JL Audio 1000/1

[DJDanWeaver 10+ year member]

1. After 20 minutes of solid output the sub's VC's are HOT AS HELL!! You will suffer reduced output.

2. Optima Yellow top, if purchased in the last year or two are complete JUNK!!!

I was an Optima ISB (Interstate Battery) dealer until yesterday!

These batteries were GREAT......5 years ago. Technology has evolved..so should your battery. Look into Kinetik batteries. http://www.kinetikpower.com

It will make a WORLD of difference!

Optima are BAD BAD BAD BAD news these days. 80% of the Optimas I sold in the last two years have come back with problems.

Also..consider adding a 2nd battery. It NEVER hurts...only helps.

3. Who tuned your amp? If the settings are not right for your sub and enclosure you are probably overworking your amplifier. Call JL Audio techs direct or your local JL dealer and ask them how your amp should be set up. Be NICE to them...they are the reason you have all this great gear in your ride!!!

4. Alternator. If your car came with a 120 Amp alternator it's because it NEEDED it......NOT because they KNEW you were going to put a 1000 Watt RMS amplifier in it. Upgrade your alternator to FEED your battery.

5. Is your enlosure built to spec? I suspect that it might not be. It if is then EVERY LAST OUNCE of your trunk is for the enclosure....you can't fit a napkin in the trunk because you don't have the room because your box is built to spec....right????

That will be $50 evaluation fee...paypal to superchargedbmw@indy.rr.com

Pay up!

 

[bigman411 10+ year member]

1. After 20 minutes of solid output the sub's VC's are HOT AS HELL!! You will suffer reduced output.
2. Optima Yellow top, if purchased in the last year or two are complete JUNK!!!

I was an Optima ISB (Interstate Battery) dealer until yesterday!

These batteries were GREAT......5 years ago. Technology has evolved..so should your battery. Look into Kinetik batteries. http://www.kinetikpower.com

It will make a WORLD of difference!

Optima are BAD BAD BAD BAD news these days. 80% of the Optimas I sold in the last two years have come back with problems.

Also..consider adding a 2nd battery. It NEVER hurts...only helps.

3. Who tuned your amp? If the settings are not right for your sub and enclosure you are probably overworking your amplifier. Call JL Audio techs direct or your local JL dealer and ask them how your amp should be set up. Be NICE to them...they are the reason you have all this great gear in your ride!!!

4. Alternator. If your car came with a 120 Amp alternator it's because it NEEDED it......NOT because they KNEW you were going to put a 1000 Watt RMS amplifier in it. Upgrade your alternator to FEED your battery.

5. Is your enlosure built to spec? I suspect that it might not be. It if is then EVERY LAST OUNCE of your trunk is for the enclosure....you can't fit a napkin in the trunk because you don't have the room because your box is built to spec....right????

That will be $50 evaluation fee...paypal to superchargedbmw@indy.rr.com

Pay up!

Nice response. To answer your question and to ask you questions. I have no trunk anymore. Spare tire is out. The sub faces up, so the sub VC's whatever they are get really hot? Voice coils? I thought JL is good. I have 0 gauge running from battery to sub if that makes sense. How much does a new alternator cost? Those are like $400 or $500, when I looked at the stinger ones. Do I need better wiring because u said something gets hot? Yes my amp is tuned and box to JL specs. The guy I go to installs all my stuff and he just installed my JL 450/4 and now my interiors are much cleaner and louder since tuned properly and I still have boston acoustics z6 coming. Well anyways, do people hear on the outside that its not alot of bass producing or is it just me? Can they still feel it because after like 20 min The sub is still oviously moving but its just not bumping as loud anymore. Its a sealed box also.

 

[bigman411 10+ year member]

I just checked the battery site, it says I need the Kinetik HC 2400. This is probably not going to solve my problem. Do I need more cooling fans on the amp?

 

[DJDanWeaver 10+ year member]

The Kinetik 1800 would actually be a great battery for you...if you can fit it in your vehicle. I am diagnosing your problem online so it is difficult for me to know EXACTLY what is going on. I am trying to give you general ideas of what MIGHT be wrong...not what is wrong for sure.

I agree with the earlier post..not sure who said it..but.. you should get a volt meter out and see where you are at when you hear the volume start to lower...maybe you are having issues with your voltage dropping below the mins. that the amp needs to keep making full power.

Your sub is good..however any and all subwoofers will not play as loud as they originally did when the VC's (Voice Coil's) get hot. Just like an engine will not produce as much horsepower when they get hot.

Your amplifier MAY be getting too hot but that is unlikely IF your voltage is staying where it should be. We RARELY, if ever, fan cool the JL amps that we sell. We don't have problems with them overheating.

Look for an alternator from http://www.motorcityreman.com/

This guy builds a quality product for a fair price....the warranties are also exceptional. I'm not saying you HAVE to have an upgraded alt..but it makes a HUGE difference. Your stock charging system was not designed for additional 1000+ watt RMS loads on it.

