trouble with new mono amp

[LukeDog3D]

howdy

I just got a kicker dx700 mono amp (refurb), which is powering 2 12's. They are 4 ohm each, and they are run parallel into the amp, for a 2 ohm load.


I hooked the amp up today, and the power light comes on and you can faintly hear the subs playing, but it is not putting out very much volume at all. I have played with the gains, crossovers and HU volume, but to no avail.

Anyone have similar experiences with this amp?

I had a different amp with the same wiring hooked up before, so I know all of the wiring should be good, unless the kicker is more picky about its ground....but if that were so, then I woulndt be getting any volume at all right?

ideas???

 

[mhn3773]

if the ground is really REALLY bad like u screwed it into a blob of rust i could see that..u would still get some sound but u most likely be getting whine out of the subs to

double check all your connections make sure nothing is grounding..make sure all the posatives are with the positives and neg with neg..if u switch them sometimes it would just ground letting out only a tinny tiny bit of volume but wont go into protect

that was with a house stereo though..so a car amp may not be able to do that..if everything looks in order then i dont know how to help sorry...but someone will =)

 

[white96x]

hmmm i'm not a big fan of refurbed audio equipment....BUT....if you had another amp hooked up to the same wiring previously and all your connections are good, that shouldn't be a problem....did you have a mono amp before the kicker? dumb question:do you know how to wire a mono amp to your subs?

 

[LukeDog3D]

no, the amp before was a 2 channel. I'm pretty sure i wired it right- i followed the diagram in the amp manual for 2 4 ohm speakers....In a little while I'm gonna hook the amp up in a friend's car to see whats up...

 

[Nate1]

did you reverse polarity on the speaker wires? Are you using RCA-in or high-level inputs?

 

[88vert]

Sounds like a grounding problem.How long is your ground wire?And where is it grounded?

 

[white96x]

ya thats what i was thinking, that he reversed the polarity....thats why i asked if he had ever wired a mono amp before....hopefully he figures it out...

 

[LukeDog3D]

I'm using RCA inputs.

The ground wire is about 2 feet long I'd guess.... Both power and ground are 8 gauge...it needs 4 gauge, but I'm just living with the 8 until i get this problem resolved. I have it grounded where the back seat bolts to the body on the Explorer. I have another amp grounded at the same spot, and I disconnected that ground just in case, but it didn't do anything. I had two fosgate amps grounded there before, and it was fine...but i'm still unsure.

I just hooked the amp up in my friend's civic, connecting it to his 2 10's, and it did the same thing. We used all of his wiring, including the remote wire and the wires to the speakers, which are paralleled and presenting a 2 ohm load to the amp. We checked for polarity more than a few times...but that seems okay.

I took a voltmeter and the power tested 14.6 volts, along with about 14.4 volts for the turn on lead...


so i'm thinking now that the amp is defective....any thoughts on that?

EDIT: I also put the OHM meter across the amp's terminals with the speakers connected, and it reads 2 ohms.

I really appreciate your ideas and suggestions.

 

[white96x]

hmmm if the ground is good in your truck, and you tried to wire it in your buddies civic, assuming his wiring is good as well, i'd logically say it's the amp....although i could be wrong.....anyone else have any other thoughts?

 

[expo5.0]

maybe the gain is broken internally?

 

[expo5.0]

or the preouts are too low for the amp as they come from the hu

 

[LukeDog3D]

hmm...i sent the amp back today. They said they'd test it, and if its defective, they'll send another one.

Now that you mention that the gain may be broken internally, Expo5.0, this is exactly how I would expect an amp to act if such was the case.

Thanks for the suggestions guys...i may need more if they send the amp back and say its not defective....