sub cuts off when turn up boost

[Kickstarts-suck]

I have a Kicker zx400.1 amp putting out 486 watts RMS (says on paper from kicker)
and its powering 1 Kicker CVR12 DVC 4ohm sub 400rms. I have the remote bass boost and if I turn the bass boost up for a big bass song my sub will cut out until I turn the boost down some. What causes this? I was thinking it was because I have 486rms going to a sub rated for 400rms but I see alot of people running more then what the sub is rated for in watts.

Any way to fix this?

It is wired like this.

[250r rider 88]

now im not hte most experianced person on this but because no one has replied yet ill give it a go

from what i understand some amps have a protector built into them that does this my buddy had one that did it and we couldnt figure it out till we realized that and really i dont think there was anything he could do except get a bigger amp but im no electronics expert so im sure someone will be alone to correct me soon enough just speaking from my experiance here :D

[DF400ex]

Unfortunately there are many things that could be causing this. Amp have protection circuits built into them these days and your amp is going into protective mode when it cuts out.

The most likely cause of this would be a bad ground. Check your ground from where it connects to the amp to the car. Make sure you have as short of a ground cable as you need and that the point of contact to the car is bare metal to bare metal and is clean. Next check your power cable. Make sure it is securely connected everywhere. If you are under powering your amp then it will cut out at high volumes. Do your head lights dim a lot when you crank it? Do you have a capacitor? Is your battery and alternator old? All these could cause an under voltage condition when you crank it.

I had a pair of the same subs back in the day. They really bump if you power them right. Now I have a ZX1500.1 powering a pair of Comp VX 12's and a ZX850.4 powering 2 Focal component sets. Bumps pretty good, lol. I had the same problem with this set up. When I would crank it, my amps would cut out. I ended up needing to restring my alternator to 200 amps, had to get a 3 farad cap, and yellow top battery under my hood.

So, either your ground needs to be improved/fixed, you are not getting enough juice to your amp (get a 1 farad cap), or your amp is going bad.

Either way good luck.

[JJs450r]

i worked at my uncles audio shop for a little bit and all those were problems but we ran in to underpowered amps and bad grounds more then anything, one way people would fix it without buying a bigger amp was to not sure the bass all the way up, plus sounds a lil better

[DF400ex]

If your amp is not getting enough power and your headlights dim bad you could also upgrade the big 3 grounds. They are: battery ground, engine to frame , and amp to frame.

They made a huge difference in my headlights dimming, even with all my power upgrades.

[Kickstarts-suck]

I have a brand new battery. Other battery went dead when I had my stereo on with the truck turned off.

I play my stereo alot when im sitting at someones house with the truck off and the Headunit lights dim when the bass hits hard.

I was thinking about a cap but didn't really think i needed one for 400 watts rms.

I have 8 gauge power/ground wires.
No idea how old alternator is.

Ill take pics of all my wiring tomorrow.

[shadowwalker]

Well if you're noticing the cutting when the truck is off and the lights dim its most likely not getting the juice it needs. When your truck is running the alternator (if its good) will put out slightly more than the battery alone will.

Also, a bass heavy song is going to draw more juice, and with this there is less recovery time between the bass hitting.

When I had my L7 and zx1000.1 I could play metal songs all day long. If I played rap on the other hand I had to watch it because of the bass hitting harder and more often.

[rbgnwa45]

Maybe wires are touching and the amp is going into protect, or, what happened to my amp, it got hot. Turn the bass down. If you want more bass, add a sub/amp.

[Kickstarts-suck]

Originally posted by rbgnwa45
Maybe wires are touching and the amp is going into protect, or, what happened to my amp, it got hot. Turn the bass down. If you want more bass, add a sub/amp.

well I didn't buy this setup to not be able to use it to its full potential.

There has to be something wrong somewhere causing this problem.

How would I get more power to the amp? Bigger wire? Maybe some 4 gauge?

[DF400ex]

How old is your amp? My last amp did the same thing after a few years because it went bad. I ended up having to just replace it.

Another thing you could do. Get a voltmeter and test the voltage at the input terminals of your amp. Test if at low volume at first, then crank it slowly till it cuts out. Make sure your truck is on when you do this. You should be reading some where around 14.4 volts. maybe a lil less if your battery is drained a little bit.

If your voltage is staying where it needs to be, then your amp might be bad. If it dips too low, then you just have to beef up your power delivery. A simple $50 1 farad cap will solve that.

Again, definitely check your ground again. Bad grounds can ruin amps over time.

[Kickstarts-suck]

Originally posted by DF400ex
How old is your amp? My last amp did the same thing after a few years because it went bad. I ended up having to just replace it.

Another thing you could do. Get a voltmeter and test the voltage at the input terminals of your amp. Test if at low volume at first, then crank it slowly till it cuts out. Make sure your truck is on when you do this. You should be reading some where around 14.4 volts. maybe a lil less if your battery is drained a little bit.

If your voltage is staying where it needs to be, then your amp might be bad. If it dips too low, then you just have to beef up your power delivery. A simple $50 1 farad cap will solve that.

