18" BL thermal question.

[exxd 1]

ok today i was playing my woofer while driving for about 1 hr. after i got home and parked, i went to the rear and touched the dust cap of the woofer and it felt warm. i was wondering if this is normal and is there anything i should be worried about?

my d2 18" bl is being ran on a kicker 1200.1 @ 1 ohm. head unit gains are set to 0 and amp gain is about 40% turned up and bass boost aswell. woofer is in a 9 cube ported box tuned to 32 hz.

[Mac N Cheese 90]

ok today i was playing my woofer while driving for about 1 hr. after i got home and parked, i went to the rear and touched the dust cap of the woofer and it felt warm. i was wondering if this is normal and is there anything i should be worried about?

my d2 18" bl is being ran on a kicker 1200.1 @ 1 ohm. head unit gains are set to 0 and amp gain is about 40% turned up and bass boost aswell. woofer is in a 9 cube ported box tuned to 32 hz.

turn the bass boost all the way down..

[exxd 1]

ok today i was playing my woofer while driving for about 1 hr. after i got home and parked, i went to the rear and touched the dust cap of the woofer and it felt warm. i was wondering if this is normal and is there anything i should be worried about?

my d2 18" bl is being ran on a kicker 1200.1 @ 1 ohm. head unit gains are set to 0 and amp gain is about 40% turned up and bass boost aswell. woofer is in a 9 cube ported box tuned to 32 hz.

turn the bass boost all the way down..

ok i went and checked the amp... x-over freq is set to its lowest setting 50 hz. bass boost some how turned itself all the way up to max 18db+ and gain was about 30%.

i turned bass boost completely down to 0. and turned the gain up to 50%. do you think that is ok for now? until i can set it using an o-scope?

[jcarter1885 995]

ok today i was playing my woofer while driving for about 1 hr. after i got home and parked, i went to the rear and touched the dust cap of the woofer and it felt warm. i was wondering if this is normal and is there anything i should be worried about?

my d2 18" bl is being ran on a kicker 1200.1 @ 1 ohm. head unit gains are set to 0 and amp gain is about 40% turned up and bass boost aswell. woofer is in a 9 cube ported box tuned to 32 hz.

Turn the bass boost off and turn the gain up some (but i suggest you use a DMM to set the gain accurately). Turn the Loud/Loudness feature off on head unit and Bass Boost/Extend Off as well.

[jcarter1885 995]

ok today i was playing my woofer while driving for about 1 hr. after i got home and parked, i went to the rear and touched the dust cap of the woofer and it felt warm. i was wondering if this is normal and is there anything i should be worried about?

my d2 18" bl is being ran on a kicker 1200.1 @ 1 ohm. head unit gains are set to 0 and amp gain is about 40% turned up and bass boost aswell. woofer is in a 9 cube ported box tuned to 32 hz.

turn the bass boost all the way down..

ok i went and checked the amp... x-over freq is set to its lowest setting 50 hz. bass boost some how turned itself all the way up to max 18db+ and gain was about 30%.

i turned bass boost completely down to 0. and turned the gain up to 50%. do you think that is ok for now? until i can set it using an o-scope?

You should be fine were you are at now, see what I typed in most post earlier about head unit settings also (put tape over you knobs on amp because kickers have a problem with changing by themselves, this will help keep them in place). You can turn you LPF up to 80Hz or a little higher depending on your preference but it will sound a little better than on 50Hz. Good luck

[exxd 1]

ok today i was playing my woofer while driving for about 1 hr. after i got home and parked, i went to the rear and touched the dust cap of the woofer and it felt warm. i was wondering if this is normal and is there anything i should be worried about?

my d2 18" bl is being ran on a kicker 1200.1 @ 1 ohm. head unit gains are set to 0 and amp gain is about 40% turned up and bass boost aswell. woofer is in a 9 cube ported box tuned to 32 hz.

Turn the bass boost off and turn the gain up some (but i suggest you use a DMM to set the gain accurately). Turn the Loud/Loudness feature off on head unit and Bass Boost/Extend Off as well.

ok will do! thanks guys.

edit: i heard setting gains with dmm was not an accurate method and that setting them with an o-scope was the only true way. here's a youtube clip of why you shouldnt set with a dmm.

