hi i just put together a cheap system for my eg hatch and it shows power but the subwoofer doesn't thump. well when i first hooked it up (without the capacitor) it was working fine. now it powers on and the capacitor charges but only thumps once in a long while and only works for maybe 1-3 minutes, if i'm lucky. i was thinking it was my alternator not giving enough juice. here is my system:

sub:
Power Acoustic 10" ($60 on eBay)



1800 Watts of Power Max (1800 WATT Each Sub)
600 Watts RMS (600 WATT Each Sub)
200 oz huge. magnets
Non-pressed paper cone
Large foam rubber surround
Dual 2 ohm voice coil
Die cast aluminum
Woven tinsel lead through spider
2" ASV voice coil
Chrome screw terminals
Includes wood travel case for portability
Sensitivity - 90 dB
Metal-flake Royal Blue Finish With Diamond Cut
Chrome finish
1-piece rubber gasket

amp:
Pyramid PB1500 ($80 on eBay)



Two Channel Amplification
2 x 750 Watts MAX Output @ 4 Ohms
1 x 1500 Watts Bridged @ 4 Ohms
Fully Adjustable Electronic Crossovers
Variable Bass Boost: ( 0~12dB @ 60 Hz)
Soft Turn On/Off Circuit
2 Ohm Stereo Stable
Bridgeable Into 4 Ohms
MOSFET PWM Power Supply
Variable Gain Control
Remote Turn On
Remote Bass Boost
Blue Light Illuminated
Heavy Duty Aluminum Alloy Heatsink
Hi/Lo Level Inputs
Gold Plated High Impedance Input
High Level MOLEX Input
Power and Protection LED's
S/N Ratio: >95dB
Frequency Response: 15-30k Hz
THD: <0.04%
Fully Protected Circuitry
Dimensions: 10.7'W x 2.4'H x 9.8'L

capacitor:
XXX XCP1 ($40 on eBay)



VDC: 20 Max 24v Surge
ESR: 0.002 Ohm or Less
Terminals: 1/4 - 28 Thread
Digital Display & Status Indicator
Digital Electronic Protection
Mounting Hardware Included
Clear Mounting Brackets

ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED

 

hmm...well sounds to me like the (cheap) cap is the issue. Does the system even need a cap? Maybe you could sell/return it (if it is infact defective) and buy a pair of speakers with the $$$. With only one sub I don't see why you needed a cap but I don't have the car in front of me so I dunno. What gauge wire to you have running up front to the batt?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SlammedAccord96 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">hmm...well sounds to me like the (cheap) cap is the issue. Does the system even need a cap? Maybe you could sell/return it (if it is infact defective) and buy a pair of speakers with the $$$. With only one sub I don't see why you needed a cap but I don't have the car in front of me so I dunno. What gauge wire to you have running up front to the batt?</TD></TR></TABLE>

im using 4 gauge wire for the whole setup. i didnt think i needed the cap also because when i first hooked it up i didnt have a cap and it did the same thing. thought maybe it would help plus it was less then getting a high output alternator for my hatch. just wondering if other people here had encountered that problem with the alternator before i buy a new one.

 

to buy a new alternator???

is there something wrong with it....
im using stock alternator in my civic...(+ kinetik batt)
and my system is a lot bigger than yours...

is your batt still ok??
i think its cheaper to get a batt...than getting a high output alternator, knowing thats its still works

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ARMED &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">to buy a new alternator???

is there something wrong with it....
im using stock alternator in my civic...(+ kinetik batt)
and my system is a lot bigger than yours...

is your batt still ok??
i think its cheaper to get a batt...than getting a high output alternator, knowing thats its still works</TD></TR></TABLE>

o ok. thats really what i wanted to know. my battery is pretty new, bought in october of last year. alternator is fine i think, car hasnt died yet and dont know the first step to checking it. it might be something in my setup then. thanks.

 

thought of charging your capacitor?

 

I would suggest that you remove the Cap, Upgrade your charging wires (IE..Alternator to battery +, Battery - to ground, engine block to ground).

Then check all of the connections that go into the amp. I've seen many problems from a poor ground. Your Alt should be fine, if your car starts and runs, then your alt and battery won't be the problem.
I've really begun to hate external CAP's, a second battery is usually cheaper and works way better than a CAP.
I have a Hifonics Bxi1600 and a Rockford P300.2 running off of my stock alternator with a Yellow top 31series. Mine works great with only a little light dimming.

 

Whoa, first how do you have this hooked up, the cap I mean. It should be in parallel with the amp. Having a bad cap is not going to give you the problems that you are having. If it was bad it would just blow the fuse at the battery. If you did not charge the cap. It would of charged itself with a bright loud azz spark when you first touched 12 volts to it. So this is not the problem. I would recheck the wiring to the sub or try a diffrent amp

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If it was bad it would just blow the fuse at the battery</TD></TR></TABLE>

Maybe it already did.....

check the ground connection, connect the cap in parallel (positive of the battery terminal to the positive cap end)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by perseverance &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">thought of charging your capacitor?</TD></TR></TABLE>
it is charged, everything powers up jus no thump

 

ok so i figured out that i have power goin to the subs to the amp with a voltometer. im gonna check to see if the sub got disconnected internally (shouldve checked that) and i think i might have bad rca wires. i was reading up and the symtom of bad rca wire/bad signal sounds like what i have. work for a few minutes then die. anyone ever had bad rca wires?

 

I as well has cheapy rca wires, the **** wasn't even going through, so i bought new ones, it was still a no name brand but it was gold plated, n had some extra features my cheapy ones didnt have, and not disapointed yet.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dragonlord9 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I as well has cheapy rca wires, the **** wasn't even going through, so i bought new ones, it was still a no name brand but it was gold plated, n had some extra features my cheapy ones didnt have, and not disapointed yet.</TD></TR></TABLE>

how did you figure out that you had bad rca's? did you just try new ones?