trying to wire my sub and amp up

[bradshaw1759]

and failing so far ! got everything wired up and the subs not working.

rem into amp and headunit
earth on a good point and to amp
red and black connectors are plugged into the head unit ok but dont really know if i put them on the in or out on the amo (dont matter because ive tried every possible way)
same with the sub wires not sure if i put them on left or right but ive tried every possible way)
sub works ive tried it on the door speaker wires

any help would be great

 

[Kane.]

Where did you earth it ?

 

[bradshaw1759]

Where did you earth it ?

the bolt that holds the seat belt in. sanded it down to the metal first though. everything looks right . even he green lights lit up on the amp. cant getmy head round it

 

[Kane.]

2 channel amp ? Other components connected to amp ? More details required tbh

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

Have you told the HU that there's a sub now ?

Probably an option to put sub on, so it's only sending signal down the pre-out when it needs it.

 

[bradshaw1759]

yea it think its 2 you can only put left and right speakers on it. and yeah mate sub is turned up full on hu

 

[bradshaw1759]

oh and no nothing else just a sub

 

[gavswav_172]

If the amps getting power and not shorting out it is most probably your RCA cables fault. Double check you ve used the HUs sub out and not the usual red and white speaker output as alot of HU's wont send the signal for a sub using the normal output, usually a black set of leads hanging loose you need to look for. Faling that you re sub may be goosed most probably the first option though if you ve got a good earth.

 

[Dink]

this may sound stupid but have you got the hpf enabled on the amp?

also is the gain set too low ?

 

[bradshaw1759]

dont know what hpf means but on the amp it goes from 120h to 3k ive got it on full and same with lpf and gain. x-over is switched onto hpf and super bass is on 12db

 

[jack_kemp]

dont know what hpf means but on the amp it goes from 120h to 3k ive got it on full and same with lpf and gain. x-over is switched onto hpf and super bass is on 12db

You can't just guess and plug stuff in wherever.
You don't want the x-over on HPF for a start.
The gain is not 'volume', you don't just put it on full, set it to about a 1/3 to 1/2 as I'm guessing you dont have a volt meter?
You also don't want your low pass filter set to the highest setting.

 

[bradshaw1759]

this is the back of the headunit as you can see in the bottom right the are 2 sockets 1 red and 1 white this is where i plugged my cables (it says sw/f at the side of the sockets)

just about see it theres a blue and white cable thats what ive attached my rem cable to

this is where ive attacted the earth cable

this is the amp, ive put the power cable in the b+ , the rem in the rem and the earth in the gnd

put the wires in the out and in sockets tried all combos

 

[bradshaw1759]

the headunit ive got is a alpine cde-9850ri

this is the user manual
http://safemanuals.com/user-guide-instructions-owner-manual/ALPINE/CDE-9850RI-_E

page 18 and 19 are about setting up the sub and amp, followed the instructions and made sure the sub was swithed on and that it was turned up full

it also mentions the ic setting and says

Connecting to an External Amplifier
When an external amplifier is connected, sound quality can be improved
by stopping the power supply of the built-in amplifier.
• No sound is produced by the system when the power output is set to
OFF.
DEMO ON / DEMO OFF (Initial setting)
MP3/WMA
CDDA (Initial setting) / CDDA/MP3
CDDA : Only CD data can be played back.
CDDA/MP3 : Both CD data and MP3/WMA file tracks can be
played back.
External Device
POWER IC ON (Initial setting) / POWER IC OFF
POWER IC OFF : Use this mode when the front pre-amplifier of
the unit is used to drive an external amplifier
connected to the speakers. In this setting, the
head unit’s internal amplifier has no output to
drive speakers.

ive tried the sub while this has been switched on and off

 

[bradshaw1759]

You can't just guess and plug stuff in wherever.
You don't want the x-over on HPF for a start.
The gain is not 'volume', you don't just put it on full, set it to about a 1/3 to 1/2 as I'm guessing you dont have a volt meter?
You also don't want your low pass filter set to the highest setting.

right well ive not got a clue do you think this is where im going wrong or just good advice for when its set up and working

 

[Steady Eddie]

When you have it all wired up and the headunit on does the Power light on the Amp come on?

You will be best of getting a multimeter so you can see if you are getting 12V from the power and also 12V from the remote when your headunit is on. you can get them from somewhere like maplins they got one on offer atm at £7.99.

 

[bradshaw1759]

yeah mate the green light comes on

 

[Dink]

you need to set it to lpf (low pass filter)

then point the lpf knob to the a of super bass

set super bass to 0

turn the gain down to min

then plug it all in play some music at the level where it starts to sound bad then knock it back (e.g sounds bad at 24 then set it to 22)

turn off any bass boost, eq etc on the hu (apart from sub level iirc on alpines set this too max)

then turn the gain up to where it starts to sound bad then turn it back a bit so it sounds ok then a little more

 

[bradshaw1759]

Went through that step by step mate and still no. Sound

 

[Dweeb]

bradshaw where abouts are you?

