Sub amp not working correct or hooked up wrong?

[jdubbau 10+ year member]

Well I dont know if my amp just is not working right, if I have it hooked up wrong or if I just do not have the proper equipment to hook it up right?

I have an AB 700.1 a 7k amp ant 1 ohm and it is not doing near that as a matter of fact I have 2 batteries on under hood AGM, and a group 31 in the back AGM and I dont beleive I have been able to get the voltage to drop below 13.9 volts. Normally people do not complain about this but when my amp is not doin NEAR what it should and I can turn it up pretty high on gain and bass bost and it still does the same I got to have something wrong?

I think I may have the RCA's hooked up wrong but it was doing this before when it was hooked up differently too. Here is what I have going on now.

DVD player 8 Inch sony Deck--Has two single sub outs (that where being used but are not now)

I have the F Right and F Left RCA's coming out of the Deck into the back of a Epic Four.1 under MAIN INPUT. The only other input is Aux input.

I then have my mids and High amp ( Soundstream Rubicon 702) running off of the Front RCA plug in on the Epic four.1 and the Sub amp RCA's running to the Rear RCA plugs on the Epic four.1.

I had the amp tested before I did all this at a car audio shop and they just hooked a multimeter up to it and said I was onl drawing 80 amps from my sub amp at full throttle??? I then changed the set up and installed the Eq above and now have it installed like this listed above. It is much better but still NO WHERE near what it should be doing.

Are my RCA's hooked up wrong, Do I need another EQ with sub outs. Do I need to r run myy Remote wire?

I dont know where to go from here guys and hope it is something easy that most would miss. Can YOU ALL help me out?

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[psych0ticnemes1 5,000+ posts]

Is the amp mono?

Make sure you're using one of the dedicated subwoofer rca outputs. If you're using a full range set of rca outputs, you won't get nearly the amount of juice you're expecting.

Next, check to make sure you're ground reads 0 by using a dmm. Set your dmm to ohms and put one lead on the amp ground terminal and another on a clean piece of the frame other than where it is currently grounded. If anything but 0 is returned, your ground isn't good.

Some amps are very fickle. Even if your ground worked for your last amp, it may not be good enough for this amp. Something as small as your head unit ground could cause an amp to act the way you're describing.

I hope this helps.

 

[jdubbau 10+ year member]

Ok I still dont get how I would use just one of the Sub outputs off the deck as it has two independent outputs both marked separatle subwoofer output and still be able to plug it into my EQ and use my mids and high amp.

The EQ has a Main and Aux input with Red and white RCA hook ups so if I use my two sub outs from my Deck/DVD to the Four.1 EQ's Main input would that not edit out my Mids and High amps capability to be controlled by the EQ? I was not sure if it would or not and was scared to do it this way but it seemed the most logical to have it done this way.

So tell me if this looks correct to everyone.

Soundstream DVD/Deck Sub outs x2 use both to plug into Four.1 EQ's Main Input, then plug RCA's for Sub amp into Four.1 Rear input and Sounstream 702 Rubicon (front stage amp) to the Front input on the Four.1

I think this may be half of the problem but have not had experience with just 1 RCA for the Sub out off of any deck and this one has it set up that way but has 2 total but are maked separatley like the RCA's are in RED and White but in sets of 2 instead of 1.

I will also check out my grounds with DMM as I was unware of this trick. D*mn NEWBIES

 

[psych0ticnemes1 5,000+ posts]

You should use one of the subwoofer outputs for your sub amp and one of the full range outputs for your other amps/ EQs. If you use a subwoofer output for your full range amps, you won't get much sound out of your speakers, and vice versa.

 

[jdubbau 10+ year member]

Ok so you are saying take 1 not two red/white rcas from sub amp and use just the white or just the red to plug into the 1 output on the DVD/Deck?

Then take just 1 not two red/white rca's from the mid/high amp and use it to plug into just one NOT TWO red/white of the EQ main input or the Deck input for Front or Rear RCA outputs for F/R?

I have never heard of this being set up this way and think I may be misinterpreting what you are saying.

I thought it would be best to use a RED and White RCA from the DECK/DVD player to run to the EQ's main input. I would use the two subwoofer outputs to do this from the back of the deck. Plug the Red in one and the white in one and run it to the EQ main input and use the Red and white to plug into both connections there. Then run 1 red and 1 white from the FRONT output of the EQ to the red and white connection of the Mid/high amp. Take the Red and white from the REAR OUT on the EQ and use both connections there to run to the Sub amp and use both the Red and white RCA connections again.

Is this what you mean? I pictured this way to work the best but it seems like you mean to only use 1 rca to plug into the sub out on deck and only run the 1 connection from the DECK to the SUB amp. As I would not be able to connect it to the EQ that I know of unless I only use one connection on the F and R for each amp?

I plan to buy a different EQ anyways but wanted to see the best route to get ALL of my power and SQ that I can from what I currently have. Sorry I am having a tough time understanding. (I cant help it I was edumacated in Tennesee and Kenucky!)//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/eek.gif.771b7a90cf45cabdc554ff1121c21c4a.gif

 

[psych0ticnemes1 5,000+ posts]

No no, use both the red and white prongs from 1 subwoofer output (= 1 set of rcas consisting of 1 red and 1 white female prong)

I thought you meant you had TWO subwoofer outputs... which to me means a total of 4 prongs, two red and two white.

If this is how you currently have it set up, it is correct. If the amp produces any amount of power, it is probably a wiring issue somewhere, not the amp itself.

Don't use the rear output of the EQ. It should be run straight from the head unit to the sub amp. The signal from the sub output of the head unit is mono, which is what your sub amp needs. The REAR output from your EQ is a stereo signal, meant for mids and highs. You should have two RCA cables coming out of your head unit, one for your sub amp and one for your EQ.

You want your EQ to control your mids and highs, NOT your sub right?

 

[jdubbau 10+ year member]

NO I want my EQ to control my SUB and my mids and highs.

I also have 1 and output for Sub X2 on deck and by one I mean just 1 line I can plug into for Subwoofer but there are 2 of them but they are not a set they are 2 separate outputs of one single rca. Just to make it a lil more confusing.

I am looking to get a new double din dash if I can find one and get a new eq as it seems to be the problem as it does not have a specific sub out location on the current eq.

If I did not want to control my sub this would be a piece of cake and just a simple connection but as you can see why I am asking now I really am not that dumb as I have hooked quite a few decks up but have not done one like this with just single sub outs and NO input or output specified on the eq for subs"?

 

[jdubbau 10+ year member]

Ok guys help PLEASE

I hoped to have already traded or bought a new eq by now but I want to go ahead and use what I have now until I do as I would like to get the most out of my set up that I can.

I have a Epic 160 and a Audio Control four.1 that I want to hook up and use for my mids and high amp and Sub amp. I want the EQ to work on both the Sub amp and the Mids and high and the Epic 160 to just work with the sub?

Not sure if this will work and give me the most bang for my buck can someone help me out?

I need to know what plug/plugs to use from my head unit and where to go from there?

1 set = 1 red 1 white RCA

Epic 160 has 1 set of inputs and 1 set of outputs

Four.1 has 1 set of inputs, and a front set of outputs, rear set of outputs and an aux.

Someone please help me out here until I can get a trade or sale worked out.

 

[jdubbau 10+ year member]

Please?? HELP?

I know a few ways to hook it up but dont understand the optimal way to hook it all up and use all the features I can?