It starts off inside my car pretty much blasting (not sure the audio will do it justice) I have the volume set to approx. 73% volume. Higher than average listening volume. I showcase how like NOTHING is moving in the car. Review mirror, center console, side mirrors, NOTHING!

Then I switch to outside the car so you can see how you can barely hear it outside the vehicle. Then I cut to with the hatchback open and showcasing the actual sub moving. Check it out, guys. It's not outstanding quality or anything, but I hope it helps a little bit.

73% lol. Google log scale once.

Can't really tell anything from a video, but I think your expectations are odd. Moving things is a strange goal.

As for the outside of the car and not hearing it, good. That should be your exact goal. Whatever you want on the inside and dead silent on the out. That goal is tough though.

 Next I would take the car into the shop with the install reciept and make sure they did not use the pre existing amp that is in your car but instead to run directly from your H/U to your new amp...I am positive these things will help you...

 

This can be a tricky situation, the signal from the stock head unit is NOT speaker level which is what you want to feed into the LOC. It can sometimes be within range to work and sometimes you can just connect RCA's directly to the stock head unit, it is all dependent on the output voltage from the stock radio. This is why it usually works better with LOC's to use the amp's output, this way you know you have a speaker level signal and that is what a LOC is meant to work with.

 

Another thing OP may want to try is unplugging one RCA cable from the amp, if the LOC was wired out of phase it could cause the problems he is having and unplugging one cable will show it immediately. 

Thanks for all the advice, guys.  I really appreciate it!

Have you checked the ohm load of the subwoofer wire at the amp yet?

Unfortunately not!  I have free time now though.  So I promise you I will go open that dmm now and see what I can do. 

 

I have seen shops carpet prefab enclosures real nice. Its crazy. Hope that didn't happen.

I'm thinking its more the signal to the amp. Need to figure out where its coming from

That would be super bogus if they did that to me.

I hope it didn't happen either.

 

I may take THX's advice and hit that shop up again and ask some questions.

 

I wasn't joking

There's my problem then, not the sub.

 

haha

 

Seems like im kinda late to the party but my advice would be since youve already invested a good amount of money into the system get a DD1 to set your gains properly and ether build a good box or find someone to build one for you and ditch that prefab box. Another thing is when i first installed a system into my current car i used the stock HU and a RCA converter. After about 2 months or so i decided to get a Pioneer HU so i could run a USB drive. It made my sub WAY more clear and loud. Just a little food for thought.

I have been considering a bigger box, i'm under the impression that can make the sub louder.

 

As for head units and all that, if i'm going to spend money i'm thinking i'll get the other 10" IF I mistakenly got a D1 sub (Nice trick SSA ), however, if indeed there was no mistake, then i'll look into the upgrades you speak of.

 

Your first bit of advice is awful. [highlight]The DD1 isn't even a good paperweigh[/highlight]t and is absolutely useless for setting gains.

LOC's regularly roll off frequency wise so it is possible you had one that had far from stellar performance. And yes a real box is paramount, more important than the driver.

 

@the highlight:  wow lol

 

Real box though, that may be the issues.  I think the video helped eliminate some factors.  For instance, I believe we can see that I just want more SPL. haha

 

Have you tryed not having the bass knob plunged in?

I didn't even know you can do that. O_o

 

Then how will I know if i'm clipping out the sub though?

Because normally when it sounds good and loud is when it's clipping.

 

Nice car! Your sub for sure is not moving to it's potential, However it sounds good, so we know the sub is not the problem.  First thing to do your self is unscrew the sub from the box and verify what ohms your voice coils are, take out your DMM look at it's book and it will tell you where to set the knob for reading ohms, simply touch both positive and negative terminals with the prongs/or clips from DMM on one lead at a time     ( where the wires clamp into each side of the woofer ) and write the reading down to post here.  Then on your Head Unit make sure that ALL sub settings are set to ZERO with no bass boost (make sure your sub level is not like negative 16 or something crazy in your settings), ALSO if your H/U has a setting for the size of woofer it is working with, make sure it is set at "10" Next I would take the car into the shop with the install reciept and make sure they did not use the pre existing amp that is in your car but instead to run directly from your H/U to your new amp...I am positive these things will help you...If in fact a mistake was made and you got a dual 1 ohm sub, you could wire it to 2ohms (dont think your amp will handle a .5ohm load) untill you get another dual 1ohm sub so you can run at 1ohm.  Don't let this overwhelm you!  ...One simple step at a time

Thanks a TON for the advice, man!

And thanks for the compliment.  I like it.

On to the sub though!

 

As for the DMM, do I have my car running with no music playing, or do I want music playing while testing?  I'm not sure.

Thanks for the walkthrough on it by the way.  It takes a little bit of the overwhelming factor away from me!

 

On my head unit I have everything zero'd out.  I sometimes turn the treble up one notch and the midrange I normally have negative.  Like negative 1 or two.

My h/u unfortunately has no settings to calibrate which size sub you have to my knowledge.  I'm fairly sure i've scanned through all the settings.

 

I can walk in to the shop tomorrow most likely.  I'll ask if they ran directly from my H/U to the new amp.  Thanks for the advice, man.

