OK, maybe I have a bad amp, not sure but maybe someone will be able to help, I am completely lost on this one. First I will tell you my current setup and then what I am trying to add and the problem.
I have installed in my 98 Honda Accord Coupe:
-Alpine CDA-9827 Head unit
-JL Audio XR Series 6.5" component speakers in doors
-Alpine Type R 6"x9" in back dash
-Alpine V12 Amp, model MRV-F307
-8 gauge wiring kit
This sounds great, but I wanted to add a sub, so I pulled out my old Sony XM-1002 HX, from my closet, bought a Kicker SoloBaric S10L7 sub and a box, as well as a power splitter with fuses, and a ground distribution block. I hook everything up, the power comes on on both amps, but no sound from the sub. Another thing, when I turn everything off, the lights on the Sony amp still glow dimly like there is a bad ground, but I've double and triple checked it, nothing. I have the RCA wires for the sub running off of the sub w output on the back of the headunit, but it's like they get no signal. I even switched them to the front and rear jacks on the back of the radio, and still got nothing. I have checked all the settings on the headunit, there is a way to turn the sub output off, but I have made sure it is on. Another thing, I took an amp and subs from a friends vehicle, wired them into everything, and still get nothing. I am completely lost here, and ideas? I can give more info if needed. Thanks in advance for any help.
Replies (12)
asplundher on 10/23/2005 12:41:02
Seeing that you tried a different amp and sub as well to no avail, check out the most "common denominator". There had to something that you used on both to give the same problem. Perhaps the rca is bad or at least that what I figured has been used for the both. Have you tried switching the working rca's from the V12 to the Sony?
Nakrem02 on 10/23/2005 12:59:31
Well, I came to the same logical conclusion, and just went and bought a new set of RCA's still no dice, still not working. I'm starting to wonder about the amp/sub combo. It might not be a good match.
asplundher on 10/23/2005 13:09:54
Try bridging the sub off the V12 temporarily to make sure before scrapping it. There has to be a simple answer for what the problem is. Just have to be thorough in testing and finding it. As far as the grounding problem. The amp light should still go off when the HU is switched off unless the amp's remote input is being fed by a constant power source.
Nakrem02 on 10/23/2005 14:17:08
OK, used two of the channels on the Alpine amp to run the sub. the sub plays, though low level as the amp is not meant to push this kind of sub. So the good news is the sub is working, I also while testing used the RCA running from the sub output on the headunit, and it worked, so I know signal is getting to the amp from the RCA's. This is all leading me to conclude one thing, that I have a bad amp.
A) The amp is getting power. I have checked all the connections, power, ground and remote, several times and all are in order.
B) I have now proven that the sub output and RCA's are good, signal is traveling through them.
C) Knowing A & B, I hook everything to the Sony amp, and get nothing from the sub.
So what do you think, am I right is the amp bad? Another thing though, there are four lights on the front of the amp, the one marked OFFSET, is lighting up amber instead of green.
If I am right, can somone recommend a good amp for this sub? Keep in mind this is the dual 2 ohm voice coil version of the sub. Also, I am trying to go for something not too pricey. Thanks,
asplundher on 10/23/2005 15:10:52
Which amp is glowing amber? IF the Sony is faulty then replacing it should not be a problem. The 2 ohm per coil can be simply wired in series to present a 4 ohm load to a good 2 channel amp or paralleled to a 1 ohm stable monoblock. The first choice will more than likely be the simplest and economic one. Only con will be if you ever upgrade will have to use DVC 4 ohm subs or single 8 ohm's.
There are a plethora of 2 channel amps to choose from, so be patient and let's see what choices others might give.
Nakrem02 on 10/23/2005 15:23:42
The Sony amp is glowing amber, according to the manual, if the OFFSET light glows amber it means: the voltage going out to the speaker terminal or the pin jack is too high. Their solution is to check the speaker wire and ground connections which I have. All are good. I think the amp is just bad.
asplundher on 10/23/2005 15:30:55
Sounds like a output on the amp could be bad. Okay then, figure up a budget and then we'll get you the best for your money.
