Gearhead2012

Ok, I've got an alpine head unit, that feeds a Power Acoustik 1400 watt amp. That runs 2 dual coil kicker subs, set to 2 ohms...and yes the amp is 2 ohm stable. I've loved this setup for about 3 months or so...but lately I'm having some issues. Have you ever heard a sub "pop" when it gets power, or something. Well, mine do that randomly. Sometimes once, sometimes a few times in a row...then just goes back to thumping away. I'm also getting clipping...if I understand that right. The subs just stop, randomly...sometimes for a few seconds, others for a few minutes...and then they come back on, and again, after a few minutes...they'll go out again. I don't know if the two problems are related...I'm guessing they are. I've tried checking grounds, and checking all connections, and double checking them. I've also tried setting the amp settings to help with what I think is clipping, with little help. Any help at all would be great. I feel kinda dumb...I'm usually pretty good at this stuff, but this one has me stumped. Thanks, I appreciate any help at all.

JETSWU87

mine did that when i went over a certain volume level suddenly. It was my preouts on my deck that were screwed up. Got it fixed and it's been fine since.

Gearhead2012

Thanks man...I think the deck is fine, but I was really looking for a power/ground...or RCA problem. I havent found any yet...and thought maybe a problem with the settings on the amp. Ant other ideas?

aacjohnc

try another set of rca and make sure you tape them up at the connection to unit and amp . sometime the connector will hit metal and give feedback. what make of car?

Gearhead2012

It's in a chevy trailblazer, but it doesn't sound anything at all like feedback. They litterally "pop"...sounds like someone is flicking them or something;just like when you power it up, and sometimes they give a pop. I checked all the cables and everything seems ok. I'm out of ideas.

awd4lyfe

try just replacing the speaker wire

Gearhead2012

It's brand new wire...and should be fine. It's seriously less than a month old. I'm not saying it couldn't be bad from the factory, but I bet it's ok. The only think I can think of that's left to try, would be to pull the subs out of the box (again) and wire them up 4 ohm, instead of 2 ohm. They are dual voice coil, and the amp is 2 ohm stable, but I think I might just try running it at 4 ohm, and seeing if it helps. It's got more them enough kick...way more in 2 ohm, so 4 ohm should still do ok. I like power acoustik...and I've heard lots, and lots of good things about them. I really don't want to think it's the amp...but if it is...so be it.

dru

how is that possible?

power acoustik is decent enough tho. there are better amps out there but they are decent enough

another thing that can be affecting all this is that your subs could just be bottoming out i think or teh signal from headunit is actually clipped

make sure your gains are set properly on teh amp

Gearhead2012

How is what possible? 2 to 4 ohm...I'd just re-wire them. I doubt they're bottoming out, because it happens when it isn't even turned up at all. I did notice tonight that when I turned the volume down, they "popped" a lttle. And...what do you mean "gains". I just put the LPF up a little, add about half bass boost, and turn the "level" up some. I know these don't sound very specific at all, but I don't have it in front of me to say where they're actually set. Any advice on how to actually set it up properly?

TazZ99CiviC

My "unprofessional" advice would be to not turn the amps up over 3/4 of the way. Sounds like a power surge to me, and the amps just may be getting weak.

Do you have a Capacitor? If not, you just may want to invest in one or 2...