amp/sub problem help!!

[MP3_boy]

i am running the Kenwood KAC-X810D mono power amplifier, and i have had it hooked up and running for about 3 weeks, then last night i was listen to a song and i turned down the radio, and when i went to turn it back up there was no bass.

i am using the Kenwood execlron Subwoofer DVC and i have checked the connection and everything seems ok, the amp is gettin power but when i go to turn up the stereo the anp goes into protect mode and the Variable colout indicator blinks green signifing that the problem is the speaker cord is shorted or the speaker output is in contact with the vechile's ground, now. i don't know what either or those mean, i have checked the wiring even replaced the speaker cables and still no sound.
i don't know what the problem could be?

any help would be great!

Thanks
Shawn

 

[MP3_boy]

bad help picture

might help
pretty crappy

 

[Nekrawulf]

Bottom line....you have a short somewhere on your line. Common signs of a short are crimped wires, exposed wires, burnt or melted wires. If you are 100% positive that there is no way there is a short on your line than you have a faulty module inside your amp.

 

[RollinPR5]

Open up the Box and make sure the sup wire isnt loose, check the remote wire and check the RCA... i am not to keen on the Kenwood amp so i dont know exact features. Also change the fuse.

 

[pr5owner]

your amp/subs/etc. could also be wired wrong check your polarity and make sure they are how you want them to be,

EX: you have dual voice coil subs, you wire them so that 1 VC is the proper polarity +/- and the other is -/+ canceling the sound out, this is actually pretty hard on your sub so just make sure! can't hurt to look/check twice, three or eight times!

 

[alec172]

did you drain your battery recently? If so, give it pwr when you crank the volume. If the problem goes away, your battery is dead.

 

[ZoomZoom]

Honestly, if you are pretty sure that you have everything wired properly inside the sub enclosure, I would take a good look at your power and ground connections, more likely the ground. Even if it is tight, make sure that you have scraped any paint away from the area that you mounted the ground screw or bolt. A bad power connection (either ground or +12v) could actually give the symptons your describing.

Good luck
Griff

 

[Rider69]

Yeah, Recheck all your wires and/or connections.

I have one question for you though...
Why are you running the setup for 8 ohms? Why not run the woofer coils in parallel to get 2 ohms and the run that off the amp. The amp will put out more power and it will be even louder when you get it working. Get all you can out of the components you have!

 

[ZoomZoom]

Yeah, Recheck all your wires and/or connections.

I have one question for you though...
Why are you running the setup for 8 ohms? Why not run the woofer coils in parallel to get 2 ohms and the run that off the amp. The amp will put out more power and it will be even louder when you get it working. Get all you can out of the components you have!

The problem with the philosophy here is, if he is using a dual 4 ohm voice coil sub and wires the 2 coils in parallel,the result will be a single 2 ohm load., which is really not the problem. Now the problem arises in the fact that he is most likely using a 2 channel amp that is most likely only 2 ohm stable, which if he bridges the amp to the single 2 ohm load that he has now created by wiring the 2 coils in parallel, each channel of the amp will see half of that 2 ohm load. This configuration may play and play loud, but the longevity of it will most likely be affected. Now, if you were using 2 of the same subs and wired them both the same and hooked one of them to each channel of the amp, all would be good and you would move more air and moving air is the name of the game in making bass!! Just my .02

Griff

 

[ZoomZoom]

The problem with the philosophy here is, if he is using a dual 4 ohm voice coil sub and wires the 2 coils in parallel,the result will be a single 2 ohm load., which is really not the problem. Now the problem arises in the fact that he is most likely using a 2 channel amp that is most likely only 2 ohm stable, which if he bridges the amp to the single 2 ohm load that he has now created by wiring the 2 coils in parallel, each channel of the amp will see half of that 2 ohm load. This configuration may play and play loud, but the longevity of it will most likely be affected. Now, if you were using 2 of the same subs and wired them both the same and hooked one of them to each channel of the amp, all would be good and you would move more air and moving air is the name of the game in making bass!! Just my .02

Griff

Damn, I just looked at his original post and saw that it is a mono-block amp. Running the set-up the way that Rider69 suggested should be fine. Sorry. What the hell, what I said is always good for future reference. I think I should go to bed now. (yawn)

Peace
Griff

 

[Rider69]

Here are the specs to his amp hat he named in the first post from Kenwoodusa.com


POWER RATINGS
- Maximum Output Power: 1600 Watts x 1
- Power Output at 2 Ohms, at 12V (1kHz, 0.5% THD): 600 Watts x 1
- Power Output at 2 Ohms, at 14.4V (1kHz, 0.5% THD): 800 Watts x 1
- Power Output at 4 Ohms, at 12V (20Hz-20kHz, 0.05% THD): 300 Watts x 1
- Power Output at 4 Ohms, at 14.4V (20Hz-20kHz, 0.05% THD): 400 Watts x 1

So, yeah running it at 2 ohms is more than ideal, as a matter of fact, I am not sure the amp would like an 8 ohm load anyway.