help plz not getting enough power

[rustycar 10+ year member]

alight here is the prolblem,

ford escort, alpine 9821(cd), alpine swe10(sub), rf501bd(amp).

the amp is 500w rms@2ohm, 300w rms@4ohm, 10''subs are 200w rms 600w max @4ohm.

i have two subs that when i hook both up to the amp @2ohm i dont have much power. when i hook one sub to the amp @4ohm it bumps alot harder. how can i get both of these subs bangin?

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[pavengmike6 10+ year member]

it almost sounds like you have the subs wired out of phase. Hook one sub up and get it bumping, and then hook the other sub up, if the sound decreases then switch the wires around and see if it gets louder. If that does not help plug both subs up and get a volt meter and measure the volts at the amp + and -. It should read 14.7 to 12 with the car running and 12 with the car off. If it drops below 12 at anytime then you have a problem with your alt or battery. Your batt may be weak.

Next is are you sure you have the subs wired correct? If you have them in series you are almost cutting you watts in half. How do you have your subs wired? are they DVC (dual voice coil,) or SVC (single voice coil)? That may be one of your problems.

Next you can check your ground, if you do not have a NO PAINT ground and it is not good the amp cannot draw the current it needs to push both amps. Re due your ground and see if that helps.

Mike

 

[rustycar 10+ year member]

single voice coil 10g wire

from amp to speaker from speaker to speaker keeping polarity as marked on sub and amp

thanks

 

[pavengmike6 10+ year member]

it sounds like you have them run in series, which is giving you a 8 OHM load. wire it like the second pic here

http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/rftech/wiringwizard.asp?WoofQty=2+woofers&WoofImp=Single+Voice+Coil+-+4+ohms&image.x=15&image.y=10

 

[rustycar 10+ year member]

if your talkin about the pic that =2ohm load then thats how i got them hooked up

 

[Puggsley456 10+ year member]

I think hes got it right. if all the (+) are together and all the (-) are together that would be 2 ohm. No?

Have you tried wiring the subs independently and meeting the wireing at the amp?

 

[rustycar 10+ year member]

no but i will thanks maybe a cap? or better batt any recomendations?

 

[pavengmike6 10+ year member]

It really sound like they are out of phase. It happend to me 2 days ago. I thougt I had it right, and all I did is swap the wires around and BAMM 2 times as loud

 

[rustycar 10+ year member]

ok i will mess with it tomorow ad try wat u said?

 

[forbidden 10+ year member]

Your subs are wired out of phase. If you do indeed have two single 4 ohm subs then the above wiring diagram and recommendation to wire in series in incorrect. Click on the link again, you want to wire in parallel to get a 2 ohm mono load. This is wiring option#1.

Two subs that are wired out of phase are working against each other. This means that while one sub is moving in one direction the other is moving in the opposite direction. It is noticeable as a loss of bass response and most noticeable when one sub is unplugged. Take both speakers out and find out which one is wired pos to neg and neg to pos, it is the culprit. In a all parallel circuit, which is what you are after, all speaker pos. are hooked together to the + terminal on the amp and all the speaker neg terminals are hooked together to the - terminal on the amp.

Ignore the cap and the battery for now.

 

[pavengmike6 10+ year member]

Forbidden my bad I ment to say do you have it wired like pic #2. If so you do indeed need to put it like PIC #1. Thanks for catching me.