Mega Noob Question

[themainjam 10+ year member]

well you should have at least 2 gauge from the battery to your amp according to the list of limits for wires to length. ehh. anyway i hope you get it fixed. and i hope it sounds awesome //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif wish i had some alpine type x ;(

 

[Logan4434 10+ year member]

yeah, its definitally the protect mode, 40,which now, after i changed the settings on the head unit, is now the high,yay,so that part is fixed.but if i adjust the gain on the amp, it goes into protect mode after just a quarter of power(i should be able to go almost all the way.)so i gotta figure out how to do that(there may be a short in the power wire somewhere.the installers gonna fix it for free)

 

[themainjam 10+ year member]

well i dont know about going all the way up. if its one of those HU's that put out 4V or whatever you will only be able to go up like an 1/8-1/2 depending. you will still get all the power at the lower gain setting. but going above that will make it go into protect mode quickly.... only other thing i can think of is that the impedance on the speaker is wired too low.

 

[jujumantb 10+ year member]

Now, you said you're running 4guage power wire and 0guage ground....always have the same size power and ground wires. I'm not sure what the effect is, but I've heard many people swear that you must have these equal. Hopefully someone can elaborate on this?

not a big deal. as long as the smallest wire (4g power wire in his case) can handle the power, it doesnt matter how big the bigger wire (ground wire) is.

 

[Logan4434 10+ year member]

maybe the impedance is wired to low,the sub has dual 4 ohm voice coils, and i wired the box to have a 2 ohm load on the wire, i could rewire it and see if that fixes it, but the other way to wire it puts an 8ohm load on the wire and that worries me.

 

[themainjam 10+ year member]

is it 2 channel bridged to 1? in that case just run each coil to the amp. and you have 2 ohm load stereo.

the 8 ohm load will reduce the stress on the wire. so dont worry about that.

but the shop should have told you that amp isnt stable at 2 ohms bridged......

 

[Logan4434 10+ year member]

i didnt buy it at a shop, I bought it online.and so you guys can get a better idea of what im working with here are some pictures of my stuff.

and here is my gain setting.(highlighted the arrow for better veiwing.)

 

[themainjam 10+ year member]

Ok so its a 2 channel JBL correct? it is most likey not stable @ 2 ohms bridged.

looks like your stuck at the 8 ohms then..... unless you have a 4 channel amp then bridge each coil...(only a good idea if you have the right equipment to measure how much each coil is getting.)

i will buy the typex for a reasonable offer or the amp //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif actually just had a kid so i cant buy anything. try getting a swap in the forums....

 

[Logan4434 10+ year member]

lol,im not selling, and at the level they are at it sounds pretty good but it should get better.you are probably right it may not be stable at 2ohms, you were also correct when you said it was a 2 channel amp.i can wire each 4 ohm voice coil and have it stereo(kinda).hmmm i dunno ill see what my installer says tomorrow morning.

 

[themainjam 10+ year member]

yeah it hard working with the wrong impedances. i accidently bought two kicker 10" 8 ohms. so i have to wire them in parralel and have them both in the car to sound good. otherwise the one gets underpowered.. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

 

[Logan4434 10+ year member]

ok well i just ruled out that making the wire carry an 8 ohm load is what to do, cause it wouldnt even turn on.so i put it back on the 2 ohm load again because the box is made for 1 10" sub so the wire connecters are made for 1 positive and 1 negative wire,to connect both coils in parallel would mean i would have to drill 2 more holes in the box so ill let the installer do it, cause if he ****s it up he has to buy me a new box, i do it and mess up,im ****ed. so we'll find out tomorrow.

 

[johnecon2001 5,000+ posts]

lol,im not selling, and at the level they are at it sounds pretty good but it should get better.you are probably right it may not be stable at 2ohms, you were also correct when you said it was a 2 channel amp.i can wire each 4 ohm voice coil and have it stereo(kinda).hmmm i dunno ill see what my installer says tomorrow morning.

Your gonna have to match the gains EXACTLY to do that. That'll be kinda hard... go for an amp that goes down to 2ohms or below. See if someone will trade you a BX1500D.

 

[Logan4434 10+ year member]

it turns out this amp is stable down to 1 ohm, so im fine.and i think i know why the installer used 8 gauge wire to hook up the sub, to make the ohm difference smaller. cause i mean i could pump it up more with the 8 guage wire than the 16.

 

[MikeofTulsa Moderator]

but Im gonna need a capacitor anyway, cause at night i cant run the lights and the sub at the same time.

hate to tell you this....but a capacitor isnt the best solution for a dimming lights solution......it may seem to help......but in the long run it'll ruin your charging system....the best way to solve a dimming lights situation is to upgrade your alt and the big 3.....can do a search for big 3 to find out what they are if u need to know.....anyways....hope that helps ya a little...... seems like everyone else has helped w/ the other problems your having.....

 

[Logan4434 10+ year member]

well, everyone, i have solved any and all problems in this system, the answer my dear friends is most obvious.I blew the ****ing sub to hell and back.it didnt take much time nor power to do it, but i did it(btw dont buy the Type x's they are crap).so in retribution for my stupidity(for lack of a better word)i splerged, the best impulse buy of my life......i went out and bought a JL 12W7 and i have never been happier.the thing barely fits in the **** trunk(ill post pics of it soon)but it sounds GREAT(for 750$ it should)