Subwoofer system stopped hitting, rest of system works (tried noob fixes)

[vickx038]

I have had a smaller subwoofer system (see specs below) installed for about four months and it was working well until last week when mid-song the subwoofer stopped hitting hard. It still makes noise, but the "bump" is so small that I can only hear it when I put my ear up to the sub directly. Also, when the system should "bump" hard, the amp goes into protection mode for a half-a-second and then clicks back on. The deck still powers the four stock speakers without any problem.

What I've tried:

-Checking and replacing every fuse (on the amp, the power in-line, and on the back of the head unit)

-Replacing the amplifier with a new one (same model)

-Hooking up another subwoofer

-Checking, checking, and rechecking the RCAs, and all other wires on the battery, the ground

-Replacing the battery

What I have:

-4 factory speakers

-A Kenwood KDC-138 head unit with one set of RCA pre-outs

-A Kenwood 1000W/ 300 RMS amplifier

-1 10" Kenwood 1000W/ 300 RMS subwoofer

-A solid ground that conforms to the sticky in this forum

Any help would be great! I've been working on this all week.

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[DammitJames 10+ year member]

check the voltage on the amp when its going into protect might have a problem there

 

[peterweiner]

youve got me somewhat stumped on this based on what youve tried so far but with that being said, i would say an RCA or remote wire problem probably coming from the head unit. good luck with this one. let us know what it was, im curious myself!

 

[neverfinished 10+ year member]

I would say RCA's or ground. The amp could just be at the end of its rope?

1.make sure your ground is done right, http://www.caraudio.com/forum/general-discussion/272580-how-properly-make-ground.html i would encourage you to read that as you seem pretty new to car audio (i am too) because a bad ground could potentially be causing this. A real obvious thing alot of new people miss is they forget to shave the metal down to bare where they ground so make sure thats done

2.Only way i know to check your Rca's is with a different amp so try that

 

[peterweiner]

I would say RCA's or ground. The amp could just be at the end of its rope?1.make sure your ground is done right, http://www.caraudio.com/forum/general-discussion/272580-how-properly-make-ground.html i would encourage you to read that as you seem pretty new to car audio (i am too) because a bad ground could potentially be causing this. A real obvious thing alot of new people miss is they forget to shave the metal down to bare where they ground so make sure thats done

2.Only way i know to check your Rca's is with a different amp so try that

well, it just stopped after working properly for months so im pretty sure the ground would be ok, although i would recheck that because you are right, it really does matter and as far as the amp, he has replaced it so thats why im so curious to know what it was being he checked and replaced everything there was to do besides the head unit, hence my past comment about that being the problem.

 

[neverfinished 10+ year member]

well, it just stopped after working properly for months so im pretty sure the ground would be ok, although i would recheck that because you are right, it really does matter and as far as the amp, he has replaced it so thats why im so curious to know what it was being he checked and replaced everything there was to do besides the head unit, hence my past comment about that being the problem.

make sure the ground is secure on shaved metal, although due to the shitty brand name im more inclined to just think the amps gone.

 

[vickx038]

I checked the voltage at the amp, and I get a steady 12 volts at the amp. Also, I connected RCA cables directly from my preout on the deck to the amp, and achieved the same result as before: no bump. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif Something notable, the amp seemed to do the same thing whether it was connected to RCAs or not. Also, I removed, sandpapered, and replaced my ground cable. Does this help anyone? Really trying to get to the bottom of this! Let me know if you come up with any other ideas. A note, does anyone know how to test an RCA preout with a multimeter?