Amp & Sub hooked up, no output???

[eman88 0]

I just hooked up my amp, set my gains, hooked up the sub, and I am getting zero output out of the sub.

The sub is an SSA Icon D2 10", wired in parallel to 1ohm.

The amp is a Sundown SAE-1000D, bought refurbished from DB-r.

Headunit is a Pioneer DEH-P6000D for reference.

It is hooked up exactly like this, except I only have one positive and one negative coming from the subwoofer, and they are connected to the positive on the left, and the negative on the left.

I played a 50hz test tune, set my volume to 45/60, and adjusted the gain until it was at 30V at the speaker terminals on the amp. (a little below 31.6, figured that would keep me on the safe side)

Then I hooked up the sub to the amp, and when I play anything, I'm getting absolutely zero output from the sub.

Any suggestions?

Another thing to note, after having the amp on for just a few minutes adjusting the gains, it is very hot. I can still hold my hand on it, but just barely. This doesnt seem normal, but this is also my first system. Is something wrong with my amp?

[sqjeep 9]

Do you have your subwoofer wired like this??

[eman88 0]

Do you have your subwoofer wired like this??

Yes, I also double checked the resistance after i hooked it up and it was ~1ohm

[jcarter1885 995]

check to make sure you have your power and grounds on the amp in the right spot. check all your connections to your radio and make sure the connections are connected and to the right wires.

If amp is getting hot that fast then it sounds like it is a connection problem with the amp, look at your grounds and make sure they are tight and locked down good to the chassis (is chassis clean and bare metal or did you not sand the paint off).

[eman88 0]

check to make sure you have your power and grounds on the amp in the right spot. check all your connections to your radio and make sure the connections are connected and to the right wires.

If amp is getting hot that fast then it sounds like it is a connection problem with the amp, look at your grounds and make sure they are tight and locked down good to the chassis (is chassis clean and bare metal or did you not sand the paint off).

I think my ground might be suspect.

To verify if its a good ground, I should be able to put my multimeter to my potential ground, and my cable from the positive battery terminal, and have it read a very low resistance, correct?

I grounded it to that thin piece above the black cable. I think maybe I didn't sand off enough paint? When i tried to check it with a multimeter, it said there wasn't a complete circuit. I wanted to ground to my seatbelt bolt, but unfortunately my ring terminal is too small. My ring terminal is probably 3/8 of an inch? It's in the upper middle of this picture.

I will look for a better grounding location tomorrow, I looked around for a while but didn't really see anything too good.

[jcarter1885 995]

get a drill bit or flat head and open the ring up so it fits the bolt size, thats what I did or just buy bigger one's.

[eman88 0]

get a drill bit or flat head and open the ring up so it fits the bolt size, thats what I did or just buy bigger one's.

Thanks, I will go out and buy a larger ring terminal tomorrow. Would a bad ground explain the no output problem, even though there was voltage at the speaker outputs?

[jcarter1885 995]

it could be a lot of things, but when it comes car audio it usually just the small things that gives an install setbacks. a better ground is good for your amp and car #1 and your one step closer to finding out what the problem is if it wasnt the problem itself. check all your connections

[eman88 0]

it could be a lot of things, but when it comes car audio it usually just the small things that gives an install setbacks. a better ground is good for your amp and car #1 and your one step closer to finding out what the problem is if it wasnt the problem itself. check all your connections

Thanks for all your help. To check its a good ground, I can use my multimeter to check for low resistance, correct? Putting the negative probe on the ground, and the positive probe on the cable from the + battery terminal?

[eman88 0]

I redid the ground, using the seat belt bolt, and made sure I sanded it down to bare metal. I reconnected everything, and set up my gains again. Then i plugged in the sub, and again, no output, and the amp started to get pretty hot, so I turned it all off.

Any ideas? Is it possible its a bad amp? I don't know what I could be doing wrong right now.

edit*

I tried to use the multimeter to check if my ground was good, putting the positive probe from the meter on the cable from the positive side of the battery, and the negative probe on the ground. It reads 12V, but when I try and check the resistance, it doesn't register anything.. Is this still my problem?

Edited July 26, 2009 by eman88

[jcarter1885 995]

I redid the ground, using the seat belt bolt, and made sure I sanded it down to bare metal. I reconnected everything, and set up my gains again. Then i plugged in the sub, and again, no output, and the amp started to get pretty hot, so I turned it all off.

