new sub wiring issues.

ASSISTANCE Electrical & Entertainment Systems
1

I have this amp. (sony Xplod piece of crap)
http://www.bestwebbuys.com/electronics/Sony_Xplod_XM_2100GTX_Amplifier-4274929.html?isrc=e-search
supposedly can handle.
100 Watt - 4 Ohm 2 channel(s)
125 Watt - 2 Ohm 2 channel(s)
250 Watt - 4 Ohm 1 channel(s)

before i go on please refrain from telling me i need a better amp, i know this, cant afford this, so this is what i need to work with for the time being.*

I recently needed a new pair of subs and purchased these 10’ Rockford punch stage2’s.
http://www.cardomain.com/item/ROCP210D4

due to my lack of knowledge of DVC subwoofers, i wired the speakers as 2channel bridged according to this diagram

after playing the system for a while the amp would shut off and slowly come back on. I highly doubt this is a problem with the amp because my other subs ran fine. Does anyone know if i wired this wrong???

2

The bottom pic is right but you want to split one sub per channel

get the idea

3

Well like it or not, you do need another amp, you amp makes 1x250W RMS into 4 ohms, and that’s at 14.4V, it’s more like 200W RMS, you have two 250W subs, so you are way underpowered.
You will have to be very careful not to overdrive the amp into constant clipping or you will damage the subs VCs.

Your best wiring option is the second one, [series/parallel] the subs VCs are wired in series for an 8 ohm final impedance then the subs are wired in parallel to bring the impedance back down to 4 ohms.
Wire them to the amp in bridged mode, again, be careful with the amp gain and sub volume.:corn: 94

4

fuckin guy at cardomain.com- i asked him if this was going to be a problem that my amp was going to underpower the subs and he told me that it would be better to buy these subs and underpower-vs- a pair of regular pioneer subs that i would be pushing close to the max that they can handle -so i went against what i thought and bought these…

alright so now im going to just get a new amp i guess.

i know i need to read more about how ohms with wiring works cause im pritty much in the dark at the moment.

is this one reasonable for my application,
http://www.cardomain.com/item/POWA1000DB

if im understanding this correctly it puts out 450x1 @4ohms which is prob 400x1…so if i were to wire this as mentioned above each sub should be recieving about 200???

can someone send me a decent link explaining how this works or
even better can someone recommend me a decent amp for under 250bucks shipped lol…

thanks-

5

It’s not a lot better, but it is twice as much power as the Sony, but still underpowered, if anything you should be overpowered, [you can always turn the gain on the amp down a little]

Impedance = The opposition to the flow of alternating current (AC) in a circuit. Measured in ohms

The VC has resistance, in your case 4 ohms of resistance, [ The opposition to the flow of AC or DC voltage in an electric current. Measured in ohms] when 2 VCs are wired in series the resistance doubles, [sum of both VCs] when they are wired in parallel the resistance is cut in half.

An amps output, [that does not have a regulated power supply] depends on the load, [impedance] it is connected to, EG; an amp that is rated at 1x100W rms into a 4 ohm load will make 1x200W rms into a 2 ohm load or 1x400W rms into a 1 ohm load and 1x800W rms into a .5 ohm load, the revers is also true, the same 1x100W rms into 4 ohms will make 1x50W rms into an 8 ohm load.

There is a point of diminishing return to make more watts requires more current, more current and lower impedance’s produce more heat, there is a limit on how low the load can be on a particular amp.

There are other “unwanted” characteristics of lower impedance’s on an amps outputs, pretty much all of them are related to SQ.

