Hey all, I need a little advice. My system has been cutting out recently when I hit a low note or turn it up loud. I'm running one Infiniti 12 and a 350 Watt Kenwood amp with a Sony head unit running all of it. There's no distortion or anything before it cuts out, it just stops giving me bass for a few seconds. I checked all my connections and they're all good so I can count that out. I dont think I have it turned up incredibly high so I dont really know what the deal is.
Is it not tuned right? I have the SUB channel on my head unit turned up pretty high and the bass down low so I just get mostly kick bass (I listen to mostly punk/rock).
So anyways, any advice would be awesome. I've gotten great advice from this site before and hopefully someone can come through for me again this time. Take it easy everyone
Replies (16)
Victor on 01/4/2005 17:22:19
Please mention a lot more about the model number on the HU , amp and the sub.. and specs too.. we need max info to help you out..
From what i see here.. is the amp over heating and going into safe mode.. cud be a problem with the sub load on it or the gain settings.. gotta check out in detail..
Please give more info on it..
Victor...
aaronarn on 01/4/2005 21:52:19
Sorry about the lack of info...I bought the sub and amp from a friend so I dont have the boxes or anything to look at the model. I'll try and get what I can from looking at them in my car as soon as I can. The HU I do know...it's: CDX-CA810X I dont know if that helps at all. I'll try and get the sub and amp models and where the gain is set soon. Sorry for the vague details...I'll try and get more soon. Thanks for the help!
swez on 01/5/2005 12:12:55
Try changing the gain setting on your amp to a level where the amp does not shut off. The amp seems to be going into protect mode as it heats up when over driven.
Swez
ttocs on 01/5/2005 12:38:23
does the amp or head unit turn off when it cuts off?
aaronarn on 01/5/2005 18:11:26
Ok I got the amp model: KAC-6295 Thats what was on the front of the amp...I'm assuming thats the model. I did notice something today though. It seems to be happening more when I have more stuff in the car running. Today I had the defroster going full blast (anyone else stuck in the big MO ice storm?) and the headlights turned on, and it was cutting out a lot. I turned the headlights off and it stopped doing it till I turned it up some, then started back up again.
Swez, I think you might be right because it tries to turn back on every second or two, but then just goes right back off. Could that be related to how much juice the battery/alternator is having to put out to run other things in the car? Oh and ttoc, neither the head unit or the amp completely shut off when it happens. I dont think its anything with the HU cause it just keeps right on going.
Hope this helps some...I'll try and get the sub model soon but right now I can't get my hatch open cause it's buried under a half inch of ice. Yay for MO weather. Check you later all
swez on 01/5/2005 22:44:11
This sounds like low voltage/high current draw protection mode issues to me. When you turn on lights, defogger and heater blower, most of the electrical system will try to support these primary circuits first.
Educated guess, have your BAT and ALT tested for output. It seems that the basic elctricals in your vehicle, cannot maintain adequate voltage/current levels and the amp will momentarily cycle in and out as it is starving for power. Auto Zone, Pep Boys and other such stores can test this for free.
Swez
PS Yes, we are getting the snow/ice stuff in SE MICH too. I think they call this winter in the Midwest??? hehe
aaronarn on 01/5/2005 23:38:56
I've had alternator problems once before and replaced it maybe two years ago. I dont know how long alternators are supposed to last, but I would think longer than two years.
Would a capacitor help this problem? I had one on a previous system and never had this problem (although the amp was not as powerful). Unfortunately someone decided they needed it more than I did and took my passenger window with them. Oh well, thats how it goes. If a cap won't help, I may just have to deal with this for a while since I'm your classic broke college student.
Thanks for the help guys, I'm really impressed with the quick response from everyone on this site.
Aaron
swez on 01/6/2005 08:50:25
ALTS can go bad fast when they are constantly pressed to their limits. Am having difficulty locating technical details on that Kenwood amp. Seems to be ~350 watts, but that's about all I can find at the moment.
Tell me a few things about your system:
1. One, two or 4 channel amp here?
2. Sub is Infinity 12", which one and how is it wired to amp? (model #)
3. Fuses on amp? (25x2?)
A Cap may help in minor light dimming situations, but in major power deficiencies, a larger CCA rated BAT is a better option and cost about the same. If your present BAT has seen 4 or more winters', time for an upgrade. Stock BAT's are usually 500-650 CCA rated. Consider a BAT with 850 CCA rating or more, if you can fit it in.
