ok so i finished my infinity sub and amp setup, and it sounds beautiful...love it...however today when i went out, it wasnt working and so i messed with it, and sometimes it would turn on after checking a wire or fuse, but when i went to start the car again it didnt work...also while i was driving today it would turn on for a little and then off again and then back on...but i have triple checked every connection and they all seem fine...is this a grounding issue? this is the only thing i can think of...also a friend of mine mentioned to not have the amp touching any of the wires and i was laying the amp on top of the wires for now while im building a rack. Could this be the problem?? any comments are greatly appreciated, im almost done, i think this is the last hold up and this site will have taught me everything i needed to know about setting up this system...thanks guys

 

Are you sure its power loss and not just losing the audio connection?

 

Could be anything.

1. +12 VDC.
2. Ground.
3. RCA signal wire. (if you've got a single sub-woofer output vice the more standard two cables).
4. Amplifier turn-on signal.

 

yes it is power loss because the amp its self is just turning off (all lights are out)

 

yes i do have a single sub and a 4 channel amp...is there something i should do differently...i only have 1 set of RCA cables... where did you guys ground??? i grounded inside the stock bose sub area on the outer wall...any suggestions????

 

Check the connection from your battery to your inline fuse holder and check the inline fuse holder housing itself. I had this issue on the truck I drive daily (dont drive the Z in rainy/bad weather) I checked every single ground in the system time and time again and I could put my finger on the issue. It turned out to be a cheap inline fuse holder (Damn eBay wiring kit) in the engine compartment. It would be OK for awhile then all of a sudden everything except the headunit would cut out. Next time it happens pull over pop the hood and check that connection. Most likely as you start to fiddle with it everything will miraculously turn on. Hope that helps

 

alright i will try that again, but it just happened again after i was driving around checking my new ground..l.i dont think its the ground, but my amp is hella hot...like real hot... i dont think they are supposed to be getting this hot? maybe thats just how they run but i will also try the other thing, any reason it would be overheating? placement is not the problem, the area around it is not too hot, it is just the amp that is heating itself a lot...any tips? thanks

 

Hell hot?

Are you running the thing loud and long enough to burn it into thermal overload? What load is your amp rated to drive and what is the impedance of the subwoofer?

 

well my sub is RMS 250w and paek 1000w and my amp is http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1140392384101 and my levels are pretty far down, i dont play it that loud and it didnt take long to turn off...however that hasnt happened the last couple of times in my car, but the amp still gets extremely hot...i have my sub wired parallel and it is bridged and set to mono...anything that i should change???

 

A few things:
1) Attach a test light to your positive terminal at the amp or the wire attached to it. If your amp goes out and the light is still lit you are pushing your amp into thermal overload. If it the amp shuts off and the light along with it, you are losing power and need to investigate the path of your power.
2) How's the ground to the amp? You can verify the paint is ground off of the grounding point and that the piece of metal its attached to is large enough, if you attached it to the stock bose oem sub plate, you probably need to improve your ground location, try the seat bolts; they make excellent grounds since they are connected to the frame.

Try those things and let us know how you make out

Q: What gauge wire are you using to power your amp?

If all of the above check out ok try disconnecting one sub.

 

where do i get a test light?? i am running 4 guage wire...i grounded to one of the 3 bolts on the right side of the cubby behind driver and i used a dremel to get rid of the paint...i think its a good ground...may try the seat bolt tho...also what is the normal operating temp of an amp... last night it worked fine and i played it pretty hard to test it out since it was working,a nd the amp just gets so hot...like close to not being able to touch it very long...but it did not shut off after playing it hard for a while...is there any reason it would heat up that much, without a bad ground or bad power connection???

 

i had the same problem with my system i did on my accord , it turned out to be a real shietty fuse
like you it would be fine, as soon as i cranked it a bit it would turned off by itself just the amp the headunit would stay on and i used factory speakers powered by the headunit amp and they didn't turn off, eventually i got so pissed that i went to a friends shop and they said it was the fuse , they put in a new one for 25 bucks and it never turned off again ^^

 

just did the same thing and it hasnt had a problem...seems to be getting kind of hot, but we will see.. im sure it would turn off itself if it starts to overheat enough to damage it, but its not so i guess its fine...thanks everyone

 

You can pick up a test light at any automotive store or even farmers market. They are relatively cheap (I paid $3.00 at my local farmers market.)

Starting to think your issue might be inside the amp itself, and not anything that you have done. Is this amp new?

4 Gauge is definately enough wire to handle your amps. Don't worry; you start to get into the arena of 2 gauge when your pushing over 2000 watts. Your amp should not require that type of power.