I have the JBL 1200.1 amp running at 2ohms hooked up to 1 voicecoil on my 12" brahma. I've upgraded the 3 main wires.
Problem is once in awhile it will play and the bass doesnt hit hard for like a minute and then all of a sudden it will start to hit good.
What i think maybe the problem.
1. One of the Connections to the terminal inside the box isthat loose (im planning on soldering them soon).
2. Not enough power getting to the amp (alt is 105A now but after sat. i will have a 150A alt.).
3. Sub isnt broken in yet (only had it for 3 days).
Any of those sound like the problem or can u guys think of somethin else?
Next ? is that is it goin to sound louder/better if i wire my voicecoils in parallel?
Replies (12)
Swez on 11/7/2003 00:17:22
You should not wire only 1 coil on a DVC sub. There are tricks to do this... but no need as you can wire the sub in parallel for a 1 ohm load... which the 1200.1 can handle.
The dropouts you mentioned may be a result of only using 1 coil or you have a wiring problem in your power feeds or ground.
Also, what is the output voltage of your HU and what is the amp gain set at?
Finally, the 105A should take a 1200.1 for now. If you upgrade the ALT to a 150A... even better, but your wiring from ALT/BAT and BAT/GND should be #4 gage... not stock and a large battery is best as well.... 800 CCA + will do it.
It sound like you have a power feed problem (poor grounding) or the amp is responding to the reverse EMF (Electromotive Force) created while using only 1 VC. Could be running the amp into protect mode too. (low voltage) due to improper wiring.
Swez
PS Look for a loose wire connection at sub, amp or RCA's too
ryan on 11/8/2003 00:03:46
I douby its my ground, im thinkin its the connection from the terminal inside the box that then goes to the woofer. But when i take it out next to carpet the sub i will plan on wiring the voicecoils in parallel and then solder the wires to the terminal. I'll let ya know what happens then.
Swez on 11/8/2003 10:38:00
Yes a loose wire connection inside the box can cause this as will a partial short in the wiring at the termination cup.
As for what ohms to wire this sub... depends on the enclosure size/type used. The Brahma can take 1600 RMS of power electrically, but max excursion can be reached in sub much sooner, depending on the enclosure. Once you reach X-Max, (excursion limits of the sub) you can damage the sub, regardless of the power the voice coils can take.
Rough estimates:
Compact sealed: 1200 RMS, 0.7 cf enclosure (internal)
Deep bass sealed: ~600 RMS, 1.2 cf
Ported: ~500-600 RMS, depending on the box size and port tuning frequency used.
These subs do not require huge amounts of power to reach max SPL limits, depending on the enclosure used. You may want to wire this sub in series for a 4 ohm load during the break in period. (~1 week)
Then, if you think you need more bass SPL, convert to parallel and change your gain setting on the amp to keep the sub from going past X-Max specs. If the sub start to distort at higher power input, turn it down.
DO NOT USE BASS BOOST FEATURE ON YOUR AMP !!! Let the HU bass controls manage your bass needs. Be good to your new sub!
Swez
ryan on 11/11/2003 21:56:57
Well i got my alt back and he was able to upgrade it to 140A, i have light dimming issues so i hope a bigger battery will help. Still havent gotten to takin the sub out and rewiring anything yet.
ttocs on 11/11/2003 22:05:11
YOU NEED TO QUIT PLAYING THAT SUB UNTIL YOU FIX THE WIRING!!!!!!
You are putting a huge load on the one coil, making it pull the other.. I did this in a home sub once, have not used it since.....
You will get a noticable gain in sound now. You will probably be able to gian the amp down a bit as well..
ryan on 11/20/2003 20:17:52
Heres an update so far:
I solder my connections to the terminal and havenbt had any problems with the bass fading(hit hard then soft), I have a 140A alt. but my lights dim a lot. So im planning on getting a bigger batt. I've also wired the sub in parallel and it sounds a lot better.
Problem: But now i have another problem It will hit real good and hard and on the deeper bass notes the sub sounds like its farting when i turn it up, im pretty sure its not distorting , so when this happens i turn the volume down a notch and play it there for a min. then when i turn it back up to where it sounded like it was farting it plays fine. What could be the problem here? Maybe a power issue?
ryan on 11/22/2003 15:32:55
BUMP ^
cplkittle on 11/22/2003 15:50:16
It sounds like your amp is clipping the signal (Clipping occurs when an amplifier is requested (by pre amp signal) to produce more output voltage than it has the capability to do so. )
This can also be caused by the draw on your battery. I am not well read on all of the electrical techicalities of car stereo systems when it comes to amplifiers, but I do know that there is an equation that explains alot of this (W)atts = (A)mps X (V)olts.