Any ideas? Is it possible its a bad amp? I don't know what I could be doing wrong right now.

email sundown and see what they can tell you.

The only thing I can think that is making it hot that fast (is a bad ground or your remote turn-on is hooked up to a 12v+ power source instead of a remote or ignition wire).

The no sound can be bad rca's, check all your setting on your head-unit.

Its either got to be a bad ground(check your headunit and battery) or incorrect remote turn on.

Edited July 26, 2009 by jay-cee

[eman88 0]

I posted this over in the electrical forum, and it was suggested I talk to Sundown directly.

I just hooked up my amp, set my gains, hooked up the sub, and I am getting zero output out of the sub.

The sub is an SSA Icon D2 10", wired in parallel to 1ohm.

The amp is a Sundown SAE-1000D, bought refurbished from DB-r.

Headunit is a Pioneer DEH-P6000D for reference.

It is hooked up exactly like this, except I only have one positive and one negative coming from the subwoofer, and they are connected to the "speaker A" connections.

I played a 50hz test tune, set my volume to 45/60, and adjusted the gain until it was at 30V at the speaker terminals on the amp. (a little below 31.6, figured that would keep me on the safe side)

Then I hooked up the sub to the amp, and when I play anything, I'm getting absolutely zero output from the sub.

Another thing to note, after having the amp on for just a few minutes, it is very hot. I can still hold my hand on it, but just barely. This doesnt seem normal, but this is also my first system. Is something wrong with my amp?

I believe my ground is good, I double checked that, i sanded it down to bare metal, and am using my seat belt mounting bolt. I read on the forums to check the resistance of my ground, how can I do this?

Is it possible my amp is defective(bought refurbished from DB-r). This is the first time I'm hooking it up.

Thanks

[eman88 0]

I redid the ground, using the seat belt bolt, and made sure I sanded it down to bare metal. I reconnected everything, and set up my gains again. Then i plugged in the sub, and again, no output, and the amp started to get pretty hot, so I turned it all off.

Any ideas? Is it possible its a bad amp? I don't know what I could be doing wrong right now.

email sundown and see what they can tell you.

The only thing I can think that is making it hot that fast (is a bad ground or your remote turn-on is hooked up to a 12v+ power source instead of a remote or ignition wire).

The no sound can be bad rca's, check all your setting on your head-unit.

Its either got to be a bad ground(check your headunit and battery) or incorrect remote turn on.

Thanks. I posted over in the sundown forum about this. My remote turn-on only shows 12V when the headunit is on, and 0 when its off, so that seems correct.

If the voltage at the speaker outputs on the amp change as i adjusted the volume on the headunit, that would indicate that the RCAs are good, right?

[mikey5472 16]

Thats not good.

[sqjeep 9]

I redid the ground, using the seat belt bolt, and made sure I sanded it down to bare metal. I reconnected everything, and set up my gains again. Then i plugged in the sub, and again, no output, and the amp started to get pretty hot, so I turned it all off.

Any ideas? Is it possible its a bad amp? I don't know what I could be doing wrong right now.

email sundown and see what they can tell you.

The only thing I can think that is making it hot that fast (is a bad ground or your remote turn-on is hooked up to a 12v+ power source instead of a remote or ignition wire).

The no sound can be bad rca's, check all your setting on your head-unit.

Its either got to be a bad ground(check your headunit and battery) or incorrect remote turn on.

Thanks. I posted over in the sundown forum about this. My remote turn-on only shows 12V when the headunit is on, and 0 when its off, so that seems correct.

If the voltage at the speaker outputs on the amp change as i adjusted the volume on the headunit, that would indicate that the RCAs are good, right?

Do u you have a ipod or a handheld cd player??

Also do u have another rca laying around??

Also do u have a an adapter that takes the rcas ends and turns them into a headphone jack??

[eman88 0]

I redid the ground, using the seat belt bolt, and made sure I sanded it down to bare metal. I reconnected everything, and set up my gains again. Then i plugged in the sub, and again, no output, and the amp started to get pretty hot, so I turned it all off.

Any ideas? Is it possible its a bad amp? I don't know what I could be doing wrong right now.

email sundown and see what they can tell you.

The only thing I can think that is making it hot that fast (is a bad ground or your remote turn-on is hooked up to a 12v+ power source instead of a remote or ignition wire).

The no sound can be bad rca's, check all your setting on your head-unit.

Its either got to be a bad ground(check your headunit and battery) or incorrect remote turn on.

