question on gain setting?

[liftedcj7on44s 10+ year member]

pioneer deh-p4900ib.

 

[hardhitta47 10+ year member]

Okay, try this out. First of all, Pioneer h/u's don't really put out a good pre-out voltage until mid-high 50s on the volume. They also don't usually clip until almost 60 (assuming loud, bass boost and shit is off).

Not sure how you have your settings on your h/u, but I suggest you reset your gains like this...

Volume at 55 (trust me on this), SW out turned on (obviously), SW level at +6 or all the way up, loud off, bass boost and all that other bullshit turned off, eq set flat. Once you've set it like that, recheck your voltage with your DMM (set on Vac / Vrms) and see if you're not getting your desired voltage at closer to half-way on the gain knob. If not, your amp must be fukked up or extremely overrated.

Now, if you're getting a good voltage from doing that, and your idmax still hits like a little bitch, try reversing the phase. You can do that on your h/u. Another thing to mess with is the eq settings. I believe that h/u has that wierd eq where you select a frequency, then the Q or some shit. That could be another solution. Also, make sure the LPF on your h/u, not just your amp, isn't set too low.

Good luck

 

[DBfan187 5,000+ posts]

no, set gains on volume 61/62 with everything set flat. trust me.

 

[liftedcj7on44s 10+ year member]

ok i know you guys are tired of me but i still havent got this straight. i was told buy the guy who bought the amp new that since my alternator would only push max of about 95 amps that i should get a capacitor and that would cure the problem. according to infinity's website they say the max current draw is 110 amps(same as my alternator) so it may pull 80-90 during normal use. what do i do get the cap or just get a more efficient amp or what?

 

[DBfan187 5,000+ posts]

It won't pull anywhere near that amount of current while playing music.

 

[liftedcj7on44s 10+ year member]

well i am all out of options, i cant get the amp benched cuz the guy doesnt do it anymore. i am about to pull everything out of the car and sell it because i dont even listen to it hardly anymore because it finaly starts to get decent vol. but then the amp clips and i cant go anymore. i need someone that has more experience with this crap then me to tell me what to do because i am all out of options

 

[Blove1991 10+ year member]

Did you not read hardhitta's post and try out his suggestions?

 

[envengineer 10+ year member]

Have you tested the resistance on the two coils separately?

I'm willing to bet your amp is the problem. Find another amp to borrow and test it out. Start eliminating variables. Sounds like you just keep ****ing around with the same stuff and you aren't any closer to fixing the problem than when you started.

Switch the amp, if the problem goes away the amp was the problem. If not, switch out the sub, etc. etc. Hell, take the subwoofer in the box and hook it up in someone elses car and make sure it works.

 

[liftedcj7on44s 10+ year member]

i truely dont think that going to help. i have the gain now at the 2 oclock position and it will still clip.Im done with it.

 

[liftedcj7on44s 10+ year member]

well no one around here seems to have an amp that i can try. i have asked everyone i know. i did check both coils on the sub with a DMM both read 4.2-4.5

 

[liftedcj7on44s 10+ year member]

ok i tried hardhittas method and here is what i get. HU volume on 55, no bass boost on HU or amp. LPF set on 80 on the amp, eq settings all flat on the HU. i turn my gain all the way down which is at 7 o clock on the amp. with the HU at level 55 i can get the gain to the 9 oclock position and then it starts to clip, so not even a quarter up on the gain before it starts to clip. sounds like the amp must be fubar'd but can my electrical system cause something like this to happen or is it just a crap amp? i need to know what to do. if i need another amp then would you guys recommend me getting the sundown saz1500d?

 

[envengineer 10+ year member]

You do not need a capacitor. You need a bigger alternator. If your current draw is potentially 110, you are way short with a 95 amp alt. Remember that the 95 amp alt has to power the rest of your car, not just the amplifier. You are probably providing it with somewhere around 65 amps (just a ballpark, I have no idea what your car actually pulls). No capacitor is going to fix that.

Before you get an alternator, find somewhere to have the amp bench tested or borrow a different amp. I know you keep saying those are impossible to do, but they are better than wasting money on something that might fix the problem.

 

[hardhitta47 10+ year member]

Go get some el cheapo rcas at wal-mart or wherever and try hooking those up to your amp. If that doesn't solve your problem, then yeah, your amp must be toast. I don't think your electrical system has anything to do with this. Doing the big 3 is always a good idea, when you get the chance.Those Sundowns do seem like great amps, if you can afford one. Lots of choices.

 

[liftedcj7on44s 10+ year member]

well its not the electrical system, i am holding a steady 13.8 volts to the amp. amp isnt drawing anymore than 60 amps, i mean it is a class d monoblock which is supposed to be more efficient and use less power. I have the sundown 1500 coming this coming up week. snagged it up for 325 bucks from the guy that makes them from lumberton. gonna drive up there this week and pick it up. got a box in the making right now thats 2.7@28hz sub firing up port firing through the rear deck. i think that this amps load switching internal is whacked. if i can run the sub at either 8 ohm or 2ohm and get the same output then i think what is happening is that the amp isnt swithing to 2 ohm when a 2 ohm load is put to it. i had a guy listen to my setup that is over on realofexcursion today and he agrees with me it hits about 365 watts and clips after that. thanks for your help guys, o yeah i have like 6 sets of diff rca's i tried. but anyway this thing will pound off the sundown 1500. should get close to 900 watts at 2ohm.

 

[luvinthebass 5,000+ posts]

Okay, try this out. First of all, Pioneer h/u's don't really put out a good pre-out voltage until mid-high 50s on the volume. They also don't usually clip until almost 60 (assuming loud, bass boost and shit is off).
Not sure how you have your settings on your h/u, but I suggest you reset your gains like this...

Volume at 55 (trust me on this), SW out turned on (obviously), SW level at +6 or all the way up, loud off, bass boost and all that other bullshit turned off, eq set flat. Once you've set it like that, recheck your voltage with your DMM (set on Vac / Vrms) and see if you're not getting your desired voltage at closer to half-way on the gain knob. If not, your amp must be fukked up or extremely overrated.

Now, if you're getting a good voltage from doing that, and your idmax still hits like a little bitch, try reversing the phase. You can do that on your h/u. Another thing to mess with is the eq settings. I believe that h/u has that wierd eq where you select a frequency, then the Q or some shit. That could be another solution. Also, make sure the LPF on your h/u, not just your amp, isn't set too low.

Good luck

yeah i agree with him doin that, my pioneer didn't hit 2.2 volts(it's preout max) till 28 of 30, my pioneer has that eq with the Q, and i chose the 402W one which centered the frequency at 40 hz and around that , it made the bass sound deep and filled out the sound a hell of a lot more then the 80 and 100 and 160 Q's to choose from.