Installed my system, it wont work

[DBfan187 5,000+ posts]

but the amp itself can only put out half as much power as the sub can take

No. If you have the gain cranked, as it sounds like you did. The amp will clip and when it clips, it will double its rated power.

 

[poorlilrich 10+ year member]

my amp was lit up last nite

last time i checked today its not even lit up, im not sure if theres no power at all going to the amp or what

i have to get it looked at

its just so frustrating after spending all that time on it

 

[Strecker25 10+ year member]

test both variables, if i read correctly you tested the amp by hooking up a speaker and it didnt work, now go and try hooking the sub up to another amp (at low volume) and see if it works. Also try pushing lightly on the cone straight down and see if it moves freely

 

[JoseMCeee 10+ year member]

most companies are very strict when it comes to messing up a sub because of clipping. Unless it was defective but if you clipped it, then it doesnt matter. If i read right it might also be the amp. Try another amp, even if its one that does lower power as long as its something. See if that moves it a little.

 

[poorlilrich 10+ year member]

just hooked it up on my home stereo, the sub that is

its not pounding but it is infact working, correctly too from what i can see

this makes me think theres problems with the amp for sure since its not lit up anymore when the car is started

any troubleshooting steps to check the amp, i bought a year warrenty on it too for 19.99$ it might have been well spent ill have to find out

 

[Jeepskate 10+ year member]

Take the amp out and make some test cables for it so that you can set it on a fender or something convenient near the battery to test it. I went through some weirdness like this a few months ago and it turned out that the spot I chose for grounding was no good. I had alternator whine, amps would cut in & out while driving sometimes, sometimes the amps wouldn't power up, eben started smoking one of the amps. Changed my grounding location and everything cleared up. When you're troubleshooting, you want to deal with one component at a time and verify that it functions...sometimes it's best to remove it from the environment that it's in so that you can eliminate installation errors/glitches.

 

[poorlilrich 10+ year member]

jeepskate, great info

im going to check all fuses when the car gets home then go on and check the grounding, im thinking the ground is the problem(hoping) i am also going to use my trusty test lite to see if my amps getting any power at all

thanks alot man

plr

 

[poorlilrich 10+ year member]

i was just out at my car

there was power going to the amp thru the power wire, i had my trusty test light

for some reason the remote wire wasnt connected so i connected that

i just hooked my sub up without box to see if it would work

it played but didnt pound and didnt sound good at all

a min or so later my amps lite shut off any no power was going to the amp. does this mean the ground can be bad and the amp is shutting itself off?

im getting so pi**ed off!

 

[Moe Lester 10+ year member]

what exactly do you have it grounded to?

 

[poorlilrich 10+ year member]

i have it grounded to a type of metal wall, body of the car i guess behind the back seat

the amp thing is sorted out now, its grounded perfectly and for some reason i must have a cheap fuse set up because i had to tighter the PLASTIC ends together to get power.

anyway the amps fine i believe, as for the sub it must be busted, ill have to get it tested

 

[Jeepskate 10+ year member]

i just hooked my sub up without box to see if it would workit played but didnt pound and didnt sound good at all

Why would you expect anything different? It's not going to 'pound' or sound good just sitting there with the back waves cancelling out the front output. Put it back in the box.

 

[poorlilrich 10+ year member]

Why would you expect anything different? It's not going to 'pound' or sound good just sitting there with the back waves cancelling out the front output. Put it back in the box.

i put it ther and it was barely moving at all

 

[electronicsgeek 10+ year member]

i feel your pain man...i hate problems where i cant figure out whats the problem...yea just isolate the problem and go from there