system trouble shooting

[jeffsta17]

Hey i guys i finished installing my system last night, 2 rockford amps for mids and tweets, 2 audiobahn amps for my 2 12's. So my problem is that every time the subs hit the amps for the mids and tweets cut out. I think that there just might not be enough juice there. Also my speakers make a crackling noise, could this be a ground loop or what? Thanks for any help. I also have a 1 farad cap and 2 crossovers for mids/highs.

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[2002civicLX2002]

how many watts are u pushin form your 4 amps? my money is that ur stock alternator cant handle all the power it needs

[Eskimo10]

I agree with 2002civiclx2002. a stock alternator even with the cap and farads can only support so much power being drawn from it without weakening out and cutting out and crap. thats what my money is on as well.

[jeffsta17]

how come my subs still hit? I figured that if it was an alt. problem the whole system wouldnt work.

[Eskimo10]

no, the subs when they hit will just drain power from the rest of the car. it happens with my car as well just not as severely.

[2002civicLX2002]

ya your subs take power from anywhere they can get it, headlights, dashlights alt, anywhere theres power your subs are going to take it all. only solution for u with that many watts is a bigger or dual alternators.

[christmaspie]

What are you doing for the remote turn on wire? Are you using a relay to step up the amount of current going to the four amplifiers or just running it right off the deck?

I'd use a meter to see what's going on at the amps when the subs hit. Check the voltages to see if anything is dropping with the big bass hits.

I agree if it was an alt issue it would be affecting the subs before the highs so you could probably look elsewhere.

[jeffsta17]

alright well i played with the system and figured some stuff out. It looks like im getting a voltage surge or something. the speaker/tweeter amps go into protect. and one of the subs looks like its unloading. it slows down and when i turn it back down in pops. so not good. any one know whats happening?

[Ed]

What kind of power wire are you using, is it running through a distribution block? Are you running off an aftermarket HU?

Did you actually measure a voltage surge? The amp might be going into protect because it can't get enough current/voltage drops too low. From what I remember, a ground loop wouldn't sound like a crackle, it would usually manifest itself as a whine or hum. But, just to be sure, make sure all of your amps are grounded well to bare metal at the same point. Just curious, do your subs share airspace?

When your bass hits, do your headlights dim?

[jeffsta17]

I am using 1/0 ot(sp?) gauge wire into a distribution block. It spilts to 2 gauge for the sub amps and cap, and 8 gauge for the speaker/ tweeter amps. I didnt measure a surge and if it goes into protect from to little voltage then that could be it. But only one of my subs goes screwy. it slows down while the other still plays and extends outward and stops until i turn it down. Thats not a ground loop, so i dont know why it is doing it. I have my amps set up to LPF playing 60hz and below. The gain is all the way off.

My subs do share airspace and they need a new box, and my headlights dont dim when the bass hits

[tuningmycivic]

have you tried disconnecting the sub amp and narrowing it down? check to see if it's not an underlying wiring problem? maybe the subs are wired out of phase, and yes it will matter since they are sharing airspace.

my .02

let us know how it goes.