Subs shut off when turned up?

[ebmx66 10+ year member]

One of these kids that i know just got a new truck and his dad put a system in it with 2 JL 12's (the kid doesn't know which model).

He was tellin me about it and said then when he turns it up past a certain level (like 11 or somethin) the subs shut off. He said that his system is "set" to do that so he doesn't blow the subs.

I told him i don't think u can set ur system like that..... i think you just dont have enough power going to the subs and they shut off cause they're running out of amperage.

Is it possible to set ur subs to shut off at a certain level or was i right?

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[bonesninja 5,000+ posts]

the amp will shut down if it has a good protection circuit

 

[AndonD454 10+ year member]

amp goes into protection.

probably a lower impedance load than it was designed to handle

 

[ebmx66 10+ year member]

so u can't set the amp to shut off at a certain level though......im pretty sure hes not running a lower ohm than it was designed to handle cause i think he is underpowering the subs pretty bad but im not sure cause he can't tell me which jl's he has

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

so u can't set the amp to shut off at a certain level though......im pretty sure hes not running a lower ohm than it was designed to handle cause i think he is underpowering the subs pretty bad but im not sure cause he can't tell me which jl's he has

No, you cant tell the amp to shut off at a certain level.

Its possible to run an amp under it's recommended load AND underpower subs. Running a 2ch amp bridged to 4 ohms @ 2 ohms that only pushes 200w (@ 4ohm) for 2 300w subs is one quick example.

Get the model # of the amp and the subs, and we can help you a lot easier. If you have to just unscrew one of the subs real quick and pull it out.

 

[ebmx66 10+ year member]

im pretty sure ill be able to tell which model they are once i see the truck in person tonight and see what amps he has....

all i care about is that i was right.....yesssss hahahah jk thanks guys

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

all i care about is that i was right.....yesssss hahahah jk thanks guys

He was still half right. The amp shuts ITSELF off because there is clearly a problem, whether it be from overheating if its in a tight space, too high of a load, or clipping protection.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

He was still half right. The amp shuts ITSELF off because there is clearly a problem, whether it be from overheating if its in a tight space, too high of a load, or clipping protection.

No he wasn't half right. That's not setting your system to shut down before the speakers blow, its pushing your amplifier into protection mode. That can possibly damage the amplifier, especially if its subjected to it on a regular basis. No, that's not cleverly setting your system up with a failsafe, that's coming up with a BS story when you dont understand whats really happening.

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

No he wasn't half right. That's not setting your system to shut down before the speakers blow, its pushing your amplifier into protection mode. That can possibly damage the amplifier, especially if its subjected to it on a regular basis. No, that's not cleverly setting your system up with a failsafe, that's coming up with a BS story when you dont understand whats really happening.

What I meant was the system is turning itself off to protect something. I know it wasnt the subs and I know its bad for the amp.

Clearly he doesn't know whats going on if he thinks an amp turns off to protect subs.