<---- Click the link. Edited October 25, 2009 by exxd

[mjmarovi 8]

either way works pretty well, o-scopes are def. more expensive but yes I would say they are the 1st choice. nothing wrong with a DMM tho. on another note tho, there is a difference between "warm" and "hot" warm isn't bad, especially after an hour. but if it's "hot" as in feels like when you put your hand under hot running water, then that's not good. you usually get a warning smell.

[jcarter1885 995]

Yeah setting them with an o-scope is accurate and the best way to set the gain but the DMM is the way to set your gain for people who arent aware of setting gains correctly (it will help you from messing up your amp or subs also).

[antonmiller 8]

ok today i was playing my woofer while driving for about 1 hr. after i got home and parked, i went to the rear and touched the dust cap of the woofer and it felt warm. i was wondering if this is normal and is there anything i should be worried about?

my d2 18" bl is being ran on a kicker 1200.1 @ 1 ohm. head unit gains are set to 0 and amp gain is about 40% turned up and bass boost aswell. woofer is in a 9 cube ported box tuned to 32 hz.

Turn the bass boost off and turn the gain up some (but i suggest you use a DMM to set the gain accurately). Turn the Loud/Loudness feature off on head unit and Bass Boost/Extend Off as well.

ok will do! thanks guys.

edit: i heard setting gains with dmm was not an accurate method and that setting them with an o-scope was the only true way. here's a youtube clip of why you shouldnt set with a dmm.

<---- Click the link.

if you use a multimeter and use a 20 hz sweep while doing it. your ac voltage should peak at 20 hz which is right away. ive set my gain with a dmm using a 20 hz tone then set it using an oscope and the wave was clean the entire sweep, and i could actually turn the gain up a little.

actually after thinking about it for a little bit that if you set with a dmm and you use the frequency that your subsonic filter is set to then it would be most accurate.

[exxd 1]

ok today i was playing my woofer while driving for about 1 hr. after i got home and parked, i went to the rear and touched the dust cap of the woofer and it felt warm. i was wondering if this is normal and is there anything i should be worried about?

my d2 18" bl is being ran on a kicker 1200.1 @ 1 ohm. head unit gains are set to 0 and amp gain is about 40% turned up and bass boost aswell. woofer is in a 9 cube ported box tuned to 32 hz.

Turn the bass boost off and turn the gain up some (but i suggest you use a DMM to set the gain accurately). Turn the Loud/Loudness feature off on head unit and Bass Boost/Extend Off as well.

ok will do! thanks guys.

edit: i heard setting gains with dmm was not an accurate method and that setting them with an o-scope was the only true way. here's a youtube clip of why you shouldnt set with a dmm.

<---- Click the link.

if you use a multimeter and use a 20 hz sweep while doing it. your ac voltage should peak at 20 hz which is right away. ive set my gain with a dmm using a 20 hz tone then set it using an oscope and the wave was clean the entire sweep, and i could actually turn the gain up a little.

actually after thinking about it for a little bit that if you set with a dmm and you use the frequency that your subsonic filter is set to then it would be most accurate.

thanks for clearing this up guys!

[KU40 173]

ok today i was playing my woofer while driving for about 1 hr. after i got home and parked, i went to the rear and touched the dust cap of the woofer and it felt warm. i was wondering if this is normal and is there anything i should be worried about?

my d2 18" bl is being ran on a kicker 1200.1 @ 1 ohm. head unit gains are set to 0 and amp gain is about 40% turned up and bass boost aswell. woofer is in a 9 cube ported box tuned to 32 hz.

Turn the bass boost off and turn the gain up some (but i suggest you use a DMM to set the gain accurately). Turn the Loud/Loudness feature off on head unit and Bass Boost/Extend Off as well.

ok will do! thanks guys.

edit: i heard setting gains with dmm was not an accurate method and that setting them with an o-scope was the only true way. here's a youtube clip of why you shouldnt set with a dmm.

