SurpriseFatty
CarAudio.com Newbie
So this is a long story and I don't know much about all of this. There will be time skips and each will be a different paragraph.
Too long, didn't read:
The only shop i trust is booked for a couple weeks. My subs cut out A LOT. If the volume is too low or at certain points during the beat specifically when the bass hit is starting or finishing. Picture a bell curve and each end is where the bass cuts out.
Equipment: 2016 Ford Focus S. 1200W Fosgate Prime amp. 2x 500W Sundown E4 10" subs. Rockville all copper 4ga install kit. Everything else stock.
About 2.5 years ago I got this installation done. It was done for me as a quid pro quo for helping the guys grandma with computer problems. I bought the equipment and paid for the box. He installed it and he says he thinks he put an LOC in at the time. So it all worked just fine for a while. I played it loud for a friend of mine and after that it just wasn't the same again. It would cut out at low volumes but adjusting the knob or volume up slightly would "wake up" the subs and they'd start playing again. Now keep in mind i do not play my music very loud. The people at the shop I trust said I'm probably using 300ish watts at the volumes i listen. Over the course of a week or so the volume at which they wouldn't work would raise. Basically i would listen at 10 (volume) and there'd be bass. Then after a while no bass and it wouldn't start again until I turned it to maybe 12 or 13. Then it would play. But that wouldn't last either and eventually it'd get to the point where I'd have it at 16 and it wouldn't play. My amp never going into protect mode. I'd have the knob all the way down and just give up on the bass and sometimes I'd turn it back up and it would play perfectly fine for a week or so but then it'd start having the same problems again. At the time I had an aluminum/copper-clad wires.
I mail my amp into Fosgate and they send me a new one no questions asked but also with no commentary. I don't know if that's because there was something wrong or just to expedite the process they sent me a new one. Friend installs. Same issues.
I send my subs to Sundown and they send them back saying they play perfectly fine. Same issues.
During play the subs made a worrying rattling sound kind of like the sound that would be made if a wooden cat could purr. It would o this before turning off and not turning back on unless the car was restarted. AGAIN the amp NOT going into protect mode.
I send my car to a shop and ask them to see whats wrong with it and they told me a few things. The aluminum/copper kit was not great and the ground was in a bad location. Just wanting to do anything to get this finally fixed I got that cable kit which is 3x the price in the shop as it is online and they installed it. Now it worked better but definitely not fixed. At the "debriefing" the technician guy said i have a 100 amp alternator. the subs ask for 20 amps more than it supplied. He said I should get a new alternator and a supplemental battery in the back with the box, about 600W. It was at this moment I realized I got fleeced. They gave me a short list of possible issues and gave me the wrong amperage of my alternator without ever telling me what was actually wrong with my car. There's also that rattling sound again but much quieter. It's definitely audible though. The shop people said that's called "fluttering". I have yet to see that term used anywhere else on the places or sites I've been to. It also doesn't sound very good compared to how it was when I first got my system installed. It feels like half the frequencies are just not being played. I also don't have any headlight dimming.
I go to the shop I trust. They said they can't get me in because they're booked for the next 2 weeks. However a guy will come out and just me a quick look-over. Wonderful. He listened and said it sounds like a signal issue. He checked the amp and everything is connected well. He asked if I had a 2-ch LOC and I said I don't know. I haven't heard of that through this whole ordeal. I texted the guy who did my initial install and he said he thinks he put one in. So right now I have issues playing at low volume. It will play just fine at very high volumes. The guy also told me about what the tuners on the amp are and what actually goes into tuning the amp. He also told me it wouldn't hurt if i got a better battery up front.
In a couple weeks I'll get my car looked at and I do trust this shop, but they're expensive at 100/h for 2h to do a full diagnostic. I'd just like hear some more voices on this.
Too long, didn't read:
The only shop i trust is booked for a couple weeks. My subs cut out A LOT. If the volume is too low or at certain points during the beat specifically when the bass hit is starting or finishing. Picture a bell curve and each end is where the bass cuts out.
Equipment: 2016 Ford Focus S. 1200W Fosgate Prime amp. 2x 500W Sundown E4 10" subs. Rockville all copper 4ga install kit. Everything else stock.
About 2.5 years ago I got this installation done. It was done for me as a quid pro quo for helping the guys grandma with computer problems. I bought the equipment and paid for the box. He installed it and he says he thinks he put an LOC in at the time. So it all worked just fine for a while. I played it loud for a friend of mine and after that it just wasn't the same again. It would cut out at low volumes but adjusting the knob or volume up slightly would "wake up" the subs and they'd start playing again. Now keep in mind i do not play my music very loud. The people at the shop I trust said I'm probably using 300ish watts at the volumes i listen. Over the course of a week or so the volume at which they wouldn't work would raise. Basically i would listen at 10 (volume) and there'd be bass. Then after a while no bass and it wouldn't start again until I turned it to maybe 12 or 13. Then it would play. But that wouldn't last either and eventually it'd get to the point where I'd have it at 16 and it wouldn't play. My amp never going into protect mode. I'd have the knob all the way down and just give up on the bass and sometimes I'd turn it back up and it would play perfectly fine for a week or so but then it'd start having the same problems again. At the time I had an aluminum/copper-clad wires.
I mail my amp into Fosgate and they send me a new one no questions asked but also with no commentary. I don't know if that's because there was something wrong or just to expedite the process they sent me a new one. Friend installs. Same issues.
I send my subs to Sundown and they send them back saying they play perfectly fine. Same issues.
During play the subs made a worrying rattling sound kind of like the sound that would be made if a wooden cat could purr. It would o this before turning off and not turning back on unless the car was restarted. AGAIN the amp NOT going into protect mode.
I send my car to a shop and ask them to see whats wrong with it and they told me a few things. The aluminum/copper kit was not great and the ground was in a bad location. Just wanting to do anything to get this finally fixed I got that cable kit which is 3x the price in the shop as it is online and they installed it. Now it worked better but definitely not fixed. At the "debriefing" the technician guy said i have a 100 amp alternator. the subs ask for 20 amps more than it supplied. He said I should get a new alternator and a supplemental battery in the back with the box, about 600W. It was at this moment I realized I got fleeced. They gave me a short list of possible issues and gave me the wrong amperage of my alternator without ever telling me what was actually wrong with my car. There's also that rattling sound again but much quieter. It's definitely audible though. The shop people said that's called "fluttering". I have yet to see that term used anywhere else on the places or sites I've been to. It also doesn't sound very good compared to how it was when I first got my system installed. It feels like half the frequencies are just not being played. I also don't have any headlight dimming.
I go to the shop I trust. They said they can't get me in because they're booked for the next 2 weeks. However a guy will come out and just me a quick look-over. Wonderful. He listened and said it sounds like a signal issue. He checked the amp and everything is connected well. He asked if I had a 2-ch LOC and I said I don't know. I haven't heard of that through this whole ordeal. I texted the guy who did my initial install and he said he thinks he put one in. So right now I have issues playing at low volume. It will play just fine at very high volumes. The guy also told me about what the tuners on the amp are and what actually goes into tuning the amp. He also told me it wouldn't hurt if i got a better battery up front.
In a couple weeks I'll get my car looked at and I do trust this shop, but they're expensive at 100/h for 2h to do a full diagnostic. I'd just like hear some more voices on this.
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