ATTN: Those with a lot of TROUBLESHOOTING experience w/ power

[snb778 5,000+ posts]

I am having a pretty strange problem that I can not figure out.

Regardless of what amp I have, and if I have a high performance battery or not, here is what is happening...

My subs are shutting off when I am cranking the radio... BUT ONLY SOMETIMES....

I tested the battery: car off, radio off, I got 11.8V Pretty low

Car off, battery on: Dropped down to 11.2 VERY low

Car ON, radio OFF: 14.4 on the dot KINDA WEIRD

Car ON, radio ON: Held at 13.8 AND THE SUBS NEVER SHUT OFF

I can tell there is something wrong every now and then though... I THINK it has something to do with crankin the radio before the car warms up BECAUSE............Last night I got into my car after work and my car sitting in the 20-30deg. weather all night....I turn the radio on, turned it to about 75%, and noticed the subs werent hitting as loud as they should be....so I turned it all the way up, and sure enough, SUBS CUT OUT!!

So I am wondering if this is an alternator issue... I just find it weird that my battery tested so strong, and I am having this problem..... OH, and my headlights do dim quite a bit, BUT the subs usually don't cut out like this.

I checked the connections for alll the wires also.

Could it have to do something with the cold weather??? Maybe the amp needs to "defrost" a little bit???

OK OK.. I am running 2 15" Type R's with a MM3000.1 Autotek Amp. at 1 ohm BUT again... battery tested at 13.8

Click to read more...

 

[snb778 5,000+ posts]

somebody.....???

 

[vehementSPL 10+ year member]

Tell us more about it. What amps and what subs. Personally without knowing anything about it sounds like you have the amp wired under ohm. The reason it would be giving the symptom that you say. IS as the subs warm up the imp rises so it quits clipping the amp. That is my guess without knowing what subs. So list the subs and which voice coil they have. And past that I will see what else I can find out if it isn't it. And typically just to let ya know when you are trying to emphasize a topic like this. the LOT should have been capitalized lol.

 

[duece212 5,000+ posts]

Not sure what to say, but I would think when your vehicle is cold it would have more power. Cold alternator, and your vehicle idling at a higher rpm at startup should be getting you more juice than when its warm and idled down with the alt hot.

 

[bball09124 10+ year member]

Last night I got into my car after work and my car sitting in the 20-30deg. weather all night....I turn the radio on, turned it to about 75%, and noticed the subs werent hitting as loud as they should be....so I turned it all the way up, and sure enough, SUBS CUT OUT!!

is this with the car off? if so, there is your problem. you can't crank your system with the car off because there is nothing to charge your battery, and your volts drop, putting your amp into protect.

if this is not the case and this occurs with the car on, check your grounds.

 

[xtremebassjunky 10+ year member]

Regardless of what amp I have, and if I have a high performance battery or not, here is what is happening...

My subs are shutting off when I am cranking the radio... BUT ONLY SOMETIMES....

I tested the battery: car off, radio off, I got 11.8V Pretty low

Car off, battery on: Dropped down to 11.2 VERY low

Car ON, radio OFF: 14.4 on the dot KINDA WEIRD

Car ON, radio ON: Held at 13.8 AND THE SUBS NEVER SHUT OFF

1. personally I never have the vehicle and play music with my system. That has never seemed a bright idea to me when I know that the system draws plenty of power.

2. why is it weird that you are getting 14.4v readings when your radio is off and the car is on? you are getting the voltage reading from the alternator when you do that, not the actual battery voltage.

3. is the amp going into protect? maybe the amps you have tried are going into protect because your voltage is dipping down so much.

i agree with vehement you need to give some more info on the situation eg battery and alternator...

 

[Pl8er 5,000+ posts]

I like how you laid down the law in the first post. It's like I don't want you to know what I'm running but you will answer me.

LOL

Your amp and power being drawn are going to have a pretty big impact on what is going on. So it is not regardless. If this is a 400watt amp then something is seriously wrong but if this is a 4,000 watt amp...well there are just different situations that need to be looked into.

Also, what do you consider a high performance battery?

 

[snb778 5,000+ posts]

I like how you laid down the law in the first post. It's like I don't want you to know what I'm running but you will answer me.
LOL

Your amp and power being drawn are going to have a pretty big impact on what is going on. So it is not regardless. If this is a 400watt amp then something is seriously wrong but if this is a 4,000 watt amp...well there are just different situations that need to be looked into.

Also, what do you consider a high performance battery?

Its surprising I am running 14.4 off of a well used, STOCK battery, and its HOLDING 13.8 when running at full power

I AM RUNNING: 2 15" Alpine Type R's with a MM3000.1 amp, running at 1 ohm. I have had this setup since last summer... It has run PERFECTLY with NO PROBLEMS AT ALL. All the connections are tight, the ground is right...This just started happening about a month ago for whatever reason.

I didnt tell people what I was running because they hear MM3000.1 off stock batt. and "OH YOUR BATTERY ISNT BIG ENOUGH..." starts getting thrown around, but its fine because it has run fine up to this last month...and as I posted...the tests show its fine.....NOW, with the car off... 11.8 is **** low......

and whoever asked if I run the system with my car off and its a bad idea.... I know this guys, it was a test!

 

[snb778 5,000+ posts]

I like how you laid down the law in the first post. It's like I don't want you to know what I'm running but you will answer me.
LOL

Your amp and power being drawn are going to have a pretty big impact on what is going on. So it is not regardless. If this is a 400watt amp then something is seriously wrong but if this is a 4,000 watt amp...well there are just different situations that need to be looked into.

Also, what do you consider a high performance battery?[/QUOTE]

A Kinetic 2400

 

[savagebee 10+ year member]

well, have you tested the battery itself?

how old is the battery?

It could be dying, dead cell perhaps.. etc

 

[bumpinaintEZ 10+ year member]

If your battery tests low like that you may want to replace it, mine is the same way. It's not until i've been driving highway or interstate for a amount of time that my setup gets pounding like it should....but i can't afford a new bat, and this one still starts my car haha. Your relying? totally on your alt to power your system, which is ok but maybe when you hit those lows and they drag out it reaches for power from your battery and theres not enough? I'm not sure, but maybe thats possible.

 

[snb778 5,000+ posts]

If your battery tests low like that you may want to replace it, mine is the same way. It's not until i've been driving highway or interstate for a amount of time that my setup gets pounding like it should....but i can't afford a new bat, and this one still starts my car haha. Your relying? totally on your alt to power your system, which is ok but maybe when you hit those lows and they drag out it reaches for power from your battery and theres not enough? I'm not sure, but maybe thats possible.

sounds very similar to my situation... unfortunately I really dont drive anywhere far enough to let my car warm up that much to see if the problem goes away.. I rarely drive more than 10 min.

 

[snb778 5,000+ posts]

just went out and bumped...no problems

 

[snoopdan 5,000+ posts]

have you checked the remote voltage ? ive seen fluctuations make an amp act squirly

 

[Pl8er 5,000+ posts]

Have you actually verified the connections? Sometimes (especially with the amount of power you are running) it can be broken loose over time. You could have a slightly loose ground that is just not making enough of a connection once in awhile.

Have you had the alternator checked out? Sounds like it is ok, but something is strang with your problem.