Subwoofer Popping at High Volume, Overpower Light Turns On

[gagewill]

I am rather new to car audio so excuse my lack of expert vocabulary.

I installed a single 10 inch subwoofer box, and all new JL door speakers and dash tweeters into my 2020 Silverado 1500. Everything played great for awhile but I started to hear a popping / scratching sound when I turned the volume all the way up. The sub would no longer play as loud as it used to and the overpowered light would come on when I turned the volume up on the head unit (stock head unit btw). After changing the bass boost on the amp, the output on the line output converter and the low / high pass, nothing changed. I plugged the sub into the door speaker amp and got similar results.

The subwoofer is a Skar 10inch and the amplifiers, door speakers, dash tweeters, and line output converter are all JL Audio

What could the issue be? My final thought would be a short / issue with the wiring.

Please reach out. Thank you

Click to read more...

 

[gagewill]

The subwoofer is a Skar 10inch and the amplifiers, door speakers, dash tweeters, and line output converter are all JL Audio

 

[metalheadjoe 10+ year member]

Did you smell burning? With power off, push in on the cone. If you feel or hear any scratchinf, your sub is fried. Based on what you described, you might be SOL.

 

[some dude]

What is the amplifier for the sub?
Did you set the gain knob on it correctly?

 

[deez283 10+ year member]

That's a different combo.. All JL audio gear and a Skar sub.

 

[gagewill]

Did you smell burning? With power off, push in on the cone. If you feel or hear any scratchinf, your sub is fried. Based on what you described, you might be SOL.

I thought I smelt burning coming from the JL 500 /1 monoblock amp for the sub but I wasn't for sure. Pushed in on the cone and didn't hear scratching and the fabric was attached to the magnet. What does SOL mean

 

[gagewill]

What is the amplifier for the sub?
Did you set the gain knob on it correctly?

JL 500 / 1. I'm assuming by gain knob you are referring to the input sens on the amplifier. I believe it is set correctly, but the sub doesn't reach a state of clipping as the "overpower" light would come on before it would reach that point, which would not happen before.

 

[1aespinoza 10+ year member]

JL 500 / 1. I'm assuming by gain knob you are referring to the input sens on the amplifier. I believe it is set correctly, but the sub doesn't reach a state of clipping as the "overpower" light would come on before it would reach that point, which would not happen before.

Skar is not known for quality control but is for affordability. With that being said, it may be the dust cap may be ungluing. Run your fingernail along the perimeter of it to see if this is the issue. Another thing could be that the thread that holds the lead to the spider (if sewn) may have torn and causes the lead to hit the cone. It happened to me on 2 Skar subs. Let us know.

 

[Jimi77 5,000+ posts]

Could be lead slap - the tinsel leads slapping the spider. If it's a ported enclosure and the SSF isn't set properly, then it could be unloading. Not sure what an "overpower" light is and what piece of equipment it is on, but that shouldn't be lighting up.

 

[David Plunkett]

Your power and or ground isn't sufficient enough. You need larger gauge Power and ground or you need to secure a better ground connection . Hope this helps I worked for Frank's electronics in west Palm beach Florida. I am an electronics technician. I repaired amps, head units, audio video components, ect. I would see this all the time. It will eventually permanently damage your amp if not corrected.

 

[JohnPD]

Maybe your amp gain is set too high, or wasn't set properly with the head units volume adjusted properly prior to setting the gain since you mentioned it didn't happen until you had the volume all the way up.