Finally, I would still strongly recommend that you have your ALT & BAT tested for present load performance. The tests are free and you will then know what the next step will be.
Swez
Professor of Car Audio (hehe)
aaronarn on 01/6/2005 19:51:03
You're right about the amp being 350 watts Swez..as far as any other technical details I can't really help you there. I'm pretty decent at straight installation, but know very little about the fine details of car audio. As for my system:
1. The amp is a 4 channel
2.My trunk is still frozen shut, so I can't get to where I can see the sub. But I did have a brain fart and tell you it was a 12 when its really a 10. Whoomps. It's wired through the bridgeable channels.
3. The amp only has one 25 amp fuse.
I replaced the battery last winter so it should still be ok, but if i need a larger one I guess thats what I'll have to do.
I'll be heading out of town for the weekend tomorrow so I wont be able to post again till sunday night. Thanks for all the help so far. You guys rock. Have a good weekend everyone
Aaron
swez on 01/6/2005 20:40:59
Ahhhh, this is a very modest amp then. (350 Watts peak, equates to about 175/4 = ~44-50 Wrms/channel)
Am hoping when you get back, you will inform us that this Infinity sub is a single coil, 4 ohm unit. When bridging channels on a given amp, the lowest you can go is 4 ohms w/o causing problems for the amp. gain settings are much too sensitively set. Try setting tha amp gains for rear channels at ~2 volts and see what you get.
Finally, use any bass boost features "SPARINGLY" !!! A boost of +3dB is plenty for most amps. If you don't get enough bass, a larger amp is you best option.
Have a safe trip!
Swez
PS A bucket of hot water will defrost your trunk.
ttocs on 01/7/2005 08:19:36
take 2...
does the amp or head unit turn off when it cuts off?
aaronarn on 01/9/2005 20:18:24
Ok guys, hope everyone had a good weekend, I sure did. So I pulled another stupid thing and told you the amp was a four channel when I'm pretty sure it's a two. There's four ports to go out to the speaker...so that would make it a two channel, right? Like I said, I dont know too much about amp specifics and that kind of stuff, but i'm tryin to learn.
I think I've found the model number of the sub. It's either an Infinity 1030W or 1032W, but most likely the 1030. It's not brand new, so if they've changed model numbers this could be different, but thats what I found at their website. The 1030W is a 4 ohm sub, and I'm pretty sure it's a single voice coil.
Ttocs...the amp and HU both stay running when this happens. There's really no time for them to turn off, it almost sounds like a CD skipping, but its just my bass.
Hopefully this helps some more!!
Aaron
ttocs on 01/9/2005 23:14:18
hey kewl thanks...
And yes that would be a two channel amp.
If the pwr stays on then we need to start checkin signal connections. Try jiggling(yes that is the technical term) the rca's at the back of the deck, and at the amp. If nothing happens then try the same with the speaker wires. Do it at the amp, and at the box. you could have a loose connection in the box as well, try to move it around a little and see if you can get the problem to come back.
aaronarn on 01/11/2005 21:53:40
I dont think it's the connections ttocs because when i turn the volume down, the problem goes away. I think it's the high draw/low voltage problem Swez was talking about, but other than buying a new alternator and battery i dont think there's much I can do about it. Since I can't afford that right now, I may just have to keep the volume low when I'm running other electrical stuff in the car, which shouldn't be hard.
So unless anyone has some miracle cure for this little sitiation, I guess thats what I'll have to do. Thanks for everyone's help and I'll check you all lata!!
swez on 01/12/2005 09:43:47
Aaron,
Try to catch me in the chat room tonight (Wed) and we can rapidly go through some ideas. Much faster that way.
One thing about the chat room... it can fill up fast or be dead a long time. However, if you do come in and there are others in ongoing conversations... please don't hesitate to say... "hey guys... I really need some help with this situation... mind if I explain it and get some thoughts?" Totally acceptable to ask... May I cut in on this dance? Especially if you have a time constraint. Am sure any chatters will gladly pass the floor to your request.
Swez
PS Don't be shy... we are not barbarians and will not lock you out. Just ask for a few minutes and we'll gladly give it to you.
ttocs on 01/12/2005 11:03:37
If everything is wired correctly, there should be no problems with that amp on the electrical system. As swez said:
"Ahhhh, this is a very modest amp then. (350 Watts peak, equates to about 175/4 = ~44-50 Wrms/channel"
Do you have a multi-meter? it is time to check what the impedence (ohm) reading of the sub is. you may have a DVC sub that is bridged a little too low for the amp.