If you could find a JBL BP600.1, that would work good. Sounddomain has Orion on sale with free shipping too. Check this one out:
http://www.cardomain.com/item/ORI47400
Nakrem02 on 10/23/2005 16:46:17
OK, so it's official, the amp is bad. I pulled it out of the car and ran up to the local Circuit City, had the install guys bench test it for me. It is shot, plus, now that I've really started to think about it, that amp would push the sub, but probably not as well as I'd like. While up there, I browsed their inventory, found an Audiobahn A275HCT on clearance for $350.00. I may run back up there and buy it. I can find it cheaper online, but not significantly cheaper. Any thoughts on this amp. It's rated at 600 watts RMS at 1ohm, which is about what I'm looking for, plus I've heard good things about Audiobahn, and I already know several people running them in their vehicles.
asplundher on 10/23/2005 17:31:53
Patience, patience! Do you want to save a lil money? I f so take just a tad little more time. That is not a bad amp, but I would go for the Orion for $234.95 shipped. That is $115 cheaper with the same power rating and ohm load capabilites.
swez on 10/23/2005 18:51:06
Quote: "if the OFFSET light glows amber it means: the voltage going out to the speaker terminal or the pin jack is too high."
There's the $64,000 answser. (I think)
If the sub is wired in full parallel (1 ohm load) the amp will sense it as a short and high voltage lamp will flag a problem and go into protect mode.
Your fix for now, is to rewire the sub for a 4 ohm load, (coils in series) and try the amp again. Since you know the sub works from previous tests, perhaps the Sony amp is still good, but cannot handle the 1 ohm load.
Try that and see what ya get.... fingers crossed too huh?
Swez
asplundher on 10/23/2005 19:43:33
Woooops! Didn't think about that one. Too busy cooking dinner and answering other threads. Sorry! That being said, what is the actual rating on that amp?
Nakrem02 on 10/24/2005 04:52:55
Well, I had the amp bench tested as I said before, and it was not working under a normal 4 ohm load, but I had already tried this in the car anyways, wiring the sub for a 4 ohm load. The amp is supposed to be 1 ohm stable though. But in my opinion, as well as the opinion of the installers at Circuit City, the Sony amp is shot. I haven't used it in over a year now, so I don't know what happened to it between when I took it out of my car and when I tried to use it again last week. Oh well, I ended up getting the Audiobahn amp. I talked the salesman into a better deal, using the leverage of being able to find it much cheaper online, so I went ahead and got it so I could have it today. Maybe I'm impatient, but I wanted it now, before I ended up putting the install of for several more weeks. I ran out of time before I had to go to work tonight, but I got it installed, now I just need to tweak everything to get the best sound. It already sounds good, now I just need to get it to sound incredible and I'll be happy. Thanks for all the help though!!
I have installed in my 98 Honda Accord Coupe:
-Alpine CDA-9827 Head unit
-JL Audio XR Series 6.5" component speakers in doors
-Alpine Type R 6"x9" in back dash
-Alpine V12 Amp, model MRV-F307
-8 gauge wiring kit
This sounds great, but I wanted to add a sub, so I pulled out my old Sony XM-1002 HX, from my closet, bought a Kicker SoloBaric S10L7 sub and a box, as well as a power splitter with fuses, and a ground distribution block. I hook everything up, the power comes on on both amps, but no sound from the sub. Another thing, when I turn everything off, the lights on the Sony amp still glow dimly like there is a bad ground, but I've double and triple checked it, nothing. I have the RCA wires for the sub running off of the sub w output on the back of the headunit, but it's like they get no signal. I even switched them to the front and rear jacks on the back of the radio, and still got nothing. I have checked all the settings on the headunit, there is a way to turn the sub output off, but I have made sure it is on. Another thing, I took an amp and subs from a friends vehicle, wired them into everything, and still get nothing. I am completely lost here, and ideas? I can give more info if needed. Thanks in advance for any help.
Replies (12)
asplundher on 10/23/2005 12:41:02
Seeing that you tried a different amp and sub as well to no avail, check out the most "common denominator". There had to something that you used on both to give the same problem. Perhaps the rca is bad or at least that what I figured has been used for the both. Have you tried switching the working rca's from the V12 to the Sony?
Nakrem02 on 10/23/2005 12:59:31
Well, I came to the same logical conclusion, and just went and bought a new set of RCA's still no dice, still not working. I'm starting to wonder about the amp/sub combo. It might not be a good match.
asplundher on 10/23/2005 13:09:54
Try bridging the sub off the V12 temporarily to make sure before scrapping it. There has to be a simple answer for what the problem is. Just have to be thorough in testing and finding it. As far as the grounding problem. The amp light should still go off when the HU is switched off unless the amp's remote input is being fed by a constant power source.
