Amp/sub cutting out at high volume

[SmokeE30]

88 325 non premium sound car w/fader, has a Kenwood KDC-MP3-345U headunit installed running stock speakers and a Sony xm-FTC-6040 600w amp powering 1 12in alipine type r subwoofer.

Problem is the sub and amp cut out at high volumes. I know the left rear speaker was not working and the headunit and amp wiring were poorly done. I went over all suspicious connections at the head unit and at the amp to be sure nothing was loosing contact.

What else would cause this cutting out? I'm a noob with audio stuff but I turned down the bass levels on the head unit and it didn't help. I have to have the level adjustment on the amp (gain?) up pretty high just to get it to hit decently hard at the lower volume levels. Any advice?

[SmokeE30]

Anyone have any ideas? Most of what I've found searching is saying either a amp issue or bad connections, anything else this could be?

[reelizmpro]

Does the impedance of the speaker match the amp? Check your power and ground wires first. Check that you have a quality fuse that's the right rating for the amp. If it all checks out, you will have to turn down the gain or input sensitivity on the amp until it doesn't cut out anymore. I've found that they aren't supposed to be turned all the way up but in the "sweet spot" somewhere in the middle. When I had this problem, I found it was caused by a very cheap fuse on the amp itself.

[SmokeE30]

Does the impedance of the speaker match the amp? Check your power and ground wires first. Check that you have a quality fuse that's the right rating for the amp. If it all checks out, you will have to turn down the gain or input sensitivity on the amp until it doesn't cut out anymore. I've found that they aren't supposed to be turned all the way up but in the "sweet spot" somewhere in the middle. When I had this problem, I found it was caused by a very cheap fuse on the amp itself.

Well the speaker to amp pairing Im not sure of as they were bought as a package deal from a friend that assured me they "fuckin bumped" but as far as the power and ground wire I had it running through a quickly thrown together Walmart 600w amp wiring kit. I soldered the amp power and ground wires and shortened them to only what was required to mount them in the e30( aka. Chop 12 feet Off the power cable) and I can't see a need for any better cable for what I'm trying to do. I know the fuses in the amp are just cheapo 25a fuses I had sitting around and the fuse in the power wire is the one that came in the wallmart amp kit but I don't see how they would cause an issue with cutting out. I suppose I could swap them with some BMW 30a fuses to test but I'm not really sure that would cause an issue like I'm seeing. I know some vehicles like my s10 should have factory charging system wires upgraded for a stereo system but I Feel like my basic setup should be better than it is as is without changing factory stuff much.

[Jean]

Is the sub SVC or DVC. If DVC 2 or 4 ohm?
Is the amp being used as bridged?

[reelizmpro]

Replace the amp fuse with known good quality fuse. Consider it insurance. I had made a power wire out of two old ones I had laying around. I crimped and soldered them together, then wrapped them. Come to find out it was the source if my amp cutting off when the bass hit. The connection had become corroded and brittle. I ran a fresh new wire to an agu fuse holder that used screws to sandwich the big 8-10 wire. This solved all of my power problems. Had this happen in two of my cars. It helps to have an extra amp around to troubleshoot too.

[Onizukachan]

Gain is too high, signal is clipped and amp is going into protect.

Turn your gain back down, turn loudness a d bass boost features off on the head.

Set the gain with a DMM instead of just by "loudness".

[gtdragon980]

Sorry to threadjack, but my problem is similar to yours, but all my lights including dash lights are dimming and my headunit is turning off. I know it is a power issue, but I just replaced the battery with a new one last month. Do I need a higher amp alternator to supply more juice to the battery? Or is mine just going bad? I'm currently running a Alpine mono 500w amp with gains maybe 3/4 the way up and headunit gains around the same. It was working fine up until today, so I am thinking it is draining the piss out of my battery. I'm thinking my alternator is shot, but I am also thinking I need more amperage as well? Heard something about using a 7er 140 amp alternator with slight modification and I should be good?

[reelizmpro]

Sorry to threadjack, but my problem is similar to yours, but all my lights including dash lights are dimming and my headunit is turning off. I know it is a power issue, but I just replaced the battery with a new one last month. Do I need a higher amp alternator to supply more juice to the battery? Or is mine just going bad? I'm currently running a Alpine mono 500w amp with gains maybe 3/4 the way up and headunit gains around the same. It was working fine up until today, so I am thinking it is draining the piss out of my battery. I'm thinking my alternator is shot, but I am also thinking I need more amperage as well? Heard something about using a 7er 140 amp alternator with slight modification and I should be good?

Check your voltage regulator first.

[UpstateMike]

Put a multimeter on the amp and check voltage at the amp while music is playing. You don't want to see a drastic voltage drop when bass hits. If you do have voltage drop check all connections. GROUND is extremely important. Determine the size of wire you're using and report back to thread and maybe we can help dial it in for you. Sounds like alternator may be an issue as well. But 8 times out of 10 it's a bad ground or wire is of insufficient gauge. Good luck.

[Gregs///M]

Sorry to threadjack, but my problem is similar to yours, but all my lights including dash lights are dimming and my headunit is turning off. I know it is a power issue, but I just replaced the battery with a new one last month. Do I need a higher amp alternator to supply more juice to the battery? Or is mine just going bad? I'm currently running a Alpine mono 500w amp with gains maybe 3/4 the way up and headunit gains around the same. It was working fine up until today, so I am thinking it is draining the piss out of my battery. I'm thinking my alternator is shot, but I am also thinking I need more amperage as well? Heard something about using a 7er 140 amp alternator with slight modification and I should be good?

I'd start with inspecting your vehicle electrical system. Make sure you verify your battery to ground cable is secure and clean.

Also, and most importantly, the engine to chassis ground cable that runs from the oil pan to the frame rail on the drivers side. This can be considered the ground cable for all engine electronics including the alternator. Be sure it is not oily, corroded, or loose. Replace it if you have it. I sell heavy duty upgraded ground cables specifically for cars with large wattage amps.

Also check the power connections at the alternator. Lastly, have your alternator checked. For a 500 watt amp, you should have a minimum of 4AWG cable.

[UpstateMike]

Tremendous advice greg

[StereoInstaller1]

Is this your amp?

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...M-GTX6040.html

[SmokeE30]

Is this your amp?

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...M-GTX6040.html

yup that's looks like the one. im gonna try messing with it a bit more this aftrernoon

[SmokeE30]

Is the sub SVC or DVC. If DVC 2 or 4 ohm?
Is the amp being used as bridged?

my amp
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...M-GTX6040.html

my sub

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-csqWUoJOytl/p_500SWR1242/Alpine-SWR-1242D.html?XVINQ=DST&XVVER=GRP

DVC 4 Ohm.

im gonna attempt to follow a youtube video to tune this thing and see what happens lol


Edit:

I attempted to follow a youtube amp tuning guide but now im confused.

this was the guide http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpE6QQi--Lg

I used http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-ohm.htm

to calculate what voltage I needed I used 300W and 4ohm (my amps bridged max rating) to get 34.64 v

however with the gain all the way up it only makes 16.5V car off and 20.5V running.

is this a sign I need to use bigger wires? help lol