 

Say, worst comes to worst, I got the wrong type sub, will I notice an improved with the other sub running off the same amp at a lower impedance?

 

I've got a lot of work to do!  First time ever working with things like this for me.

 

That is true...I think in all this advice we have forgetten to mention that the amp's Level/Gain knob needs to match your H/U's output voltage!!!

ead right. He said the box said dual 1 coils. Who ordered the sub?

 

 

 

How do I do that!

As for the outside of the car and not hearing it, good. That should be your exact goal. Whatever you want on the inside and dead silent on the out. That goal is tough though.

 

As far as moving things, it's because I want that "punch in the gut" or "hard to breath" effect.  I just want to feel the bass.  You know what I mean?  Maybe i'm talking with the wrong people, but I don't want a nice sounding low sub.  I want a banging sub tearing things up! xD

 

However, maybe I've completely set my expectations too high.

 

And if I would have a banging sub that you can't hear on the outside, great!  As of now, i'd at least want a sub i'm satisfied with on the inside.  Not left desiring more power and output.

 

Thanks for being patient with me, guys.  I got off work relatively early.  Give me a little time, and I should be back with some numbers once I figure this out and disconnect the sub.

 

One other thing I've been thinking of getting installed.  A volt meter.  So I can see what my sub is getting.  Any advice on those, for instance, it's hooked up at the amp, right?

 

 Next I would take the car into the shop with the install reciept and make sure they did not use the pre existing amp that is in your car but instead to run directly from your H/U to your new amp...I am positive these things will help you...

 

This can be a tricky situation, the signal from the stock head unit is NOT speaker level which is what you want to feed into the LOC. It can sometimes be within range to work and sometimes you can just connect RCA's directly to the stock head unit, it is all dependent on the output voltage from the stock radio. This is why it usually works better with LOC's to use the amp's output, this way you know you have a speaker level signal and that is what a LOC is meant to work with.

 

Another thing OP may want to try is unplugging one RCA cable from the amp, if the LOC was wired out of phase it could cause the problems he is having and unplugging one cable will show it immediately. 

 

That was really over my head, man!  I won't lie!

 

So, say I figure out what the RCA cable is and unplug it.  What am I looking for?

The way that you match your H/U's voltage out put with the amp input is first, Know what voltage your pre-outs on your H/U are, mine for example are 4v.  Then all you have to do is set the amp "level/gain" knob to your H/U's pre amp voltage(this can be found in your H/U booklet or google your model of H/U).  NEVER set the "level/gain" above the H/U's pre amp voltage.  Adding another sub should be the last thing on your mind right now my friend!  Figure this stuff out first!

Edited March 11, 201411 yr by THX_Elite

Either the sub or LOC is out of phase.  You can tell by the way the sub is behaving.  Although it would have been much easier to hear without music dubbed over the video.

 

1) turn radio up

2) turn bass knob up

3) unplug one side of the rca from the amp

4) look and listen to see if the sub moves more

 

if not the sub needs to be removed from the box (if you only have one wire coming out the box) and make sure the wires are not backwards on the sub.

 

DO NOT keep playing the sub before you check this out if it is out of phase you risk burning the coil up.

Guys, I don't want to jump the gun or anything, but so you guys are in sync with what i'm doing.  I got it removed now.  Here are some pics.

 

I'm working on the dmm now.

 

Left:

http://oi61.tinypic.com/imqu8g.jpg

 

Right:

http://i62.tinypic.com/nd7yp4_th.jpg

 

Red to black

http://oi59.tinypic.com/5js03p.jpg

 

Enclosure/port

http://oi58.tinypic.com/eqctnl.jpg

 

Port:

http://oi61.tinypic.com/2v8pyy8.jpg

 

Box:

http://oi60.tinypic.com/2uz2bnd.jpg

 

Back to tinkering

Alright. Did my best to get the readings.

On the left it read 1.8

On the right it read 1.7

I believe that was all I needed to do. But just because I also did one from each opposite side at the same time.

The top two gave me 3.1

And the bottom gave me .2.

I will post the pics up after. Time to screw my sub in

If its a 2ohm sub, then looks to be wired at 4ohm

http://m.seimg.net/product/img/subwoofer_wiring/1_sub_DVC_2_ohm_mono_variation1.jpg

Whats up with the speaker wire?? Is it two strands connected as one?

Was the wires from the box to the amp still connected to the amp?  If so the resistance measurements don't do us much good.

 

It's wired in series, so it's either a D1 wired to 2 ohms or a D2 and they wired it to 4.  Disconnect the wires from the sub, yes all of them, and connect the DMM to each set of terminals and see what it reads.  Then we can tell you whether it's really D1 or D2 and if the wiring configuration needs changed how to rewire it.

Whats up with the speaker wire?? Is it two strands connected as one?

 

I thought the same thing.

I just looked at the last pic.  You PAID a shop for that enclosure???!!  My sister did a better job cutting out the baffles for the door speakers for her Durango than they did the opening for that sub!!!!!

 

 

 

Just noticed the end of the port on the inside of the enclosure doesn't look like it's all the way against the bottom of the enclosure either.  That's just sad.