Your amp is pushing a constant wattage reguardless of how many amps or volts it draws, however there is a balance between the amps and volts, when one drops, the other makes up for it.
the higher the amps, the hotter the amplifier gets, the higher the volts the cooler and smoother it runs. I believe that if your lights are dimming your voltage is way down (prob around 8-10 volts). This is more than likely the cause of your problem.
Here is a good article on alternators/regulators/charging.
Definitely a must read!! -some voltage regulators have timers-
this could be a problem for many car audio enthusiasts.
http://www.fourwinds-ii.com/altvoltregs.html
That is what i think anyway, I could be wrong.
ryan on 11/25/2003 23:21:37
I think it might be a power issue but im not sure. I had it cranked up just before it usually starts this with my car in park and tested my battery and it stayed around 14V but that was only testin it for like 20sec. I'll try to be more specefic in how its acting the sub doesnt hit loud and the sub keeps cutting in and out.
ryan on 11/27/2003 00:25:47
I might have found a solution. I noticed that this only happens when im driving but everythings fine when im in park. So I might need to find a new place for the ground. I have it on the side of my trunk now and a guy a a audio shop said its not the best place so i will try to find a different place for my ground in a couple days.
cplkittle on 11/27/2003 10:30:59
I always use the rear seat seatbelt bolt for a ground when I can. I have never had a problem with this. Strip off about an inch of insulation and drill a small hole beside the bolt hole for the seatbelt. Put about 1/2" of the ground through the drilled hole, and tighten the crap out of the seatbelt bolt, this will smash the copper wire into the body grounding it pretty well.
ryan on 12/2/2003 21:56:10
Well i have tried 2 different grounds and have had the same problem. Next im goin to shorten the ground wire since its a lil over 3' long (yes i kno not good) but if that doesnt help im goin to buy a 850+ CCA DeepCycle battery.
Problem is once in awhile it will play and the bass doesnt hit hard for like a minute and then all of a sudden it will start to hit good.
What i think maybe the problem.
1. One of the Connections to the terminal inside the box isthat loose (im planning on soldering them soon).
2. Not enough power getting to the amp (alt is 105A now but after sat. i will have a 150A alt.).
3. Sub isnt broken in yet (only had it for 3 days).
Any of those sound like the problem or can u guys think of somethin else?
Next ? is that is it goin to sound louder/better if i wire my voicecoils in parallel?
Replies (12)
Swez on 11/7/2003 00:17:22
You should not wire only 1 coil on a DVC sub. There are tricks to do this... but no need as you can wire the sub in parallel for a 1 ohm load... which the 1200.1 can handle.
The dropouts you mentioned may be a result of only using 1 coil or you have a wiring problem in your power feeds or ground.
Also, what is the output voltage of your HU and what is the amp gain set at?
Finally, the 105A should take a 1200.1 for now. If you upgrade the ALT to a 150A... even better, but your wiring from ALT/BAT and BAT/GND should be #4 gage... not stock and a large battery is best as well.... 800 CCA + will do it.
It sound like you have a power feed problem (poor grounding) or the amp is responding to the reverse EMF (Electromotive Force) created while using only 1 VC. Could be running the amp into protect mode too. (low voltage) due to improper wiring.
Swez
PS Look for a loose wire connection at sub, amp or RCA's too
ryan on 11/8/2003 00:03:46
I douby its my ground, im thinkin its the connection from the terminal inside the box that then goes to the woofer. But when i take it out next to carpet the sub i will plan on wiring the voicecoils in parallel and then solder the wires to the terminal. I'll let ya know what happens then.
Swez on 11/8/2003 10:38:00
Yes a loose wire connection inside the box can cause this as will a partial short in the wiring at the termination cup.
As for what ohms to wire this sub... depends on the enclosure size/type used. The Brahma can take 1600 RMS of power electrically, but max excursion can be reached in sub much sooner, depending on the enclosure. Once you reach X-Max, (excursion limits of the sub) you can damage the sub, regardless of the power the voice coils can take.