The best sounding amps I have heard are amps that I wire to 8 ohm loads, EG; I would use a 1x1000W rms into 4 ohms amp for a 500W sub(s) that I could wire to an 8 ohm final load, [impedance]

A perfect amp for your subs would be a JL Audio 500/1, and as much as I am no fan of EBay, it is the only place you will find a 500/1 with your budget… http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=JL+Audio+500%2F1&category0=

BTW the 500/1 does have a regulated power supply so it makes 1x500W rms into 1.5 - 4 ohms @ 11V - 14.5V. :corn: 94

6

Two of these with a cap would pound whit them subs
http://www.cardomain.com/item/POWOV12000D

7

Two of these with a cap would pound whit them subs
Actually he only needs one of them.:roll: 94

8

so gettin just ONE of those amps that stepka provided would be good.

i was actually looking at this amp but its almost 100dollars more
http://www.cardomain.com/item/POWA1800DB

fcm, ur a good guy, im going with your judgement.
id prefer the amp that stepka showed just because its cheaper.
with that amp i should expect each sub to get about 250 right if its 600w X1@4ohms

also i will probably need to upgrade my power wire from 8gauge to 4, for this amp as well right.

rememeber im tryin at this point to go cheap as possible. its for my beeter car and i already dropped too much and wasnt expecting to buy a new amp

thanks man

9

Both amps are 1x600W RMS into 4 ohms, 100W overpowered for the two subs, but that’s a good thing.:up:

Now it’s just a matter of installing the subs in a proper box.:whisper: 94

10

i got a nice box. i built, i will post pics later, im going to do a whole thread about my beatercar- ive done 4systems and ive never encountered so many problems as i have with this p.o.s.

im going to order that amp i found it for like 170shipped which isnt bad, however i have 3 more questions

  1. will 8gauge power wire be good for that amp.

  2. riding to school today my amp just shut off, no protection, nothing. its completely off.
    no fuses blew, the turn on lead from the back of the radio is still connected,
    ground is good,
    why is it dead.
    i didnt get a chance to check the wires with a voltmeter but can you tell me any other ways to check it.-
    the power wire should show constant power.
    and the turn on lead should show power when the radio is on correct?

  3. totally unrealted since i got the wire master working with me here i figured id ask.

if i have a speaker. and theres no indication on the speaker which terminal is positive and which one is negative, how can you tell??

11

For a 600W amp I would use 4ga power cable and an ANL fuse.

If you are using the big glass type fuse, [AGU] on your amps power lead, replace it even if it looks good.

For the speaker use a batt., [any batt. up to a 9V] touch the batt. terminals to the speaker terminals when the cone “pops” outwards the speakers pos.(+) terminal is the one that the batt. pos.(+) is touching.:bowthank: 94

12

alright so i ordered it 174.00shipped, not bad. i’ll take some pics once its up and running.

thanks man for ur help

13

can i get away with using the 8gauge for a little while, or is it necessary to change it

14

You could, but I don’t recommend it, the 8ga will not be able to supply the amp with the current it needs to produce 600W, [unless it’s less then 6 - 7 feet long] and that can lead to driving the amp into clipping which in turn can lead to damaged VCs.:uhoh: 94

15

well id have to measure but its definatly less then 6ft long because the batteries in the trunk with the amp, but its good to know and i will try to upgrade.

16

alright FCM, final question, i honestly appreciate all your help man, you come through everytime.

i ordered that amp, im going to upgrade to a 4gauge wiring kit for the amp to power the subwoofers.

i just ordered a pair of 5 1/4’’ speakers for the rear, so i was thinking of using my bullshit sony amp with the 8gauge wire i have to power those and clear them up, also to help cover the obnoxious bass im going to have.

can i run this with out a cap?
i know i should probably be getting one because of the amount of power, but will my car be able to hold this.
keep in mind its bullshit 80’s german electronics, and that my battery sits on oneside of the trunk, and my amps on the other so its a short distance.

and if i cant, then can i at least push the subs for the time being?

17

I would connect it all up and give it a try, if you run into dimming problems, [and assuming all the power and ground wiring is correct] then add the cap, but install it on the sub amp only, the high-pass amp will not need it.:dozing: 94

18

http://g2ic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=172285

the outcome incase anyones interested.

19

A Beamer???:roll:94

20

haha no good??