Your subwoofer would be MUCH louder if you had the room for a slot ported enclosure. The output of these enclosures vs. sealed is pretty amazing.

Good luck figuring out what the issue is. I was kidding about the $50 and I hope you figured that out. If there is anything else I can do let me know.

Take care!

 

[flakko 5,000+ posts]

^^^ and dont forget the 50 dollars

and the hotter my engine is, the better it performs //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

Bigman ~ if there is a serious output drop after 20 minutes or so of use I'd have to agree that it would be a great idea for you to check things out with a DMM to see where you're at, dude. Doesn't sound right at all...and it shouldn't be an equipment problem....the 1000/1 and the Dub7 are both great products. Sounds like human error to me (settings are off somehow)

and the hotter my engine is, the better it performs //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

That's been my experience with the 7.3L PowerStroke in my work truck, flakko. It's in a mid-90s F-450...has a PowerTech (or something like that) chip, has had the fuel management EEPROM reprogrammed, headers, and a few other tweaks.

This past winter when I would first get to work to check fluids and such before getting on the highway...when it was like 20 degrees out....when you first start the truck it wouldn't wanna pull worth a hoot. Once it was up to operating temps, though, it'd drag an oak tree oughtta the ground - roots and all.

Now, don't take this to mean I'm a Ford fan in the least....cuz I'm not. But the PowerStroke (at least back then...I dunno about the newer 6.0L PowerStrokes in Ford trucks) wasn't a Ford product. It was a Navistar/International-built engine.

 

[flakko 5,000+ posts]

That's been my experience with the 7.3L PowerStroke in my work truck, flakko. It's in a mid-90s F-450...has a PowerTech (or something like that) chip, has had the fuel management EEPROM reprogrammed, headers, and a few other tweaks.
This past winter when I would first get to work to check fluids and such before getting on the highway...when it was like 20 degrees out....when you first start the truck it wouldn't wanna pull worth a hoot. Once it was up to operating temps, though, it'd drag an oak tree oughtta the ground - roots and all.

Now, don't take this to mean I'm a Ford fan in the least....cuz I'm not. But the PowerStroke (at least back then...I dunno about the newer 6.0L PowerStrokes in Ford trucks) wasn't a Ford product. It was a Navistar/International-built engine.

lol same here even when its like 60 degrees outside, wont start for crap, and when it does it shakes like a mother at idle terrible terrible. but once my engine heats up to around 40-60 c, its all good.

 

[Chevyaudio 5,000+ posts]

yeah, i just sold my W7 and 1000/1 never had a problem like you are describing, so I gonna say its not the equipment, and that is a voltage problem, do what Prowler Said and get a DMM and check the voltage that your amp is revieving and putting out before and after the problem occurs. Post those numbers that way we can determine if it is an amp or charging system problem or if it is a problem with the Sub.

 

[bigman411 10+ year member]

whats is a DMM? I am going to have to have the guy check it out next week when he installs the boston acoustics z6. It couldnt be the amp or sub IMO just thinking about it. I know the JL amps never overheat so cooling fans are oviously dumb like you said you rarely put fans on JL amps. Well playing it for awhile something in the wiring or system it cant keep handling the high output on the sub so its like less bass. It works fine for the first 20 minutes or so or even 15 minutes. But then something is getting hot or cant keep up with the power.

 

[bigman411 10+ year member]

I dont want to buy a new battery. I dont think buying that is necessary. How could I solve the problem with voltage meter? The guy that installed the sub I asked him before, he said all systems will do that after awhile of banging it for so long. He gave the example just like with the car if it gets hot it wont performance at its best. Well here is a pic just thought you want to see.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b342/blowngt/system.jpg

 

[btmorris972 10+ year member]

very nice install. hope you get everything worked out

 

[JamesG 10+ year member]

If it turns out to be a voltage problem, you can also contact Nathan at Excessive Amperage. He builds HO alternators. His quote for a 160A alt. for my 4-Runner was less than half as compared to the quotes I've got from "dealers". This was also a direct bolt-on.

 

[bigman411 10+ year member]

If it turns out to be a voltage problem, you can also contact Nathan at Excessive Amperage. He builds HO alternators. His quote for a 160A alt. for my 4-Runner was less than half as compared to the quotes I've got from "dealers". This was also a direct bolt-on.

So if a voltage problem, what does that mean alternator not big enough to supply power overtime at full blast? why wont it keep giving it power battery not charging? I dont get it.

 

[bigman411 10+ year member]

bump

 

[JamesG 10+ year member]

When your vehicle is running, your alternator is powering your amps. If your current draw from your amps is too much, your alternator cannot keep up.

What is the total RMS output from your system? Also, what size fuses are used for each of your amps?

I think someone else mentioned this, but you have to realize a stock alternator is not made to supply a high-powered audio system. You do have some current to play with, but the stock alternator is built to handle the current demands of the car without an added strain from a powerful audio system. If you're running 1500w total RMS, then you're basically looking at an additional 150 amps of current draw. That's not set in stone or anything, but should be fairly close.