ok folks i finished the install. here's some pics of it, i only ran into one problem which was the rca outs on my head unit were very loose so the signal would cut it and out if i wiggled them around so i just tapped into my Right rear speaker and plugged that into the amp through the speaker level input. the sub is an infinity kappa 12. and the amp is an alpine mrt-r320 i believe. but i have one problem. when i was listening to it on the way home from my g/fs house tonight it kept cutting in and out, so when i got home i popped the trunk to look at the amp and it was going in and out of protect mode. what could be the problem? i have it bridged correctly, the sub is a single voice coil. everything seems to be wired right to me. what things could make it go into protect?

 

maybe the amp isnt powerful enough?? i dunno, the problem with the rca could possibly be ur rca cables. try squeezing the circle shaped part of the rca end. dont squeezed too hard just a lil bit should do. i think that rca's would be much better than a hi level input.

is that sub the first model of the kappa?

 

if it wasn't powerful enough it would't flash the saftey light on the amp. Sounds like a connection problem, running a speaker level input is pretty poor quality. I would replace the rca plug on teh deck or get a new one. Or find a way to jerry rig the rca to stay plugged in.

 

how big is your power and ground wire?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by GSteg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">how big is your power and ground wire?</TD></TR></TABLE>
also make sure that your connections (especially the ground) are propper.

 

im running 8 gauge power and ground wire. the ground wire has a good connection, i grounded it to my strut tower bolt and scratched all the paint off of the body. but the rca problem, the rca jacks are loose on the back of the headunit i tried taking the headunit apart but i couldn't get to the rca jacks. my head unit is a kenwood kdc-216s model from like two years ago. i bought it in july of 2001. i will take a pic of the connections in the next few days to show you guys what im talking about.
im not sure what kappa year model it is, i bought it from a shop down the road for $75 cause they are trying to get rid of all their infinity stuff so its all on clearance. they are selling some 6x9 kappa coaxials for like $150 i believe.

 

try grounding the amp to the chasis of the car. the strut bolt isn't the best place to use as a grounding point. try grounding to the floor of the car, and also scrape the paint again. you can also check the battery ground too.

 

my g/f's dad said i should try shortening the ground wire. he said he had to do that with his cause his amp was overheating. im gonna shorten it a little bit tomorrow and ground it to another spot on the car. i hope that will help it. i turned down the bass boost on my amp and left the gain all the way up where it was and it quit cutting out for a little while but it started cutting out again.

 

is that the mono or 2ch amp? if it is the 2ch amp, try turning the gain down just a little (not suggested to have gains turned all the way up)

 

check your grounds and make sure there aren't any wire strands dangling between the + and -.

Does it shut off and go into protection right away? if it does, disconnect the sub itself and see if the amp still does it. if it doesn't, it could a short in the sub.

As for the RCA jacks, you can try to use a pair of pliers to gently squeeze on the outside of the barrell connector to get them to stay.

 

its the 2 channel and i have it bridged. the amp is rated at 220 watts rms bridged at 4 ohms. the sub is rated at 4 ohms. and the sub is 300 rms and 1200 max. but as far as the rca's its the actual jacks themselves on the back of the headunit that are loose and no matter what kind of rca i plug in, it doesn't get a good connection. i have tried other rcas before. im about to go shorten the ground wire and check all my connections. i will see if that helps. i went to hifi buys today and the guy told me to bring it back if the problem still persists he will swap it out with another one. the amp goes into protect after listening to it for a little while, then it will cut in and out of protect. almost like its overheating but i felt the amp and its warm so i don't think its overheating unless its something internal.

 

check your wires, prolly shorting out somewhere. touching your car and a strand of wire isn't in the terminal on the sub and its ground out on the sub its self. I would say just double check everything

 

well, as soon as you fix it, hellaclean dude

 

clean *** install... nice work.

 

well i shortened the ground wire today( its about a foot and a half now) and redid the connection to the chassis under the amp. i also turned down the gain a bit and it didn't cut out the whole way home tonight. im gonna turn up the gain and bass boost a little bit tomorrow and see if it starts cutting out again. thanks for the compliments guys. im glad to have it done, but i think my next project is gonna be fiberglass.

 

ok well i took the amp back today and got a new one, it was working fine until i pulled in my driveway tonight it cut into protect mode and back out again. could it be the sub? i doublechecked all my connections.

 

Sub might be the cause too. The coil might be about to short or showing a lower inpedance. Have it checked.

There is a misunderstanding about adjusting the gain in an amp. People think of it as a "volume" ****. Wrong!

The gain control and the bass boost control have totally diferent functions. The gain control is used to match the input level in the amp with the output level of your head unit. If you adjust your gain too high, you're overdriving your amp and creating distortion. Distortion is the worst enemy to a speaker. Also it can create overheat and consequently cut offs and amps going into protection mode.

Adjust your gain with your head unit at the maximum most confortable sound level and when you listen to no audible distortion in your subwoofer setup. That will give you aproximately the proper gain level and your subs will last longer. The best way to do it is with an osciloscope (sp?).

Good luck!

 

i have the gain set right in the middle right now. i haven't moved it or the bass boost on the new amp and after 30 minutes of listening to it at a somewhat high volume it went into protect. i wasn't listening to any heavy bass music either. i was listening to rage against the machine (self titled album). it doesn't stay in protect either, it cuts in and out. im gonna have the sub bench tested i guess when i get some more money next week.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Eric's R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Sub might be the cause too. The coil might be about to short or showing a lower inpedance. Have it checked.

There is a misunderstanding about adjusting the gain in an amp. People think of it as a "volume" ****. Wrong!

The gain control and the bass boost control have totally diferent functions. The gain control is used to match the input level in the amp with the output level of your head unit. If you adjust your gain too high, you're overdriving your amp and creating distortion. Distortion is the worst enemy to a speaker. Also it can create overheat and consequently cut offs and amps going into protection mode.

Adjust your gain with your head unit at the maximum most confortable sound level and when you listen to no audible distortion in your subwoofer setup. That will give you aproximately the proper gain level and your subs will last longer. The best way to do it is with an osciloscope (sp?).

Good luck! </TD></TR></TABLE>
so what exactly does an osciloscope do? i'm gonna try and get the sub tested, im a little short on cash right now.

 

looks clean y0!