<---- Click the link.

if you use a multimeter and use a 20 hz sweep while doing it. your ac voltage should peak at 20 hz which is right away. ive set my gain with a dmm using a 20 hz tone then set it using an oscope and the wave was clean the entire sweep, and i could actually turn the gain up a little.

actually after thinking about it for a little bit that if you set with a dmm and you use the frequency that your subsonic filter is set to then it would be most accurate.

Why would you want to use a tone at your subsonic filter frequency? You do know that the frequency of a filter is the -3db point, not just the start of the slope off, right?

[antonmiller 8]

ok today i was playing my woofer while driving for about 1 hr. after i got home and parked, i went to the rear and touched the dust cap of the woofer and it felt warm. i was wondering if this is normal and is there anything i should be worried about?

my d2 18" bl is being ran on a kicker 1200.1 @ 1 ohm. head unit gains are set to 0 and amp gain is about 40% turned up and bass boost aswell. woofer is in a 9 cube ported box tuned to 32 hz.

Turn the bass boost off and turn the gain up some (but i suggest you use a DMM to set the gain accurately). Turn the Loud/Loudness feature off on head unit and Bass Boost/Extend Off as well.

ok will do! thanks guys.

edit: i heard setting gains with dmm was not an accurate method and that setting them with an o-scope was the only true way. here's a youtube clip of why you shouldnt set with a dmm.

<---- Click the link.

if you use a multimeter and use a 20 hz sweep while doing it. your ac voltage should peak at 20 hz which is right away. ive set my gain with a dmm using a 20 hz tone then set it using an oscope and the wave was clean the entire sweep, and i could actually turn the gain up a little.

actually after thinking about it for a little bit that if you set with a dmm and you use the frequency that your subsonic filter is set to then it would be most accurate.

Why would you want to use a tone at your subsonic filter frequency? You do know that the frequency of a filter is the -3db point, not just the start of the slope off, right?

no i did not know that.... i always thought it was the point as to where the slope started. then figuring out where the slope starts at would be the most accurate hz then IMO. it just makes sense.

thanks for telling me that.

[KU40 173]

Yeah. If you want perhaps a little more info head over to http://www.bcae1.com/ and on the right side go to #27, crossover basics (there are many others in that index, that's just the basic one). Just letting you know since you could damage your equipment by setting the gain with a DMM at that crossover frequency. Since it's -3db, you will be setting the correct voltage at an attenuated frequency, so once you play a normal frequency above the crossover point you'll actually be getting more power than you think you are.

[exxd 1]

ok new update... ever since i turned my bass boost down to 0 and gain up slightly from 30% to 50%, now my fuse breaker keeps popping itself. well it wasnt doing that last night, but this morning when i went to start my tahoe it hessitated to start like it didnt have juice. after it started i jumped on the high way and was playing music all the way up to where i listen to it and about 10 minutes later the bass would cut out for a few notes. that let me know the breaker popped and was running solely off my amp battery. so i pulled over and reset the breaker, jumped back on the highway and few minutes later it did it again. so i dont know whats going on, i also noticed that my cluster battery gauge was fluctuating from 13-14 even on the highway.... so im not sure if thats happening from anything i did by adjusting my amp or if its just a coinky dink and my batteries just need replacing or alt is going bad.

big 3 is done in 1/0, and the rest of my wires to the back battery and to the amp are all 4 awg. breaker is 160 amp and amp is 1200.1 wired down to 1 ohm.

anyone got any ideas?

[exxd 1]

also here's another update: i was trying to set my gains using a dmm and come up with 34.64v = 1200w and i was using a 50hz test tone @ 0db with all my h/u levels set where i will be listening to it at and my volume up 3/4. i reached 34.64v with the gain turned up to about 25% and now my sub doesnt pound hard anymore. my old 15" t1 used to pound with 50% and 50% bass boost turned up, so when i upgraded to the 18" bl i left those levels the same thinking the bl should be able to handle anything that amp throws at it. am i wrong? if my amp is 1200w x 1 @ 1 ohm, shouldnt i be able to turn the gain + bass boost knobs both to 100% to reach the 1200w?

[KU40 173]

You're getting low voltage. The amp is going into protect from low voltage, and in order for the amplifier to continue to put out its power at a lower voltage it has to pull more amps. Hence the breaker opens. So either something in your charging system is going bad or you just turned the gain up higher for more actual power and the amp is pulling more current than it was before.