I would test this before going and getting a new alt...
Is it not tuned right? I have the SUB channel on my head unit turned up pretty high and the bass down low so I just get mostly kick bass (I listen to mostly punk/rock).
So anyways, any advice would be awesome. I've gotten great advice from this site before and hopefully someone can come through for me again this time. Take it easy everyone
Replies (16)
Victor on 01/4/2005 17:22:19
Please mention a lot more about the model number on the HU , amp and the sub.. and specs too.. we need max info to help you out..
From what i see here.. is the amp over heating and going into safe mode.. cud be a problem with the sub load on it or the gain settings.. gotta check out in detail..
Please give more info on it..
Victor...
aaronarn on 01/4/2005 21:52:19
Sorry about the lack of info...I bought the sub and amp from a friend so I dont have the boxes or anything to look at the model. I'll try and get what I can from looking at them in my car as soon as I can. The HU I do know...it's: CDX-CA810X I dont know if that helps at all. I'll try and get the sub and amp models and where the gain is set soon. Sorry for the vague details...I'll try and get more soon. Thanks for the help!
swez on 01/5/2005 12:12:55
Try changing the gain setting on your amp to a level where the amp does not shut off. The amp seems to be going into protect mode as it heats up when over driven.
Swez
ttocs on 01/5/2005 12:38:23
does the amp or head unit turn off when it cuts off?
aaronarn on 01/5/2005 18:11:26
Ok I got the amp model: KAC-6295 Thats what was on the front of the amp...I'm assuming thats the model. I did notice something today though. It seems to be happening more when I have more stuff in the car running. Today I had the defroster going full blast (anyone else stuck in the big MO ice storm?) and the headlights turned on, and it was cutting out a lot. I turned the headlights off and it stopped doing it till I turned it up some, then started back up again.
Swez, I think you might be right because it tries to turn back on every second or two, but then just goes right back off. Could that be related to how much juice the battery/alternator is having to put out to run other things in the car? Oh and ttoc, neither the head unit or the amp completely shut off when it happens. I dont think its anything with the HU cause it just keeps right on going.
Hope this helps some...I'll try and get the sub model soon but right now I can't get my hatch open cause it's buried under a half inch of ice. Yay for MO weather. Check you later all
swez on 01/5/2005 22:44:11
This sounds like low voltage/high current draw protection mode issues to me. When you turn on lights, defogger and heater blower, most of the electrical system will try to support these primary circuits first.
Educated guess, have your BAT and ALT tested for output. It seems that the basic elctricals in your vehicle, cannot maintain adequate voltage/current levels and the amp will momentarily cycle in and out as it is starving for power. Auto Zone, Pep Boys and other such stores can test this for free.
Swez
PS Yes, we are getting the snow/ice stuff in SE MICH too. I think they call this winter in the Midwest??? hehe
aaronarn on 01/5/2005 23:38:56
I've had alternator problems once before and replaced it maybe two years ago. I dont know how long alternators are supposed to last, but I would think longer than two years.
Would a capacitor help this problem? I had one on a previous system and never had this problem (although the amp was not as powerful). Unfortunately someone decided they needed it more than I did and took my passenger window with them. Oh well, thats how it goes. If a cap won't help, I may just have to deal with this for a while since I'm your classic broke college student.
Thanks for the help guys, I'm really impressed with the quick response from everyone on this site.
Aaron
swez on 01/6/2005 08:50:25
ALTS can go bad fast when they are constantly pressed to their limits. Am having difficulty locating technical details on that Kenwood amp. Seems to be ~350 watts, but that's about all I can find at the moment.
Tell me a few things about your system:
1. One, two or 4 channel amp here?
2. Sub is Infinity 12", which one and how is it wired to amp? (model #)
3. Fuses on amp? (25x2?)
A Cap may help in minor light dimming situations, but in major power deficiencies, a larger CCA rated BAT is a better option and cost about the same. If your present BAT has seen 4 or more winters', time for an upgrade. Stock BAT's are usually 500-650 CCA rated. Consider a BAT with 850 CCA rating or more, if you can fit it in.
Finally, I would still strongly recommend that you have your ALT & BAT tested for present load performance. The tests are free and you will then know what the next step will be.
