HELP with my new amp/subs!

 

Silver Member
Username: Iufan4lifeul

Louisville, Kentucky

Post Number: 399
Registered: May-05
Ok, so I have the 2 RE12's and they are wired to create a 4 ohm load on the amplifier. I just got my Kicker 450.2 in today (actually, might be the 550.2 because the cover says 450.2 but by the connections it says 550.2). Anyway, I had my Alpine driving 100rms to both of them earlier today so I unhooked everything and was going to connect my new Kicker amp. Well, in the process of uninstalling the Alpine my dad touched a screwdriver to the screw that holds in the power cable when the amp wasn't grounded. It sparked and we thought a fuse was blown but checked all fuses and everything is fine. So, now we get the new amp in there. Ground is good (checked), all connections are good (checked), fuses good (checked). I turn on the car, the green light comes on the amp for power and I turn up the bass boost... Maybe a TINY bit of bass. It is set on LPF crossed over at 100Hz or so with the gain on 2 and bass boost about the same. Only 1 sub was working and it was BARELY moving. Then I checked RCA's and speaker outputs, switched the channels and tried it again to make sure it wasn't the woofers. The other woofer did the same thing while the one i tested first did nothing. So I unhooked 1 channel and just ran 1 sub to it and it was pretty loud (probably running at 8 ohms). Then I tried the other RCA and sub by itself and nothing :/ WTF is going on? If it was a bad RCA why would the one sub be so quiet when they both are connected? Any thoughts? I will take it to Ovation or Circuit City tomorrow if I can't diagnose the problem tonight...
 

Gold Member
Username: Carguy

Post Number: 4156
Registered: Nov-04
Check your sub's polarity. Maybe one of them are reversed.
 

Silver Member
Username: Iufan4lifeul

Louisville, Kentucky

Post Number: 401
Registered: May-05
I did, remember, I didn't touch the subs when I installed the new amp. The subs were pounding hard before I tried to install it.
 

Silver Member
Username: Iufan4lifeul

Louisville, Kentucky

Post Number: 402
Registered: May-05
I did check that, I didn't touch the subs when I installed the new amp. The subs were pounding hard before I tried to install it.
 

Gold Member
Username: Carguy

Post Number: 4158
Registered: Nov-04
Use DMM and monitor the voltage on the amp. Sounds like there's not enough power. You might want to test the fuse with DMM. Sometimes they look find and partially work.
Put back your other amp and see if it pounds. If it does, then you have an amp problem. If you other amp does the same, then replace the fuse and test.
In most cases, when you get weak bass from 2 subs connected to an amp, it's cause of reversed polarity.
 

Silver Member
Username: Iufan4lifeul

Louisville, Kentucky

Post Number: 403
Registered: May-05
but 1 sub doesn't even work at all...
 

Bronze Member
Username: Deezel

Post Number: 30
Registered: Jul-05
When your dad made the spark, was their contact with the the ground wire at all?

Sometimes if the ground wire hits the power wire, and it creates a short, it causes the spot where the ground wire is grounded to no longer work as a suitable ground.

I've had this happen twice, except when it happened to me, the amps didn't turn on at all, and they were only getting a 7 volt pull. I thought I had broken all of my equipment, until I decided to move the ground for sh**ts and giggles, and it worked perfectly again.

If you have exhausted all of your options, try moving the ground wires to another spot.
 

Silver Member
Username: Iufan4lifeul

Louisville, Kentucky

Post Number: 404
Registered: May-05
Ok, I replaced my other amplifier and everything works perfectly. Through running a few tests I have concluded 1 channel of the 2 channel amp is defective.
 

Silver Member
Username: Southernrebel

Monroe, Louisiana USA

Post Number: 904
Registered: Mar-04
Chris,

Where did you get your amp and from whom? I have bought kick 4ch amps on ebay that did about the same thing. (ch1-2 worked, but 3-4 didnt).

With that amp having miss-matched parts (one saying 550.2 and the other saying 450.2), whoever sold you the amp prolly screwed you over....hate to say it, but its a distinct possibility.
 

Silver Member
Username: Iufan4lifeul

Louisville, Kentucky

Post Number: 405
Registered: May-05
marshall, I got them from Stereocity on ebay. Luckily they guarantee I can have a refund according to their site. So my parents emailed them requesting a refund and they requested a copy of proffesional installation so we said that I did it (which I did) and waiting for a response. My mom is a master at ebay so she said if they won't give us it back she can get the money back because we paid via credit card. Basically, we don't have to worry either way because I either get a brand new amp or my money back.
 

Silver Member
Username: Iufan4lifeul

Louisville, Kentucky

Post Number: 406
Registered: May-05
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