[exxd 1]

You're getting low voltage. The amp is going into protect from low voltage, and in order for the amplifier to continue to put out its power at a lower voltage it has to pull more amps. Hence the breaker opens. So either something in your charging system is going bad or you just turned the gain up higher for more actual power and the amp is pulling more current than it was before.

thank you KU40, can you comment on my other update about setting the gains with a dmm? 34.64v would be for 1200 watts, but that i reached that with the gain turned up to 25%, now the sub doesnt slap hard anymore.sub slaps hard with bass boost all the way down and gain @ 50%. but based on the dmm way, 50% gain with my radio turned up 3/4 playing 50hz test tone is way more than the recommended 34.64v. what would happen if i turned the gain to 100% and bass boost to 100%? wouldnt that be the full output of the amp(1200w)? im not understanding how 25% gain on a 1200w x 1 @ 1 ohm amp is = to 1200w.

Edited October 26, 2009 by exxd

[KU40 173]

The gain is simply there to match the amplifier's signal with that coming from the head unit down the RCAs. The gain is not a volume knob like on your head unit. You can get the full 1200 watts even with the gain all the way down. If you notice on the gain it has little numbers and probably a little "v" next to them, that is for volts. So the gain probably goes from something like .5v to 6v. If you set it all the way down, that means your head unit is putting 6 volts down the RCAs. With the gain all the way up your head unit better only be putting out .5v. If you try to cheat and set the gain higher than what is actually coming out of the head unit, you get clipping.

Did you set the gain with the DMM with a 0 db test tone? The problem with that is that music is not recorded at 0 db. So with music the sub will always be quieter than how you set the gain.

Personally I just use my ears to set the gain. When I hear the sub stressing or can hear the amp clipping, I know I've gone too far. Every song is different anyways, so IMO it's imperative that you know how your system responds to each song. Your sub can handle 1000 watts at one frequency, but at another maybe it can only handle 500 before reaching mechanical limits because of box properties. Well, your amplifier doesn't know that, it wants to put out 1000 at that same head unit volume setting anyways. So YOU have to be the responsible one with the volume knob. This is part of the reason why I turn my setup down a few notches between each song (unless I've listened to the CD a thousand times and know exactly what's coming and how my setup handles it). That way I have a little play room in case the next song was recorded louder than the previous song, or has a frequency that my sub doesn't like with the power it would have gotten with full volume. If a song opens up with a note that your sub doesn't like at full power, the suspension of the sub can be damaged before you can turn the volume down.

[exxd 1]

The gain is simply there to match the amplifier's signal with that coming from the head unit down the RCAs. The gain is not a volume knob like on your head unit. You can get the full 1200 watts even with the gain all the way down. If you notice on the gain it has little numbers and probably a little "v" next to them, that is for volts. So the gain probably goes from something like .5v to 6v. If you set it all the way down, that means your head unit is putting 6 volts down the RCAs. With the gain all the way up your head unit better only be putting out .5v. If you try to cheat and set the gain higher than what is actually coming out of the head unit, you get clipping.

Did you set the gain with the DMM with a 0 db test tone? The problem with that is that music is not recorded at 0 db. So with music the sub will always be quieter than how you set the gain.

Personally I just use my ears to set the gain. When I hear the sub stressing or can hear the amp clipping, I know I've gone too far. Every song is different anyways, so IMO it's imperative that you know how your system responds to each song. Your sub can handle 1000 watts at one frequency, but at another maybe it can only handle 500 before reaching mechanical limits because of box properties. Well, your amplifier doesn't know that, it wants to put out 1000 at that same head unit volume setting anyways. So YOU have to be the responsible one with the volume knob. This is part of the reason why I turn my setup down a few notches between each song (unless I've listened to the CD a thousand times and know exactly what's coming and how my setup handles it). That way I have a little play room in case the next song was recorded louder than the previous song, or has a frequency that my sub doesn't like with the power it would have gotten with full volume. If a song opens up with a note that your sub doesn't like at full power, the suspension of the sub can be damaged before you can turn the volume down.

good shit, you really helped me out alot man..