty 10+ year member]

the amp is mounted to the back wall, I glued some mdf to the cab wall and screwed to that. I took the right rear seat out and built a box the stands where the seat was. The box is mounted down using the seat bolts and a plywood platform and a ton of screws. Also zip tied to the baby seat brackets. The amp is about 6-8 inches from the box. Everything is real secure.

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

ok well thats good .check everything i told you .you have to start there first.process of elimination

 

[Humpty 10+ year member]

Ok I will check the voltage at the amp when the subs cut out and report back. I'm just praying that it is not the amp.

thanks for the advice

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

when checking voltage - there are two things you are looking for:

measure DC Voltage at amp batt and rem terminals relative to the amp gnd terminal. you are looking for >12VDC

measure AC voltage at the amp speaker output terminals ( red on + and black on -). the value will vary as the signal varies, so test tones (50Hz) are handy to get a constant signal. if the VAC drops when the amp cuts out - then disconnect the speaker wires and try again.

sometimes a slight short can do this. that's one speaker wire strand (+) separated by a small distance from another (-). this can be in the box at the sub terminals or box terminals. also review all speaker wire connections - as a general rule - if you can see any bare copper - you should redo it.

 

[audiobaun 5,000+ posts]

self tapped a screw through the floor of the cab. When i tested it with the DMM it read 0 ohms.Should I be drilling a hole in the floor and grounding to the frame?

It would be a better grounding point to run a ground wire to the frame.I had to do for my 99 Honda CRV/no real solid grounding point,so i drilled through the tire well, and ran ground wire to rearend frame/bolted it in place, and hit it with black paint when I finished the connection.Yet, do check your speaker connections on your subs inside the box,they could be loose as stated.I also had a bad connection on my remote wire once that did that as well in one of my systems in the past.

 

[Humpty 10+ year member]

ok again thanks for all the comments and support, I will pull the sub out and check all wiring and run some voltage tests. I will post my findings when completed.

Thanks again!!!