Sub cuts out at high volumes.

[rmerriam]

Hey Guys,

I came across a problem with my system about a month or so back and have yet to find any correct answers. Ill start with some background information.

I have a 2010 Ford Focus with the stock premium sound HU. I have my Alpine MRP500 amp wired to that and a Rockford Fosgate P3D412 sub. I had my bass settings on my HU set to +2 and it had worked no problem for over a year. Then one day it started cutting out and coming back on in sync with the beat of the song. Whenever a hard hit comes or what have you... I took it to a local shop and he was positive it was my stock head unit because Ford puts "limiters" in them so people don't blow there stock speakers. I am aware that in fact this is true, however seeming as it worked over a year before that, Im doubting thats the problem.

-When it cuts out my amps power light stays on

-I have to turn my bass setting on the HU far into the negative range to have no cut outs at high volume

-All connections are secure

-My ground is fine

-Fuzes are fine

My best guess and worst fear is that my sub is fucked somehow..but I have no clue how to be sure seeming as when it doesn't cut out, it still sounds great!\

Any help or ideas are highly appreciated and I am looking forward to finally figuring this out!

Thanks,

Ryan

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[Better-Action 10+ year member]

Sounds like the amp not the sub.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

its your alpine amp causing it.

 

---------- Post added at 03:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:44 AM ----------

 

that shop's just saying that so you'll buy a new head unit from them lol.

 

[phemps 10+ year member]

Is there a protection light on the amp coming on when it cuts out?

 

[rmerriam]

Thanks for the reply's guys!

I would rather the amp be shot then the sub seeming as I think I still have a warranty for that...as for the protection light, I'm not sure that this amp even has a protection light... Any other way I can check to narrow down if its really the amp or not?

 

[bbeljefe]

Where is the gain set on the amp and how was it set?

Is the bass boost (bass eq) turned up at all?

What crossover frequency is the amplifier set to?

How does the signal get from the head unit to the amplifier?

It sounds to me like you've been driving the amp/sub with distortion over time and when that happens, you will eventually cause the amplifier to become weak or, the sub to burn a coil out. In other words, "it worked fine for a year" only means it took a year for the distortion to damage it.... everything works fine until it doesn't work fine anymore. ;-)

 

[thatguy12 10+ year member]

highly doubt its the same but its worth a shot. my amp/ subs would cut off at high volumes. i ended replacing the rca's and havnt had a problemsince then. doubt its the same problem tho

 

[rmerriam]

The gain is less than half way up and was set by a professional, No bass EQ, Not sure what the crossover freq. is...?, and the RCA's are connected to a in line converter which is connected to my speaker wires.

Based on those settings, I doubt that I was pushing it to hard... I never listened to it with max volume or max bass settings or anything like that.

 

[Ahmed Johnson]

If the amp stays on and you get no signal, I would try the line out converter or the speaker wires it's connected to. Chances are you are rumbling the converter loose since I'm assuming it is hooked up in your trunk. You could try connecting the converter to another speaker and see if that fixes the problem. This is just a guess though. I have had problems with the 10 dollar converters before so some times you might have to just pay the extra money for a better converter.

 

[rmerriam]

Ill give it a try! Thanks for the reply!