Rough estimates:
Compact sealed: 1200 RMS, 0.7 cf enclosure (internal)
Deep bass sealed: ~600 RMS, 1.2 cf
Ported: ~500-600 RMS, depending on the box size and port tuning frequency used.
These subs do not require huge amounts of power to reach max SPL limits, depending on the enclosure used. You may want to wire this sub in series for a 4 ohm load during the break in period. (~1 week)
Then, if you think you need more bass SPL, convert to parallel and change your gain setting on the amp to keep the sub from going past X-Max specs. If the sub start to distort at higher power input, turn it down.
DO NOT USE BASS BOOST FEATURE ON YOUR AMP !!! Let the HU bass controls manage your bass needs. Be good to your new sub!
Swez
ryan on 11/11/2003 21:56:57
Well i got my alt back and he was able to upgrade it to 140A, i have light dimming issues so i hope a bigger battery will help. Still havent gotten to takin the sub out and rewiring anything yet.
ttocs on 11/11/2003 22:05:11
YOU NEED TO QUIT PLAYING THAT SUB UNTIL YOU FIX THE WIRING!!!!!!
You are putting a huge load on the one coil, making it pull the other.. I did this in a home sub once, have not used it since.....
You will get a noticable gain in sound now. You will probably be able to gian the amp down a bit as well..
ryan on 11/20/2003 20:17:52
Heres an update so far:
I solder my connections to the terminal and havenbt had any problems with the bass fading(hit hard then soft), I have a 140A alt. but my lights dim a lot. So im planning on getting a bigger batt. I've also wired the sub in parallel and it sounds a lot better.
Problem: But now i have another problem It will hit real good and hard and on the deeper bass notes the sub sounds like its farting when i turn it up, im pretty sure its not distorting , so when this happens i turn the volume down a notch and play it there for a min. then when i turn it back up to where it sounded like it was farting it plays fine. What could be the problem here? Maybe a power issue?
ryan on 11/22/2003 15:32:55
BUMP ^
cplkittle on 11/22/2003 15:50:16
It sounds like your amp is clipping the signal (Clipping occurs when an amplifier is requested (by pre amp signal) to produce more output voltage than it has the capability to do so. )
This can also be caused by the draw on your battery. I am not well read on all of the electrical techicalities of car stereo systems when it comes to amplifiers, but I do know that there is an equation that explains alot of this (W)atts = (A)mps X (V)olts.
Your amp is pushing a constant wattage reguardless of how many amps or volts it draws, however there is a balance between the amps and volts, when one drops, the other makes up for it.
the higher the amps, the hotter the amplifier gets, the higher the volts the cooler and smoother it runs. I believe that if your lights are dimming your voltage is way down (prob around 8-10 volts). This is more than likely the cause of your problem.
Here is a good article on alternators/regulators/charging.
Definitely a must read!! -some voltage regulators have timers-
this could be a problem for many car audio enthusiasts.
http://www.fourwinds-ii.com/altvoltregs.html
That is what i think anyway, I could be wrong.
ryan on 11/25/2003 23:21:37
I think it might be a power issue but im not sure. I had it cranked up just before it usually starts this with my car in park and tested my battery and it stayed around 14V but that was only testin it for like 20sec. I'll try to be more specefic in how its acting the sub doesnt hit loud and the sub keeps cutting in and out.
ryan on 11/27/2003 00:25:47
I might have found a solution. I noticed that this only happens when im driving but everythings fine when im in park. So I might need to find a new place for the ground. I have it on the side of my trunk now and a guy a a audio shop said its not the best place so i will try to find a different place for my ground in a couple days.
cplkittle on 11/27/2003 10:30:59
I always use the rear seat seatbelt bolt for a ground when I can. I have never had a problem with this. Strip off about an inch of insulation and drill a small hole beside the bolt hole for the seatbelt. Put about 1/2" of the ground through the drilled hole, and tighten the crap out of the seatbelt bolt, this will smash the copper wire into the body grounding it pretty well.
ryan on 12/2/2003 21:56:10
Well i have tried 2 different grounds and have had the same problem. Next im goin to shorten the ground wire since its a lil over 3' long (yes i kno not good) but if that doesnt help im goin to buy a 850+ CCA DeepCycle battery.
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