Nakrem02 on 10/23/2005 14:17:08
OK, used two of the channels on the Alpine amp to run the sub. the sub plays, though low level as the amp is not meant to push this kind of sub. So the good news is the sub is working, I also while testing used the RCA running from the sub output on the headunit, and it worked, so I know signal is getting to the amp from the RCA's. This is all leading me to conclude one thing, that I have a bad amp.
A) The amp is getting power. I have checked all the connections, power, ground and remote, several times and all are in order.
B) I have now proven that the sub output and RCA's are good, signal is traveling through them.
C) Knowing A & B, I hook everything to the Sony amp, and get nothing from the sub.
So what do you think, am I right is the amp bad? Another thing though, there are four lights on the front of the amp, the one marked OFFSET, is lighting up amber instead of green.
If I am right, can somone recommend a good amp for this sub? Keep in mind this is the dual 2 ohm voice coil version of the sub. Also, I am trying to go for something not too pricey. Thanks,
asplundher on 10/23/2005 15:10:52
Which amp is glowing amber? IF the Sony is faulty then replacing it should not be a problem. The 2 ohm per coil can be simply wired in series to present a 4 ohm load to a good 2 channel amp or paralleled to a 1 ohm stable monoblock. The first choice will more than likely be the simplest and economic one. Only con will be if you ever upgrade will have to use DVC 4 ohm subs or single 8 ohm's.
There are a plethora of 2 channel amps to choose from, so be patient and let's see what choices others might give.
Nakrem02 on 10/23/2005 15:23:42
The Sony amp is glowing amber, according to the manual, if the OFFSET light glows amber it means: the voltage going out to the speaker terminal or the pin jack is too high. Their solution is to check the speaker wire and ground connections which I have. All are good. I think the amp is just bad.
asplundher on 10/23/2005 15:30:55
Sounds like a output on the amp could be bad. Okay then, figure up a budget and then we'll get you the best for your money.
If you could find a JBL BP600.1, that would work good. Sounddomain has Orion on sale with free shipping too. Check this one out:
http://www.cardomain.com/item/ORI47400
Nakrem02 on 10/23/2005 16:46:17
OK, so it's official, the amp is bad. I pulled it out of the car and ran up to the local Circuit City, had the install guys bench test it for me. It is shot, plus, now that I've really started to think about it, that amp would push the sub, but probably not as well as I'd like. While up there, I browsed their inventory, found an Audiobahn A275HCT on clearance for $350.00. I may run back up there and buy it. I can find it cheaper online, but not significantly cheaper. Any thoughts on this amp. It's rated at 600 watts RMS at 1ohm, which is about what I'm looking for, plus I've heard good things about Audiobahn, and I already know several people running them in their vehicles.
asplundher on 10/23/2005 17:31:53
Patience, patience! Do you want to save a lil money? I f so take just a tad little more time. That is not a bad amp, but I would go for the Orion for $234.95 shipped. That is $115 cheaper with the same power rating and ohm load capabilites.
swez on 10/23/2005 18:51:06
Quote: "if the OFFSET light glows amber it means: the voltage going out to the speaker terminal or the pin jack is too high."
There's the $64,000 answser. (I think)
If the sub is wired in full parallel (1 ohm load) the amp will sense it as a short and high voltage lamp will flag a problem and go into protect mode.
Your fix for now, is to rewire the sub for a 4 ohm load, (coils in series) and try the amp again. Since you know the sub works from previous tests, perhaps the Sony amp is still good, but cannot handle the 1 ohm load.
Try that and see what ya get.... fingers crossed too huh?
Swez
asplundher on 10/23/2005 19:43:33
Woooops! Didn't think about that one. Too busy cooking dinner and answering other threads. Sorry! That being said, what is the actual rating on that amp?
Nakrem02 on 10/24/2005 04:52:55
Well, I had the amp bench tested as I said before, and it was not working under a normal 4 ohm load, but I had already tried this in the car anyways, wiring the sub for a 4 ohm load. The amp is supposed to be 1 ohm stable though. But in my opinion, as well as the opinion of the installers at Circuit City, the Sony amp is shot. I haven't used it in over a year now, so I don't know what happened to it between when I took it out of my car and when I tried to use it again last week. Oh well, I ended up getting the Audiobahn amp. I talked the salesman into a better deal, using the leverage of being able to find it much cheaper online, so I went ahead and got it so I could have it today. Maybe I'm impatient, but I wanted it now, before I ended up putting the install of for several more weeks. I ran out of time before I had to go to work tonight, but I got it installed, now I just need to tweak everything to get the best sound. It already sounds good, now I just need to get it to sound incredible and I'll be happy. Thanks for all the help though!!
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