Again, definitely check your ground again. Bad grounds can ruin amps over time.

amp is 2 months old. Ill check the grounds and test the volts tomorrow if I can.

[HondaEXrider22]

Is all your power connections sawtered? (sp?) That would help big time in connection problems.

[shadowwalker]

Originally posted by HondaEXrider22
Is all your power connections sawtered? (sp?) That would help big time in connection problems.
Most Amps (Kicker for sure) don't use solder connections. They use a bolt that clamps down on the cables. There really isn't a spot to even solder to. And, have you ever tried soldering 4 gauge cable?

[300exOH]

Are you running the speaker in the 2 ohm configuration or 4ohm? Your amp may not be designed to run at 2 ohms and it may be causing it to clip at or near peak power. You might just be overdriving the low frequencies and causing the amp to distort (clip) Most amps when overdriven have a shutdown feature when clipping occurs. If you are running any kind of superbass type feature on your head unit it may be causing excessive distortion which shuts down the amp. I would give it a try in the 4 ohm configuration.

[<DRS>GPF]

are you using the speaker level input?(for head units that dont have a pre-amp sub output)
or the line level input?(an actual RCA subwoofer output)

is the red LED on at any time?(S.O.R.T. protection LED)

as a test..
take your ATV battery and connect it directly to the amp(watch polarity), along with your trucks battery, then try to make it cut out..
this will ensure youve got enough battery power for the job..


that amp is only 200watts RMS @ 2ohms, while the speaker can handle 400watts RMS @ 2ohms.. too much power is not the problem..

my guess without knowing your connection from head unit to the amp, is your overdriving the input of the amp in an attempt to get that really low bass..

turn down the BASS response at the head unit first, then see if it fixes it.

according to the spec's, it should give the red LED when its in trouble..

[Regular_Joe]

The specs are:
# 200 watts RMS x 1 at 4 ohms (400 watts RMS x 1 at 2 ohms)
# variable low-pass filter (50-200 Hz, 12 dB per octave)
# variable bass boost with wired remote (0-18 dB at 40 Hz)
# switchable subsonic filter (12 dB/octave at 25 Hz)

He is using it on a 4 ohm DVC speaker, wired in parallel, so the sub is getting 400 rms / 800 max.

A speaker is not a perfect 2 or 4 ohms. That number is just an average. Could be a little higher or lower at certain frequencies. Perhaps the boost is at a frequency where the sub is actually more like 3.1 ohms instead of a perfect 4.0 ohms. This would make the overall 1.5 ohms at that frequency.

As others said the ground is another good thing to investigate. Dremel the hell out of where it is attached to the frame. Make sure there is no paint left ....

In the end the amp is going into protect and saving itself from burning up. I wouldn't keep pushing it.

[Kickstarts-suck]

I went out and looked at the amp while playing a song and the green light stays on then when I turn the boost up it turns to red until I turn it back down.

Its running 400 watts rms at 2ohms.

[Kickstarts-suck]

The ground

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/9625/dsc01433kb8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[MOFO]

You need a capacitor and better electrical system in your truck (or keep it running).

[Alberta_Qaudin]

what type of deck are oyu running this off of......should you by chance be running it off of a factory deck, most factory decks have an "anti-blow" set up that that will cut the bass out of the speakers if you turn the volume past a certain point. if its an aftermarket deck like the rest said, could be alot of things

[Alberta_Qaudin]

oh and if its an aftermarket unit, try turning the "loud" feature off

[Kickstarts-suck]

its an Alpine deck

[Kickstarts-suck]

I cranked my truck today and revved it to 2000 rpms and turned up the boost and it didn't cut out at all.

My trucks volt meter was bouncing around though. So it looks like a power problem.

Does this mean I need a cap?
If so what brand should I look into? I cant afford a tsunami.

Also I heard something about having to charge caps? How do you do that?

Im looking into upgrading my system soon so Im going to go ahead and get a cap to handle my new stereo.
( 2 12" Pioneer shallow subs and HIFONICS ZXI6006 2 channel amp)

[<DRS>GPF]

might be a crappy battery..
after all, it should draw less than 40amps max during a "thump". a normal starting battery can handle alot more than that intermittenly.

it still could be a connection problem..
why not run the ground closer to the battery, perhaps to the point where the ground is connected to the chassis..

IMO, pulling 40amps through the truck body is far from efficient.. besides, the more connections the greater the resistance.

as far as capacitors go.. it could help for instant response, but not for long tones.
i think youre referring to "aging" the cap when you say "charging".. otherwise the cap will charge almost instantly when you connect it in parallel with your battery supply.

serious audiophiles(competition freaks) install batteries nearby the amps, which helps response and efficiency.

[Kickstarts-suck]

My battery is brand new, I got it from pep boys and they said it was the only one they carried for my truck.

[416exfreak]

Optima red top is where its at.;)

[Kickstarts-suck]

Originally posted by 416exfreak
Optima red top is where its at.;)

yellow tops are better for stereos

But I cant afford a $200 battery ;)

[72 chevelle ss]

Don't get a cap. A cap is like a putting a band aid on cancer. You need a better battery, and to do the big 3. If you go bigger in the future you may need a HO alt.