Thanks. I posted over in the sundown forum about this. My remote turn-on only shows 12V when the headunit is on, and 0 when its off, so that seems correct.

If the voltage at the speaker outputs on the amp change as i adjusted the volume on the headunit, that would indicate that the RCAs are good, right?

Do u you have a ipod or a handheld cd player??

Also do u have another rca laying around??

Also do u have a an adapter that takes the rcas ends and turns them into a headphone jack??

So you are saying I should connect my ipod directly to the amp, and see if that works? I have an RCA to headphone jack adapater, I'll go try this now.

I can use a battery to test the subwoofer, correct? By attaching the battery directly to the sub, the sub should move, right?

[sqjeep 9]

I redid the ground, using the seat belt bolt, and made sure I sanded it down to bare metal. I reconnected everything, and set up my gains again. Then i plugged in the sub, and again, no output, and the amp started to get pretty hot, so I turned it all off.

Any ideas? Is it possible its a bad amp? I don't know what I could be doing wrong right now.

email sundown and see what they can tell you.

The only thing I can think that is making it hot that fast (is a bad ground or your remote turn-on is hooked up to a 12v+ power source instead of a remote or ignition wire).

The no sound can be bad rca's, check all your setting on your head-unit.

Its either got to be a bad ground(check your headunit and battery) or incorrect remote turn on.

Thanks. I posted over in the sundown forum about this. My remote turn-on only shows 12V when the headunit is on, and 0 when its off, so that seems correct.

If the voltage at the speaker outputs on the amp change as i adjusted the volume on the headunit, that would indicate that the RCAs are good, right?

Do u you have a ipod or a handheld cd player??

Also do u have another rca laying around??

Also do u have a an adapter that takes the rcas ends and turns them into a headphone jack??

So you are saying I should connect my ipod directly to the amp, and see if that works? I have an RCA to headphone jack adapater, I'll go try this now.

I can use a battery to test the subwoofer, correct? By attaching the battery directly to the sub, the sub should move, right?

Leave everything attached on the amp except for the rcas that are coming from the headunit. then plug the rcas that are on the ipod into the amp.

See if you get sound now.

[eman88 0]

I figured it out. I tried to use a battery to make the subwoofer pop out, and it wasnt moving. I took the sub back out of the box and checked each voice coil seperately, and then hooked it all back up again. So i must have had a bad connection or hooked it up improperly in the box.

My concern is that the amp is still getting fairly hot. Granted it is 95 degrees out, but after holding my hand on the top of the amp for about 8-10seconds, it starts to burn. I assume this isn't normal?

[eman88 0]

Thats not good.

Well I'm a dumbass, I had the sub wired incorrectly in the box. So everything works now, however, the amp is still getting pretty hot. I can't hold my hand on it for more than ~8seconds. It is 95 degrees out, but I don't think the amp should be getting this hot at all...

Is this normal? If not, what should I look into?

Edited July 26, 2009 by eman88

[jcarter1885 995]

what kind of electrical setup do you have (alternator anf battery)?

How old is your batttery?

What voltage do you sit at when playing the system and when system is not on?

[eman88 0]

what kind of electrical setup do you have (alternator anf battery)?

How old is your batttery?

What voltage do you sit at when playing the system and when system is not on?

Its a 96 honda accord ex, 4cylinder.

Stock alternator, I will check on the battery later. I bought the car last May with the current battery, I'm not sure how old it is.

Where should I check the voltage?

[JASON123 1]

Check it at the amp car on and off play it as loud as you set it to you don't want it to go under 10.5 volts bad on the amp

Edited July 26, 2009 by BIG JAY

[jcarter1885 995]

at the battery and amp, since you have a system in your car you would save yourself a lot of stress if you buy a voltmeter to keep you updated at all times your cars current voltage.

[eman88 0]

Check it at the amp car on and off you don't want it to go under 10.5 volts bad on the amp

at the battery and amp, since you have a system in your car you would save yourself a lot of stress if you buy a voltmeter to keep you updated at all times your cars current voltage.

Ok I will check that tomorrow night probably.

Is there a way to check whether I have a good ground or not? I read about checking the resistance, can I just do that by unhooking the + wire and ground from the amp, and measuring the resistance across these two wires?

[Spencerk 4]

NO NO!!! don't do that, that is how you would check the difference in potential energy of the Batt. if you do that you WILL pop the fuse on the meter. What you will want to do is pull the ground and take the reading from the end of the wire to the chassis.