Alright I can't get my amp and sub to sound right. I have it hooked up as I always have had it wired and everything. All I get out of the sub is a gurgling bass. It's got a little bass, not near as much as it should and used to have, and it's got like little blurps and grr's in it, lol. Now... I have a power acoustik 7inch tft in-dash radio/tv as the head unit, hooked to a pyle DVD player. The TV has like 2 amp outputs and one woofer output. I bought a new pair of 20 feet RCA cables, and I have two different amps. A memphis 4 channel amp, thats like 300 watts max, and a 800 watt Kicker, 2 channel amp. I have used both before, and they both have worked in the past just fine. I have two different speakers i've been trying. Both are 12 inch Audiobahn subs, one's in a bandpass JVC box or JL box, not sure what it is. and one's in a truick box. Both amps, both subs, make the gurgling sound. I did try the kicker amp in my friends car, and it seemed to work fine. Along with the speakers, so any ideas on the problem guys? keep in mind, the amp and sub worked a few weeks ago. All I did differently was change headunits. Thanks in advance for the help.
Replies (16)
TheErnie on 01/1/2005 20:28:46
Oh, and I have a 93 Ford Explorer, if that helps any.
MrBrownstone on 01/1/2005 20:45:06
You might have flipflopped your speaker wires. try switching the +/- going in to each sub. That might work
TheErnie on 01/1/2005 21:03:24
The wires of the speakers are the same as they were when they worked.
TheErnie on 01/1/2005 21:04:25
Plus, I even straight wired it to a sub I had, and it did the same thing. The sub wasnt in a box, but it still made the gurgling sound.
ttocs on 01/1/2005 22:28:14
Bet your runnin the factory speakers? Sounds like you are running the system through the ford/jbl premium sound system. When the jbl system is peaking out, the kicker amp is just getting warmed up.
If you suspect this is the case, get ford/jbl amp bypass kit. I think the amp is behind the passenger side rear trim, there is bit to take off to find it.
UKinstaller on 01/2/2005 02:21:44
yeah ttocs it's behind the passenger side backseat wall trim. you have to take out the back hatch trim and all that crap. it's a bunch of "poppers" and then the plastic pops off.
you can catch the speaker wire in the kick panel, too, but that can be a pain in the a$$.
ttocs, if it were in the kick, would that be before or after the amp?? i'm dumb right now.
-UK
Victor on 01/2/2005 05:01:37
Well I got one thing in mind.. i have seen it happen in my old car.. while changing a few equipments.. some wires got cut off their insulation and were in direct contact with the metal of the car.. this did give me lots of that Grrr... in the subs and speakers..
i suggest you run through the lenghts of all the wires and cords and check their integrity..
Victor..
swez on 01/2/2005 07:51:46
If the system worked fine before and is now acting quirky, something has changed with time. Most likely, the new HU/DVD player is the culprit. Start a systematic troubleshooting process to find out what components work and which have failed.
1. Test all amps and speakers for signal integrity
2. Check all signal cables from source to amps
3. Substitute known good components as you go
The easiest thing to do here, is disconnect your RCA source line ins for each amp used. Use a Walkman (or similar device) as your temporary signal source. Just buy or make a patch cable that has 1 male headphone jack for the Walkman, and a pair of RCA's that plug into your amp inputs.
Set the volume on the Walkman to ~60% of max and amp gains adjusted to give adequate audio output to speakers. This test will tell if the amp(s) and speakers are good or faulty. If all is well, your problem is upstream in the audio chain... either cables or source unit has a problem.
If you note problems in this phase of the test, amp or speakers are giving some trouble. Having a known good amp and a few extra test speakers on hand, will tell you which device is causing the problem.
Having a test meter is a very good thing to have on hand. Need to find out what voltages are available to amp(s) from the ALT/BAT and wiring systems. If you have excess voltage readings (>15.0 volts) that's a possible issue to address. If the voltage reading are below 12.0 with engine running, electrical problems to look for from ALT/BAT/Wires and grounding.
Did you ground the new DVD/TV unit to harness ground or direct to a bare metal chassis/floor pan ground?
Swez
PS Like anything in audio,video testing... the quality of output signal from source will be passed down the signal chain. GIGO... If there is garbage coming out of the source unit, we get garbage down the line as well... just amplified.
TheErnie on 01/2/2005 12:38:43
I got it hooked to the car's ground, plus I rehooked my old HU that it worked fine with, up last night, and got the same grr sounds. imma check the wirring tonight after work
TheErnie on 01/2/2005 12:49:42
And I'm not using the factory speakers, Im running pioneer and cerwin vega door speakers, that were wired by me..
TheErnie on 01/2/2005 18:03:25
I looked over the power wires, ground, and remote, nothing is touching the cars body. Any other ideas?
Victor on 01/2/2005 18:43:50
try hooking up some other speaker instead of the sub u got.. and see if that speaker gives out the same noise..
Victor...
TheErnie on 01/2/2005 18:51:06
It does, i've tried 3 different subs...