Swez
Professor of Car Audio (hehe)
aaronarn on 01/6/2005 19:51:03
You're right about the amp being 350 watts Swez..as far as any other technical details I can't really help you there. I'm pretty decent at straight installation, but know very little about the fine details of car audio. As for my system:
1. The amp is a 4 channel
2.My trunk is still frozen shut, so I can't get to where I can see the sub. But I did have a brain fart and tell you it was a 12 when its really a 10. Whoomps. It's wired through the bridgeable channels.
3. The amp only has one 25 amp fuse.
I replaced the battery last winter so it should still be ok, but if i need a larger one I guess thats what I'll have to do.
I'll be heading out of town for the weekend tomorrow so I wont be able to post again till sunday night. Thanks for all the help so far. You guys rock. Have a good weekend everyone
Aaron
swez on 01/6/2005 20:40:59
Ahhhh, this is a very modest amp then. (350 Watts peak, equates to about 175/4 = ~44-50 Wrms/channel)
Am hoping when you get back, you will inform us that this Infinity sub is a single coil, 4 ohm unit. When bridging channels on a given amp, the lowest you can go is 4 ohms w/o causing problems for the amp. gain settings are much too sensitively set. Try setting tha amp gains for rear channels at ~2 volts and see what you get.
Finally, use any bass boost features "SPARINGLY" !!! A boost of +3dB is plenty for most amps. If you don't get enough bass, a larger amp is you best option.
Have a safe trip!
Swez
PS A bucket of hot water will defrost your trunk.
ttocs on 01/7/2005 08:19:36
take 2...
does the amp or head unit turn off when it cuts off?
aaronarn on 01/9/2005 20:18:24
Ok guys, hope everyone had a good weekend, I sure did. So I pulled another stupid thing and told you the amp was a four channel when I'm pretty sure it's a two. There's four ports to go out to the speaker...so that would make it a two channel, right? Like I said, I dont know too much about amp specifics and that kind of stuff, but i'm tryin to learn.
I think I've found the model number of the sub. It's either an Infinity 1030W or 1032W, but most likely the 1030. It's not brand new, so if they've changed model numbers this could be different, but thats what I found at their website. The 1030W is a 4 ohm sub, and I'm pretty sure it's a single voice coil.
Ttocs...the amp and HU both stay running when this happens. There's really no time for them to turn off, it almost sounds like a CD skipping, but its just my bass.
Hopefully this helps some more!!
Aaron
ttocs on 01/9/2005 23:14:18
hey kewl thanks...
And yes that would be a two channel amp.
If the pwr stays on then we need to start checkin signal connections. Try jiggling(yes that is the technical term) the rca's at the back of the deck, and at the amp. If nothing happens then try the same with the speaker wires. Do it at the amp, and at the box. you could have a loose connection in the box as well, try to move it around a little and see if you can get the problem to come back.
aaronarn on 01/11/2005 21:53:40
I dont think it's the connections ttocs because when i turn the volume down, the problem goes away. I think it's the high draw/low voltage problem Swez was talking about, but other than buying a new alternator and battery i dont think there's much I can do about it. Since I can't afford that right now, I may just have to keep the volume low when I'm running other electrical stuff in the car, which shouldn't be hard.
So unless anyone has some miracle cure for this little sitiation, I guess thats what I'll have to do. Thanks for everyone's help and I'll check you all lata!!
swez on 01/12/2005 09:43:47
Aaron,
Try to catch me in the chat room tonight (Wed) and we can rapidly go through some ideas. Much faster that way.
One thing about the chat room... it can fill up fast or be dead a long time. However, if you do come in and there are others in ongoing conversations... please don't hesitate to say... "hey guys... I really need some help with this situation... mind if I explain it and get some thoughts?" Totally acceptable to ask... May I cut in on this dance? Especially if you have a time constraint. Am sure any chatters will gladly pass the floor to your request.
Swez
PS Don't be shy... we are not barbarians and will not lock you out. Just ask for a few minutes and we'll gladly give it to you.
ttocs on 01/12/2005 11:03:37
If everything is wired correctly, there should be no problems with that amp on the electrical system. As swez said:
"Ahhhh, this is a very modest amp then. (350 Watts peak, equates to about 175/4 = ~44-50 Wrms/channel"
Do you have a multi-meter? it is time to check what the impedence (ohm) reading of the sub is. you may have a DVC sub that is bridged a little too low for the amp.
I would test this before going and getting a new alt...
Copyright ClubKnowledge 2009 * All Rights Reserved
