New Subwoofer install problems

[Gemcoska 10+ year member]

Hey Guys,

So let me first of say I know that I rushed this job. So now that its all done, I'm trying to fix the mistakes.

Here's the setup:

Sub: 12" SSA XCON, purchased here from imp4pdabest, 1750W RMS Dual Voice coil wired in parallel down to 1-ohm

Enclosure: custom built ported box built into the side of a suburban. Note that I found a couple corners i forgot to fiberglass in so there is a size-able amount of air escaping here.

Amp: Refurbished Cadence z1200, purchased from ebay, 1200w RMS @1 ohm

Power line: 80 amp inline fuse with 8 gauge wire.

There are a couple issues:

1) The Sub

I didn't really do a super thorough job inspecting the sub before installation, but when i hooked it up to power, it makes alot of mechanical noise. The cone still moves back and forth without any weird resistance and the spider looks all attached. The problem is that in the higher frequencies, it sounds like the sub is being hit with a bat. At the lower frequencies, it sound great; clean bass, no other noise. I'm wondering if its just the leaks in the enclosure that I haven't fixed yet or if the sub is blown. I've also read that undersized power line can cause this also.

2) The Amp

The short of it is that it overheats WAY to quickly. I'm not bumping very hard at all and after 10-15 minutes is is burning hot and shuts off. Also, when the bass this the voltage drop is noticable; all the lights dim and the voltage gauge dances. The gain is set to about 74%. I'm wondering if there's something wrong with this refurbished amp but I've never tried to push a DVC 12" sub before. Also, if thats all the thump I'm going get outta 1200w, then I may have to consider a higher wattage DIGITAL class D amp bc I'm not going to upgrade my battery and alternator.

3) The power line

I know that 8 gauge is undersized for a 1200W amp, but when i went to put in 4 or 2 gauge, the guy at the store told me to just check the power line to see if it gets really hot when you use it, otherwise its fine. Temp wise it seems fine, but I wonder if it could be contributing to my issues.

ANY POSITIVE HELP would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Rob

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[mazdakid 5,000+ posts]

Gains too high power wires too small and your air leaks are no good.

Thats a good way to tell if you have big enough power wire lol.

 

[bhsdriller 10+ year member]

^ what he said....people use 8 gauge for wiring up their subs

 

[gckless 5,000+ posts]

Gains too high power wires too small and your air leaks are no good.Thats a good way to tell if you have big enough power wire lol.

^^^This. You're choking your amp. Have you atleast done the big 3? And how did you set gains?

Also, don't think about going bigger unless you do want to upgrade your battery and/or alternator.

 

[Gemcoska 10+ year member]

I know, the 8 gauge was meant to be temporary until the sales rep said otherwise, but will going to 2 gauge and fixing the air leaks cure the sub's issues and cool down the amp?

 

[Gemcoska 10+ year member]

^^^This. You're choking your amp. Have you atleast done the big 3? And how did you set gains?
Also, don't think about going bigger unless you do want to upgrade your battery and/or alternator.

The Big 3?

I set the gain based on how much bass I wanted at a certain radio volume. Though I was going to read up on how to tune the amp properly once i worked out these other bugs.

 

[bgowdy 5,000+ posts]

Hey Guys,
So let me first of say I know that I rushed this job. So now that its all done, I'm trying to fix the mistakes.

Here's the setup:

Sub: 12" SSA XCON, purchased here from imp4pdabest, 1750W RMS Dual Voice coil wired in parallel down to 1-ohm

Enclosure: custom built ported box built into the side of a suburban. Note that I found a couple corners i forgot to fiberglass in so there is a size-able amount of air escaping here.

Amp: Refurbished Cadence z1200, purchased from ebay, 1200w RMS @1 ohm

Power line: 80 amp inline fuse with 8 gauge wire.

