To All Audio Gurus...a challenge.

2RotorsNaDream · Post by **2RotorsNaDream** » May 8th, 2006, 8:50 pm

OK, I have a 1993 Mazda MX-3 w/ KLZE. I bought the car a month and a half ago and threw the motor in right away. So I've been kept busy breaking in the clutch. Now, I've decided to put my 2 12" Kicker Solobarics in the car and things are not going smoothly at all to say the least. Heres what I got:

4 different amps have been tried with this car already and all are turning on but the subs are not hitting at all. They are vibrating and you can slightly hear them but theyre not hitting anywhere near hard.

I have changed out the fuse, changed the power, ground, and remote wires, and I have changed the RCA cables. I've run the amp normally and bridged and there is no difference.

I have a Sony Xplod MD player head unit and I also tried out my friends JVC CD head unit and neither do anything different.

All the amps are all the way up to the max and still nothing. I was using: 1Alpine V-Power Amp with 480W 4 channel amp.
1 Jensen 780W 2 Channel Amp.
1 AlphaSonik 240W 2 channel amp (which bumped by far the best)
1 AlphaSonik 480W 4 Channel Amp.

I'm just about ready to give up on what can be wrong, I've looked at it as well as a few friends and nobody has any clue what it is. So now I'm hoping that maybe one of you guys can give me some suggestions as I am now 100% offically out of ideas. Everything is wired in phase also.

Dali · Post by **Dali** » May 8th, 2006, 9:05 pm

are both subs in the same box, do you have one amp running both or each have their own, are you using the 2 or 4 channel. if in the same box it could be one has the polarity backwards, what would happen is one sub goes in while the other is going out which basically cancels each other. this would depend on how you have it hooked up right now.

2RotorsNaDream · Post by **2RotorsNaDream** » May 8th, 2006, 10:23 pm

I tried 2 different sets of subs and they both do the same thing. No reversed polarities. I have the 2 subs in one box.

2fazed · Post by **2fazed** » May 9th, 2006, 12:08 am

Is your sub box sealed tight? I remember when I had a single 10" solobaric in my tirewell. And the floorboard came loose, meaning the enclosure wasn't sealed air tight, and I could barely hear the sub.

Bochek · Post by **Bochek** » May 9th, 2006, 7:27 am

i know the answer to this one.... where do you have the negitive (-) cable of your amp run too?

my guess is that tthere is not a good ground. there is a easy way to test this, all you need is 2 jumping cables, connect the 2 ends of the negives together and run it from the negitive side of the batery to the negitive side of your amp.

if that doesnt help then you got other problems. my guess is you wired something wrong.

if you have access to a scope or graphing volt meter your job will be alot easier.

Bochek

ariesdude · Post by **ariesdude** » May 9th, 2006, 2:01 pm

- try connecting only one sub at a time - if it hits hard then change polarities on the other one and connect it too.
-Does the sub diaphragm move easily without any scratching when you slightly push it.
-Check for cracked magnet.

2RotorsNaDream · Post by **2RotorsNaDream** » May 9th, 2006, 5:06 pm

My ground is a very good ground. Nothing is reversed, and I had the subs in a friends car right before I put them in my car so I know there is no cracked magnet. When I only put one sub in at a time it doesnt act any different, still doesnt hit at all.

2RotorsNaDream · Post by **2RotorsNaDream** » May 9th, 2006, 5:20 pm

I'm gonna have to check all the connections again and again. Everyone here and everyone on Probetalk keeps saying the same thing so I'm gonna have to go check once again. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

2RotorsNaDream · Post by **2RotorsNaDream** » May 9th, 2006, 7:29 pm

STILL DOESNT WORK!! I made sure everything was in phase and connected properly and still no bass whatsoever. I'm starting to lose my patience.

ariesdude · Post by **ariesdude** » May 9th, 2006, 10:40 pm

How is the preamp o/p getting to the amp - did you check if that cable is ok (not pinched or shorted) - one way to test the cable is to unplug it on both ends (HU & amp) and test the resistance (multimeter) between signal(center) and ground(outer edge) pin on both plugs- if it shows any valid reading at all - replace the cable immediately.

one sure way to test the subs/amp will be to connect them to another audio source directly (like the headphone o/p of iPod to the amp inputs - you probably need a $5 patch cable from radioshack - stereo headphone pin on one side and RCA on the other side) - if the subs/amp work that way - then definitely look at that cable more closely.

2RotorsNaDream · Post by **2RotorsNaDream** » May 9th, 2006, 11:18 pm

If you're talking about the RCA cable, yeah I've used 3 different ones and all are fine. I'm using the newest one in my car now.

ariesdude · Post by **ariesdude** » May 10th, 2006, 12:05 am

Well, then maybe try connecting another source (like ipod) and test if the amp/subs setup is ok -
or maybe try to put it back in your friends car to see if it still works -
If all else fails - you need a professional who can look at the setup.... or post pics of every aspect of your setup (wiring, connections, terminals etc)- maybe somone can spot whats wrong right away ...

joe 92mx3 · Post by **joe 92mx3** » May 10th, 2006, 12:51 am

this may sound crazy but why they should be running push a speaker in dont hold it just pump it a few times see if you can feel any thing

MX3Extreme · Post by **MX3Extreme** » May 12th, 2006, 6:04 pm

Ok, I thought I would jump in and help you out, In my 14 years as a certified car audio technician I can give you a few things to test and hopefully this helps without me seeing you car and how it is set-up. My questions are :

What Impedence are the sub woofers? 2-4 ohms?

Are they single or dual voice coil subs?

What do you consider a good ground? A Digital meter should read something along the line of .01 or so to be a GOOD ground?

Also what voltage are you getting from the amps? You can hve 12 volts at the amp but could have a THERMALLY separated fuse at the battery that will turn the amp on but not pass enough current through to make it work properly?

Does you deck have a sub control? If so is it on? check that forsure!

these are just idea's for you, I know i can solve your problem just need a little more info.

thanks

Hope this helps you.

MX3Extreme
Automotive Accessory electronic Technician.
First Class MECP certified Technician.

Typhoonk · Post by **Typhoonk** » May 13th, 2006, 4:59 pm

Why wouldn't u use a mono sub amplifier?

You 'ARE' using 4gauge or larger power wire? and ground wire?

I would try an amp with at least 400-800 watts RMS - to run both subs.

----------------------------------------------

Take the sub into best buy or an audio shop - and ask them to hook it up to their amps and see if it bumps any better. (make sure u watch how they hook it up)

Other than that ,I would swap the deck for another deck (just because u have tried everything else!!!!)