Sub coming on only at high volumes

[nickpapa 10+ year member]

did a search but could only find threads about the amp cutting out at high volumes.

i'm having kinda the opposite problem. lately my sub does not turn on when my amp turns on. my fronts come on fine and play like normal, but the sub stays off unless i crank it up. once i crank it up, the subs starts playing and then is ok for a while. I've noticed it shut back off once or twice but usually it does stay on.

is this a sub problem or is the channel on the amp going bad?

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[thevic24 5,000+ posts]

What amp are you running?

I have a Fusion NVAM 2500.1 here that is somewhat like that. But it stays on after its on.

You can actually hear the relays clicking on and off with that amp.

 

[Z1NONLY 10+ year member]

If we are talking about a single sub, I suspect something is up with the sub itself.

-But I'm not sure what type of sub problem would cause your symptoms. I wouldn't expect a tinsel lead issue to be so "consistent" and if there was something obstructing coil movement I would expect really bad noises.

Hmmmm.

Can you tie another speaker to your amp's output just to isolate amp vs sub? Even if it's just a door speaker, you should be able to test at low enough volume to keep from over-driving the test speaker.

Oh and the cheaper the test speaker the better. Since we aren't sure what, if anything, your amp is doing out of the norm.

 

[nickpapa 10+ year member]

I'm using an Eclipse XA4000. a single 12w3v3 (maybe 4 months old). rear channel is bridged for the sub.

It's weird, sometimes the sub will work no problem, but most of the time i have to crank it up and then it will pop on and start playing. every so often even if i crank it up, it won't go on, but typically it does goes on. it's a little strange.

no issues with my front channels powering my components though.

 

[Z1NONLY 10+ year member]

I would connect the cheapest speaker I had laying around to the sub out on your amp and listen to it at low volume for a bit.

If it works flawlessly, look closer at everything between the amp and your sub -including the sub itself.

If you still have the same problem with the cheap test speaker, the problem is in your amp or the signal/power/ground it's getting.

 

[subzero 5,000+ posts]

what deck are you running? I had that issue sometimes. like a signal delay or the singal isnt strong enough to trigger the amps turn on circuitry. Its wierd cuase I always though the remote turn on would enable the amp to power on instantly. so it could also be a capacitor delay or something.

 

[5dollaFtDong]

I had the same exact issue with my front stage one time. My whole set up was run through a Kicker KQ9 (?) EQ. My right side components would not come on unless I cranked up the volume to a certain point, then they played fine. I went back and forth with this until I decided to make adjustments on that Kicker EQ which fixed the problem. This makes me think it might be a processing issue with either your HU or amp.

 

[nickpapa 10+ year member]

im running a Kenwood BT900.

I'll try hooking up a different speaker to those channels and see if i get the same result. that'll at least narrow it down a little. thanks for the help!

 

[-01limited- 10+ year member]

Had this issue with my sub. It was a tinsel lead going bad on me. Wouldnt play at low volumes but it'd kick on out of no where when turned up then turn it back down and it would go off. One day it just quit all together, pulled the sub and one of the tinsel leads was fried.