Subwoofer Distortion?? With or without the music.... :/

[tpetrucci33]

:eek3: So I decide to get a sound system for my s13. (2) 12" eclipse subs with a knockoff 600w amp. Everything is good and then I come across a sweet deal on a 1100w rockford fosgate amp. I install my new amp and all is great. Then one day I notice some distortion coming from my subwoofers. So I check all my main connections, and everything seems to be in tact. Then I tried changing back to my old amp to see if it would go away and it didnt. :ughd: I also noticed that this distortion isn't coming from playing the music, it still rumbles when I turn the volume all the way down!!! So I'm kinda stuck on troubleshooting. Any ideas?????

[MunsonAuto]

Grounds maybe? Some sort of interference?

[neverrain]

Check any wiring from the subs to the box where you plug the cables in from the amp. I'm talking about the wiring within the box. What you are describing sounds like either the power cable or the ground cable is brushing back and forth over their respective connections as you drive. You mentioned that you checked all the other connections outside the box, so check inside. Also review any connections on the amp and make sure the screw down connections are properly seated.

Sorry for the lack of terminology, I just learned by doing. Funny thing is, the ground cable on my amp came loose and I lost the screw, so I had no ground. The box my amp is attached to wiggled it's way forward in the trunk and is now grounding itself on my strut bar lol. I should probably fix it. I'm lazy.

PS - This should have gone into Tech Talk.

[brown eyes]

You need better subs

http://zilvia.net/f/sale-items/257501-fs-pair-12-jl-w3-subwoofers-w-sealed-enclosure-150-a.html

[neverrain]

You need better subs

http://zilvia.net/f/sale-items/257501-fs-pair-12-jl-w3-subwoofers-w-sealed-enclosure-150-a.html

Don't be stupid. How would you feel if every little problem you had with your car someone told you, "you need a new car"?

[tpetrucci33]

I have no clue!! Its driving me crazy. I know for a fact the subs are good cause i hooked another one and got the same results. Its not the amp cause i did the same thing. Something with the wiring i suppose. :(

[neverrain]

If you are still hearing sound after turning audio down then it's most likely power related. Make sure all the connections are good from the battery, through the car, and back to the sub. Check for holes in the cable too. Loose grounds and power connections are the most probably causes for what you are hearing.

[tpetrucci33]

Yea i was wondering about checking the inside of the box. I took off the terminal and that connection was good. Then I got too lazy to check the connection to the subwoofer itself. Ive been toying with it the whole day!!

[tpetrucci33]

Yea its like a rumbling sound. I can bear it for the most part but sometimes it gets kind of loud.

[mrflip69]

Maybe you blew your subs with the new amp. Try running those subs on someone else's setup. You said they don't work with your old amp, so it sounds like they're fucked.

Edit: Just saw you hooked up other subs and they don't work... weird. Maybe your wires are bad? Try using new wires and your old amp.

[tpetrucci33]

ok heres the story.
1.new setup- worked fine
2.new amp- worked fine for a little while
3.put back old amp- problem fixed
4.put back new amp- slight distortion
5.put back old amp again- still having distortion

Its not the subs. I hooked up a different sub and it had the same problem.

[neverrain]

EDIT - So the only thing you haven't replaced is the wiring?


There is only so much that can go wrong with this:

1. Check all connections, wiring harness into head unit (make sure both power cables (i'm pretty sure there are two different power cables going into the wiring harness, maybe it's because I have addons to my head unit) and the ground is good), cables running to the amp, power cable running from the battery into the amp, ground cable running from amp to a ground, miscellaneous grounds from the head unit, connections from the box to the amp, connections from inside the box to the subs and from the speaker connections on the box.

2. Either your sub/subs or amp/amps are blown. Usually when you blow a sub you don't hear any bass at all, just a rattle.

3. Check all the wiring to make sure there are no holes, tears, and nothing is pressing too hard against the wiring. I would recommend a minimum of 8 guage wiring for power from the battery to the amp and the ground cable to a metal surface off the amp.

4. Far out there possibility. Your battery isn't putting out enough power. If you have the proper guage, check that your battery is putting out 12 volts. This number may vary slightly between 11-13 volts depending on battery type, size, age, brand.

That's pretty much it. This isn't rocket science. I'm sure someone will add/correct me if anything is missing.

[tpetrucci33]

Yea I think I just got really frustrated with it. Im gonna make a check list and start fresh tomorrow. Will keep you posted.
Thanks for all the input!!!!! :)

[xKennie]

what final ohm independency are you running both subs at? you running them at a 8ohm,4ohm, or 2ohm load?

also what amp are you running exzactly now model number and all.. you might want to check to see if the amp will run the independency you have the subs wired at. For instance if the amp wont run a 2ohm load and they are wired to that it could result in issues.

However something as simple as a ground cable not secured well could cause this distortion.

Does it sound like they are being hit or someone is hitting them randomly? Kinda like they are being pushed from the inside and make a weird knocking booming noise?.....

[tpetrucci33]

not sure about all the technical stuff but it rumbles and makes random booming noises. And its not always at the same tone. Sometimes its loud and annoying and sometimes i cant really hear it unless im paying attention to it. The noise doesnt increase as I turn up to stereo volume

[andisan]

If its your "ground" you can actually tell, when your driving pay attention to when you accelerate and if the distortion increases by little or alot then its a "ground" problem, It happend to me I thought my woofer blew but it was the ground that came loose when I forgot to tighten down after I switched the amp.

[Kamburrito]

one or some wires are touching, check your speaker wires ( doors ) or maybe your rear speakers, or maybe even behind your radio, if even one touches, itll give you a distorted sound. kind of like a lisp .. but in ur music. . its gotta be wires .. if not .. bring it by .. ill check it out. (if ur in southern cali that is.)

[enkei2k]

i kinda had some kind of distortion problem also when i hooked up my audio system...try changing the head unit perhaps? that solved my issue.

[S14DB]

If you rev the engine does the rumbling change?

[tpetrucci33]

Day 2 of troubleshootion is now commencing. Thanks everyone for all the input. It's greatly appreciated. Will keep you posted.

[tpetrucci33]

Ok so it seems to be the ground from my amp. Does anyone know where a good place to ground that wire in an s13?

[neverrain]

Yea. If you pull the back seat, there is a bolt hole you can use next to where the rear seat belt mounts at the bottom on the passenger side. If you give me 30-45 minutes I can post a picture of it for you with where mine is mounted.

[neverrain]

It looks like mine was drilled actually. The original install was free so I didn't drill this hole. I felt around on the drivers side and it looks like there is a dimple on that side too.

Ignore my half assed wiring job as well, I mean to redo it cleanly. Also, sorry for the no resize, I'm on a comp without the tools to do so.

http://70.32.114.234/IMG00015.jpg

[Pank]

you're on a computer without MS Paint?

[DataXUnknown]

Hahaha I remember I had this same exact problem when I built my system in my old cressida. I remember I fixed it but I forget how...

I know one thing, make sure your wiring is seperated. Like your power wire to your amp along with remote and ground should all be on a seperate side of the car/away from the actual speaker wire and such. Make sure you have all your positive and negatives right and your amplifier is tuned right. I'll let you know if it comes back to me on how I fixed mine...

Oh and if your concerned about your ground, you can sand the paint off of where its going to get a little bit better of a connection for ground.