I'm rewiring everything right now, i'll tell ya how it turns out in a bit
Victor on 01/2/2005 18:52:49
catch me in the chat room.
i am here for a while..
TheErnie on 01/2/2005 20:46:31
I got the sub and amp working, using the old HU. The TV one quit, and won't even power on. Checked and even changed fuses, still nothing, But the amp and sub are hitting, but I can still hear a like gurgling noise in the bass.
ttocs on 01/3/2005 13:17:45
try switching rca's. You don't need to run them under the carpet, just to the amp for the test.
Replies (16)
TheErnie on 01/1/2005 20:28:46
Oh, and I have a 93 Ford Explorer, if that helps any.
MrBrownstone on 01/1/2005 20:45:06
You might have flipflopped your speaker wires. try switching the +/- going in to each sub. That might work
TheErnie on 01/1/2005 21:03:24
The wires of the speakers are the same as they were when they worked.
TheErnie on 01/1/2005 21:04:25
Plus, I even straight wired it to a sub I had, and it did the same thing. The sub wasnt in a box, but it still made the gurgling sound.
ttocs on 01/1/2005 22:28:14
Bet your runnin the factory speakers? Sounds like you are running the system through the ford/jbl premium sound system. When the jbl system is peaking out, the kicker amp is just getting warmed up.
If you suspect this is the case, get ford/jbl amp bypass kit. I think the amp is behind the passenger side rear trim, there is bit to take off to find it.
UKinstaller on 01/2/2005 02:21:44
yeah ttocs it's behind the passenger side backseat wall trim. you have to take out the back hatch trim and all that crap. it's a bunch of "poppers" and then the plastic pops off.
you can catch the speaker wire in the kick panel, too, but that can be a pain in the a$$.
ttocs, if it were in the kick, would that be before or after the amp?? i'm dumb right now.
-UK
Victor on 01/2/2005 05:01:37
Well I got one thing in mind.. i have seen it happen in my old car.. while changing a few equipments.. some wires got cut off their insulation and were in direct contact with the metal of the car.. this did give me lots of that Grrr... in the subs and speakers..
i suggest you run through the lenghts of all the wires and cords and check their integrity..
Victor..
swez on 01/2/2005 07:51:46
If the system worked fine before and is now acting quirky, something has changed with time. Most likely, the new HU/DVD player is the culprit. Start a systematic troubleshooting process to find out what components work and which have failed.
1. Test all amps and speakers for signal integrity
2. Check all signal cables from source to amps
3. Substitute known good components as you go
The easiest thing to do here, is disconnect your RCA source line ins for each amp used. Use a Walkman (or similar device) as your temporary signal source. Just buy or make a patch cable that has 1 male headphone jack for the Walkman, and a pair of RCA's that plug into your amp inputs.
Set the volume on the Walkman to ~60% of max and amp gains adjusted to give adequate audio output to speakers. This test will tell if the amp(s) and speakers are good or faulty. If all is well, your problem is upstream in the audio chain... either cables or source unit has a problem.
If you note problems in this phase of the test, amp or speakers are giving some trouble. Having a known good amp and a few extra test speakers on hand, will tell you which device is causing the problem.
Having a test meter is a very good thing to have on hand. Need to find out what voltages are available to amp(s) from the ALT/BAT and wiring systems. If you have excess voltage readings (>15.0 volts) that's a possible issue to address. If the voltage reading are below 12.0 with engine running, electrical problems to look for from ALT/BAT/Wires and grounding.
Did you ground the new DVD/TV unit to harness ground or direct to a bare metal chassis/floor pan ground?
Swez
PS Like anything in audio,video testing... the quality of output signal from source will be passed down the signal chain. GIGO... If there is garbage coming out of the source unit, we get garbage down the line as well... just amplified.
TheErnie on 01/2/2005 12:38:43
I got it hooked to the car's ground, plus I rehooked my old HU that it worked fine with, up last night, and got the same grr sounds. imma check the wirring tonight after work
TheErnie on 01/2/2005 12:49:42
And I'm not using the factory speakers, Im running pioneer and cerwin vega door speakers, that were wired by me..
TheErnie on 01/2/2005 18:03:25
I looked over the power wires, ground, and remote, nothing is touching the cars body. Any other ideas?
Victor on 01/2/2005 18:43:50
try hooking up some other speaker instead of the sub u got.. and see if that speaker gives out the same noise..
Victor...
TheErnie on 01/2/2005 18:51:06
It does, i've tried 3 different subs...
I'm rewiring everything right now, i'll tell ya how it turns out in a bit
Victor on 01/2/2005 18:52:49
catch me in the chat room.
i am here for a while..
TheErnie on 01/2/2005 20:46:31
I got the sub and amp working, using the old HU. The TV one quit, and won't even power on. Checked and even changed fuses, still nothing, But the amp and sub are hitting, but I can still hear a like gurgling noise in the bass.
ttocs on 01/3/2005 13:17:45
try switching rca's. You don't need to run them under the carpet, just to the amp for the test.
Copyright ClubKnowledge 2009 * All Rights Reserved