The way that you match your H/U's voltage out put with the amp input is first, Know what voltage your pre-outs on your H/U are, mine for example are 4v.  Then all you have to do is set the amp "level/gain" knob to your H/U's pre amp voltage(this can be found in your H/U booklet or google your model of H/U).  NEVER set the "level/gain" above the H/U's pre amp voltage.  Adding another sub should be the last thing on your mind right now my friend!  Figure this stuff out first!

 

Okay, I will get on that after I take care of this other problem.  After removing the sub, it appears it's wired at 4ohms.  WHAT IS THIS!

If it truly is then obviously i'd wire to 1ohm and see how that goes.

Either the sub or LOC is out of phase.  You can tell by the way the sub is behaving.  Although it would have been much easier to hear without music dubbed over the video.

 

1) turn radio up

2) turn bass knob up

3) unplug one side of the rca from the amp

4) look and listen to see if the sub moves more

 

if not the sub needs to be removed from the box (if you only have one wire coming out the box) and make sure the wires are not backwards on the sub.

 

DO NOT keep playing the sub before you check this out if it is out of phase you risk burning the coil up.

 

I only overlayed music where the video cut audio.  In my editing software when you slow down the video audio cuts.  So rather than hear nothing, I put in some music both my girl and I like.

 

I will check out those steps as well.  I just want to figure out what kind of sub I have first and if it's wired to the lowest ohm possible.

If its a 2ohm sub, then looks to be wired at 4ohm

http://m.seimg.net/product/img/subwoofer_wiring/1_sub_DVC_2_ohm_mono_variation1.jpg

 

I was thinking the same thing.  When I saw a 1ohm diagram, it made me kind of flustered.  Like, "WHAT IS THIS!  I have to get this wired to 1ohm now!"

Whats up with the speaker wire?? Is it two strands connected as one?

 

Correct.  I was looking at that too.

Was the wires from the box to the amp still connected to the amp?  If so the resistance measurements don't do us much good.

 

It's wired in series, so it's either a D1 wired to 2 ohms or a D2 and they wired it to 4.  Disconnect the wires from the sub, yes all of them, and connect the DMM to each set of terminals and see what it reads.  Then we can tell you whether it's really D1 or D2 and if the wiring configuration needs changed how to rewire it.

So you're saying disconnect all wires and just test the two that lead to the amp?  Why would I take off the random wire from the positive to negative in that case?

 

Or are you saying connect the dmm directly to the sub?

 

 

I just looked at the last pic.  You PAID a shop for that enclosure???!!  My sister did a better job cutting out the baffles for the door speakers for her Durango than they did the opening for that sub!!!!!

 

 

 

Just noticed the end of the port on the inside of the enclosure doesn't look like it's all the way against the bottom of the enclosure either.  That's just sad.

So it's becoming apparent a new box is in order.  A real box.

 

Question is...how.

Yes, connect the leads directly to the terminals of the subwoofer itself with no wiring attached.  The DMM measures whatever it's connected to so if the voice coils are wired together or it's wired to the amp, or both as in your case it's measuring everything.

Problem mite be solved! They have it ran at 4 ohm.

Yes, connect the leads directly to the terminals of the subwoofer itself with no wiring attached.  The DMM measures whatever it's connected to so if the voice coils are wired together or it's wired to the amp, or both as in your case it's measuring everything.

Thank you.  I will get on that.  I have to disconnect it all again.

Problem mite be solved! They have it ran at 4 ohm.

Removing the sub WAS the key, frog!

Thanks for cracking this case wide open! 

Problem mite be solved! They have it ran at 4 ohm.

Removing the sub WAS the key, frog!

Thanks for cracking this case wide open!

Are you able to run it to 1 ohm your self?

Needs to be …- to -…… and………… + to + then to amp

 

 

Problem mite be solved! They have it ran at 4 ohm.

Removing the sub WAS the key, frog!

Thanks for cracking this case wide open!

Are you able to run it to 1 ohm your self?

 

No, I don't have wire laying around or anything.

Needs to be …- to -…… and………… + to + then to amp

Basically like the last diagram I posted, right?  Little easier to understand.

YES!! your problem IS SOLVED
Here is how it should be wired:

 

http://a248.e.akamai.net/pix.crutchfield.com/ca/learningcenter/car/subwoofer_wiring/1-DVC-2-ohm-mono-low-imp.jpg

 

ENJOY THE AWESOME DIFFERENCE!!

So I just went out and disconnected my sub and all the wires. I put the prongs inside the terminals.

1.6 ohms each side.

YES!! your problem IS SOLVED

Here is how it should be wired:

http://a248.e.akamai.net/pix.crutchfield.com/ca/learningcenter/car/subwoofer_wiring/1-DVC-2-ohm-mono-low-imp.jpg

ENJOY THE AWESOME DIFFERENCE!!

HECK YEAH!!!

Now I just have to actually wire it in that way. xD

I know the shop I went to last time closes in an hour!

So definitely tomorrow I will have this fixed!!

Thanks for the help, everyone. Lets see how this pans out!