WTF is wrong with my stereo!?

1515 Views 48 Replies 10 Participants Last post by 04lowrdsierra, Aug 9, 2007

Luc1f3r

Discussion Starter · Aug 4, 2007

ok guys, im posting this on every board i go to because noone i ask can figure out the issue so i need as much input as i can get...

install =
2007 Scion tC
red top
Big 3 with 0awg
0awg ran from battery to the back
fused distro block to 4awg to
zx1500.1 and
zx450.2
2 12" L7s and
SS65.2 in the doors.
4awg grounds on both amps
ground wires are under 8" long each, both grounded out at a bolt that holds the seat back to the car
location has been sanded to bear metal

450.2 plays fine never an issue

1500.1 will cut out at higher volumes

subs are wired to 2ohms

bass boost on the amp is at 0
hz is around 100
gain is a little less then half
used a DMM to set the gain

playing at idle at lower volume the voltage AT THE AMP stays constant at 13.2-13.4 so its not a voltage issue...

thought my 1500.1 was over heating so i added 2 fans, 1 for each amp, each pointing directly at the vents on the amps, that didnt change anything, the amp runs a smidgen cooler but not anything special...

ask questions i didnt answer and tell me things to check/think about, ive been fuckin with my stereo for a week now and its still not gettin it..

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Will

· #2 · Aug 4, 2007

you check the resistance with an ohm meter? When the coils start going bad on those subs they either loose or gain resistance. I don't know what that amp is rated at, but it might just not like being under 2 ohms at very high power. I plugged my friends subs into my truck once and it would play fine until I turned it up.

Ok, I looked up what a zx1500.1 is. I'm pretty sure that amp has a 2 ohm minimum. Its been awhile since I've done anything with car stereos, but basically, you're drawing more current than the amp can take.

Luc1f3r

Discussion Starter · #3 · Aug 4, 2007

so i should either
1) turn the gain down quite a bit
or
2) rewire the subs to 8ohm and not get as much power?

turning the gain down seems like a better option, no?

Luc1f3r

Discussion Starter · #4 · Aug 4, 2007

Will said:
you check the resistance with an ohm meter?

i have DMM with an OHM setting, how do i check the resistance?

Will

· #5 · Aug 4, 2007

lol k. well, first check it across the subs you wired in parallel just to see what the resistance comes out to be. If its under 2, thats your problem.

Try rewiring them again. Its not going to be super loud but just wire all the coils in series. That should give you like an 8 ohm load, it should sounds better since your amp will distort less, but you won't have that much power. It should be fine though since your amp is pretty big.

ILuvJDM

· #6 · Aug 4, 2007

orangesuburban said:
i have DMM with an OHM setting, how do i check the resistance?

put it on the ohm setting, put the black probe on the negative speaker wire and the red on the positive, like this:

-John

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Steve

· #7 · Aug 4, 2007

It looks like you are running at 1 ohm on the subs and the amp cannot handle it. You will need to rewire them because it sounds like the amp is going into protect mode as it is overheating.

*edit. your diagram is hard to read but I would guess something is wrong with the wiring and you shouldn't play it loud until you fix it or it might risk blowing the amp, subs, or both.

Ok, after looking at the diagram again it looks like you are trying to achieve this:

The only thing I can think to try is to unhook all of the wiring and redo it just incase something is backwards or crossed.

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Luc1f3r

Discussion Starter · #8 · Aug 4, 2007

does my diagram not show the same thing as this one?

?????????? i am getting confused as to which + and - are a pair, top and bottom, or left and right?

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Luc1f3r

Discussion Starter · #9 · Aug 4, 2007

the dmm i have looks more like this one:

not quite as basic as the one you showed, but i understand now...

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Luc1f3r

Discussion Starter · #10 · Aug 4, 2007

Matt said:
Your diagram is correct, but something is not right if you are showing 1 ohm.

the pic of the DMM is not my system, he was using it as an example...

spitfire2332

· #11 · Aug 4, 2007

my guess is...

1. subs are wired wrong
2. gain is up too much and your amp is clipping
3. your amp is not getting enough, or cant get rid of the power efficiently. I see you have the big 3 and all that jibba jabba, but how many amps is your alternator? it cant be much in that little car.

you work at BB, you have to have atleast one installer who isnt a turd, have him take a look at it.

Fogle

· #12 · Aug 4, 2007

you can turn that multi meter to the left to where it looks like a speaker and when you touch your to leads together it will beep. that will work to see the ohms.

i dont understand this statement you made
i am getting confused as to which + and - are a pair, top and bottom, or left and right?

Luc1f3r

Discussion Starter · #13 · Aug 4, 2007

ok, put the dmm on the terminal on my box (didnt take subs out of the box) it was 2.5ohms...

the box has 1 terminal cup, inside the box there are 2 pairs of speaker wires.. im only using 1, the other pair is just bouncing around inside the box(but its still connected to the terminal cup...), could that make up for the other .5, or that is irrelevent?

Steven, on car domains diagram, are the pairs (1+ and 1- = a pair) are the top sets a pair, and the bottom sets, or is it left right, left right? on my L7s its marked but the diagrams dont state it... either way, yall say i weired it up correct... would my .5ohm difference cause this problem? how do i track it down? pull the subs from the box and see what each sub meters?

Spitfire, the 2 guys in my bay that i trust (on did my RS) moved to another store 1.5 hours away and the other one got fired... currenetly i wouldnt trust any of them (i have seen what they drive) lol, but yes i wish there was someone local i could go to to kick me in the ass and say "look dumbass, thats your problem."

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Fogle

· #14 · Aug 4, 2007

what i would do is pull my subs out and rewire them just like that diagram and see where its at. pull all other wires out of the box that are not connected to anything

and yes the top is one voice coil and the bottom is a voice coil

Luc1f3r

Discussion Starter · #15 · Aug 4, 2007

Fogle07 said:
what i would do is pull my subs out and rewire them just like that diagram and see where its at.

done it 3 times in the past 4 days

pull all other wires out of the box that are not connected to anything

gona go do it now

and yes the top is one voice coil and the bottom is a voice coil

ok, thats what figured after puting that pic next to my subs but just wanted to make sure.

Fogle

· #16 · Aug 4, 2007

who makes that amp?

Will

· #17 · Aug 4, 2007

kicker

ILuvJDM

· #18 · Aug 4, 2007

orangesuburban said:
the pic of the DMM is not my system, he was using it as an example...

yeah sorry I was giving an example of my load on the amplifier

-John

Luc1f3r

Discussion Starter · #19 · Aug 4, 2007

all stereo equpment is Kicker...

rewired everything, it comes to 2.4ohm load...

turn gain to where it needed to be based on the DMM, amp didnt like that... that was right around 1/2 up.... had to turn it down to a bit under 1/3 up for the amp to like it... just doesnt sound right...

the amp is made for 0awg power and ground, but i figured since the ground is less then a foot 4awg would be fine...

another fix i was thinking about... the 0awg i have going to the distro block,should i run that strait to 1500.1 and ground with 0awg, then run a new 4awg from the battery to the 450.2 and ground with 4awg?

i am 110% sure the subs are wired correct now, so i dont know what else it could be... there are no screws on the interior of a Scion so i didnt screw through wires or anything...

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Fogle

· #20 · Aug 4, 2007

no that wont make any difference. you wont be getting any more power from the battery i dont believe

i assume that amp has a remote bass boost and a boost on the amp itself correct?

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