There are a couple issues:

1) The Sub

I didn't really do a super thorough job inspecting the sub before installation, but when i hooked it up to power, it makes alot of mechanical noise. The cone still moves back and forth without any weird resistance and the spider looks all attached. The problem is that in the higher frequencies, it sounds like the sub is being hit with a bat. At the lower frequencies, it sound great; clean bass, no other noise. I'm wondering if its just the leaks in the enclosure that I haven't fixed yet or if the sub is blown. I've also read that undersized power line can cause this also.

2) The Amp

The short of it is that it overheats WAY to quickly. I'm not bumping very hard at all and after 10-15 minutes is is burning hot and shuts off. Also, when the bass this the voltage drop is noticable; all the lights dim and the voltage gauge dances. The gain is set to about 74%. I'm wondering if there's something wrong with this refurbished amp but I've never tried to push a DVC 12" sub before. Also, if thats all the thump I'm going get outta 1200w, then I may have to consider a higher wattage DIGITAL class D amp bc I'm not going to upgrade my battery and alternator.

3) The power line

I know that 8 gauge is undersized for a 1200W amp, but when i went to put in 4 or 2 gauge, the guy at the store told me to just check the power line to see if it gets really hot when you use it, otherwise its fine. Temp wise it seems fine, but I wonder if it could be contributing to my issues.

ANY POSITIVE HELP would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Rob

yea so.. upgrade wire to 4 gauge AT LEAST. then fix the air leaks. after you fix the air leaks that may fix the sub noise. and yea if the amp is heating that fast then your wire is to small and gains up to were your probly clipping pretty badly. the clipping is also playing a factor on how much everything is dimming because the clipping pulls more juice...

 

---------- Post added at 07:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:15 PM ----------

 

I know, the 8 gauge was meant to be temporary until the sales rep said otherwise, but will going to 2 gauge and fixing the air leaks cure the sub's issues and cool down the amp?

the 2ga will help and turn the amp gain down a bit. try setting it with a dmm to 1200rms.

 

[Gemcoska 10+ year member]

Great help! Thanks. Will upgrade to 2 gauge and turn the gain down.

To be continued

 

[goingdef 10+ year member]

Gains too high power wires too small and your air leaks are no good.Thats a good way to tell if you have big enough power wire lol.

no shit that's some advice, might had just said stand back and watch to see if it burns to the ground!

OP it sounds like you know what's wrong now it's time to fix it and yea a bad box will sound almost exactly like a blown sub, if you want to test it free air it on low power using test tones and see if it's the the sub or box then set your gain correctly and for gods sake my speaker wire is bigger then your power cable hell walmart wiring kits are better then 8g! but now you got a good length of sub wire when you change it!

 

[gckless 5,000+ posts]

Don't forget fuses when you upgrade the wire. If it were me, I would skip the 2ga and go for 1/0ga. Then if you do decide to get something bigger in the future, you can without having to rerun wire.

 

[Gemcoska 10+ year member]

Okay, finally got around to fixing all these bugs and I'm still having issues. I closed all the holes in the subwoofer enclosure, swapped the power line for 2 gage, and turned down the gains.

The amp will run longer without shutting off but it still shuts off after about 25 minutes of very moderate use. Additionally, even at moderate use, all the lights still dim quite a bit. I'm wondering if the amp is not a good match and if there is a more efficient digital amp I should switch to. I know the XCON likes alot of power so I'm wondering how much power i need to supply it. I don't need more thump, just for it to run for hours without dimming all the lights.

Advice?

 

[CaddieJapan 10+ year member]

I would pull the amp and test it in another setup if possible. If the problem persists then it's in the amp, if not then you know your setup is wrong somewhere.

 

[Gemcoska 10+ year member]

You think that will solve the issue of too much current draw even if it is the Amp?

 

[Gemcoska 10+ year member]

Does anyone have suggestions on newer more

Efficient digital amplifiers? Like 1000w+

 

[>>SQL<< 10+ year member]

You said you changed the power wire, how about the ground wire?

What size ground are you using and is it securely connected to bare metal?