 

[bradshaw1759]

wigan mate . any other ideas lol

 

[jack_kemp]

How do you have the sub wired? It should be from the positive of one channel, to the negative of the other channel... Assuming your amp is bridgeable?

I'd suggest asking someone that lives nearby / an audio shop to help you out. It can end up costing you a whole lot more melting stuff by experimenting.

 

[gtt_jmy]

if the amp is defo on, you could always try plugging in an ipod/mp3 player via a headphone jack to phono socket lead (maplin will do em) then see if you get sub comning out, then you at least know thats all good. then work your way back from there

 

[bradshaw1759]

theres nowhere on the amp to plug a ipod in mate

 

[Dink]

so you have altered the settings and still nothing?

 

[Dweeb]

theres nowhere on the amp to plug a ipod in mate

buy one of these :

then plug the phono leads directly into the amp and try playing it through the sub

 

[Dweeb]

just search on ebay for 'aux phono lead'

 

[nappo]

Try new remote cable, my sub wouldnt work when i first fitted it and couldnt work it out cos had power there but yet it wouldnt work, fitted new remote cable and worked straightaway

 

[Yellow Dave]

If the light is coming on on the amp, then it is being turned on by the headunit. this doesn't mean it's getting power to it to drive it. check the fuses again on the amp and the main live feed from the battery. double check all connections. as if it's not a perfect connection then it'l go into protection mode. I'm sure I used the earth on the rear lights, but to be honest in your pic of the earth, it doesn't look great.

 

[bradshaw1759]

so you have altered the settings and still nothing?

no nothing mate

 

[bradshaw1759]

just search on ebay for 'aux phono lead'

ill have a look im sure ive got one of the knocking about

 

[bradshaw1759]

Try new remote cable, my sub wouldnt work when i first fitted it and couldnt work it out cos had power there but yet it wouldnt work, fitted new remote cable and worked straightaway

think i have a spare ill try it if i find it

 

[bradshaw1759]

If the light is coming on on the amp, then it is being turned on by the headunit. this doesn't mean it's getting power to it to drive it. check the fuses again on the amp and the main live feed from the battery. double check all connections. as if it's not a perfect connection then it'l go into protection mode. I'm sure I used the earth on the rear lights, but to be honest in your pic of the earth, it doesn't look great.

i had a good look around for a earth and thats the only one i found really . i was going to use the bolt thats holds the back part of the rear seats in place but couldnt get the flaming thing undone. thought about the rear lights but cant see how such a small bolt can hold a thick wire in like that. do you know of any other good earthing points

 

[gavswav_172]

Take the boot carpet up and use the bolt holding the rear bench in place. That earth does look fairly weak. Start at the battery and check every connection until you reach the subs. No doubt it will be something silly you ve forgot.

 

[bradshaw1759]

Take the boot carpet up and use the bolt holding the rear bench in place. That earth does look fairly weak. Start at the battery and check every connection until you reach the subs. No doubt it will be something silly you ve forgot.

ive tried that earth mate as mentioned above but cant get the bolt undone

 

[bradshaw1759]

ok this is where im at

gone from the front to the back as suggested looking for anything wrong

power wire goes from the battery to the amp (fuse checked again and looks fine)
rca cable goes from the headunit to the amp
remote cable goes from the headunit to the amp
sub goes to the amp
earth cable goes from the amp to the bolt that holds the seatbelt in

also tried another rca cable and not another remote cable and still no sound from the sub

 

[paul6]

well at a guess, after what you have been going through, i would have a stab at faulty head unit. Dont suppose you have an old one lying around? or just borrow off a mate for 2 mins, to double check if the RCA ports on your headunit are bad

 

[Dink]

well at a guess, after what you have been going through, i would have a stab at faulty head unit. Dont suppose you have an old one lying around? or just borrow off a mate for 2 mins, to double check if the RCA ports on your headunit are bad

or just get one of those leads from above an plug it into an mp3 player

 

[Bennett]

What sub are you running and what model number is the amp?

If the sub and amp are running at the incorrect ohmage this can cause issues like this.

It may also be a good shout that the head unit has a fault somewhere.

Easiest way to find the problem would be to firstly try a different head unit. If this produces no change, swap the sub to an alternative that is definatley matched to the amp. If this is still not working then your issue is in the amp/amp wiring.

It sounds like your wiring is ok from what i have read. The issue sounds like it is one of your components on the system.

 

[bradshaw1759]

what would happen if the amp isnt strong enough to take the sub

 

[gtt_jmy]

thanks everyone for making what I suggested with mp3 player clearer!!! usin gphono leads, this will rule out the rca cables or head unit preout.

however looks like you have done that already.


what I would suggest is you work out if the sub works, then the amp etc.


is the sub in a box, if so was it pre pruchased, is the sub wired to the terminals inside the box. if you dont know get the sub and plug it in to any old hifi at home, it will run full range but you will at least know it workls.


then polug any other speaker you might have (keeping the volume properly low) on the headunit and turn gain down, if that speaker works move on to the next thing in the chain.