Light dimming

[pmureika 31]

Try a new battery first and see what happens. I don't think it's your problem but a good agm battery won't hurt.

 

What gauge wire did you do the big three in?

 

Still sounds like you have a bad ground somewhere.

Edited April 23, 2013 by pmureika

[muddybass 13]

I would try a new battery considering you said yours is a couple years old...

[Jason Witt 65]

Sound now I'm also battling a bad ground in the head unit since I noticed when I do a slight turn on the RCA it has a loud pop but I ground the RCA well I ground the RCA to the headunit screws on the top of it so Ido what else on or around it would be causing the bad ground that bad ground is giving me a faint noise feedback through the subs my friend had pioneer headunit and never had that problem so I might of been unlucky and got a lemon. I went online a few months ago and found out that pioneer is infamous for the ground loop problem. So I'm in a bad state to figure out where exactly the problem is and if I find it then I thought that would fix the light dimming a bit

Undo your RCA grounds from the head unit, find a new location to ground your receiver and that may take care of the popping and feedback noise. Try to find a new location to ground your amplifiers too. Make sure they are clean, solid, and well connected. That could possibly cure all of your issues. Oh yeah, buy a new battery as mentioned as well.

[grumby21 0]

I did 2awg but only did 2 of the three only one I didn't do was the chassis ground the agm battery was 160 to 180 can't recall the price on the top of my head but I believe it has 800 to 820cca. The ground for the RCA what would be a good type of ground I should ground it to like a bolt or to something metal in the general location and would it be okay to add wire to the ground to reach a or the ground location or will resistance be a factor in a good ground the amp ground seems fine I have a brass or copper ring terminal and have it bolted down to the metal siding of the trunk and grinded down. If you would like I can take pictures of the ground wires and any other pictures needed to see or have a better rough guess to my problem

[grumby21 0]

What I found out is that the red connection of the RCA is the only one that when I turn it makes the humming or buzzing almost like pink noise but stays at a certain frequence or note. I know it's not the rca's since I tested it with two other rca's I had laying around

Edited April 24, 2013 by grumby21

[grumby13 3]

Is it possible for an amp to have a bad RCA ground

[Doug McCambridge 4]

Find better grounds for h/u and amp it will solve your feedback issue, I highly doubt it would be a bad rca ground in the amp itself, lights dimming are you sure the sub/subs are wired correctly? Get ahold of a volt meter and check voltage drop at amp as everyone else has suggested, we can't quite help if you don't do things that are suggested for more help, replacing batt up front will do lots of good things if it is a few years old, also set your gains with a dmm you should NOT need bass boost at all

How to properly set your amplifier gains using a DMM

Step 1: Determine the RMS output of one channel of your amplifier and the rated RMS input of your speakers/subwoofers you will be using on that channel. Select the lower of the two for using this chart http://db.tt/ZiZA5Yyq

Step 2: Match the impedance (ohms) you have on one channel of your amplifier to the column on the chart.

Step 3: Turn your amplifier gain all the way down.

Step 4: Disconnect all speakers/subwoofers from the amplifier

Step 5: Insert the leads of the multimeter in to the channel you are setting (if bridging an amplifier use the terminals you would be using)

Step 6: Set the multimeter to ac volts

Step 7: Turn on the head unit, zero out all EQ settings, turn off all filters (low pass/high pass), and make sure loudness is off.

Step 8: Play a 50hz or 60hz test tone

Step 9: Set the volume to 75%-80% of the maximum volume on your head unit.

Step 10: Start playing the appropriate test tone for subwoofers, 1000hz for mids/highs

Step 11: Slowly turn the gain until you obtain the voltage from the chart

Step 12: Turn off the head unit, unhook the multimeter, hook up your speakers/subwoofers

Step 13: Adjust EQ to desired settings without distortion/clipping its that simple

Edited April 26, 2013 by douglas12107

[grumby13 3]

I will do this when I get off work at 4am

[grumby13 3]

i have a mono channel amp so when i look at the wattage i use do i look for what my amp can handle at the ohm load, or should i look for the wattage that the both of the subs can handle

[Sencheezy 689]

i have a mono channel amp so when i look at the wattage i use do i look for what my amp can handle at the ohm load, or should i look for the wattage that the both of the subs can handle

 

What I usually do is look for power level at what ohm load, compare that with what ohm loads you can achieve which is dictated by what coil confirguration  your subs are. I always try to go the lowest ohm possible to get the most out of the amp you are using. If the power of the amp is greater than rms of sub, that is perfect. Just adjust your gain accordingly.

[grumby13 3]

im running two different subs one is a polk audio dxi 1240dvc and a alpine type r i don't recall the model number since i switched the old kenwood sub for the alpine from my friend. all i remember from the alpine is 400rms and 1200 or 1500peak power and the polk audio is 360rms with 720 peak and both wired to 2 ohms and together would be 4 ohms. and the amp putts out 800 at 4 ohms and 1200 at 2 ohms. this is my first time with car audio i do understand that mixing two different brands of subs is a no no. for the time being i will have to run with what i have infront of me but i do plan to upgrade to maybe a gcon or xcon have not decided yet.

[Doug McCambridge 4]

Is it a mono amp? U could be causing a lot of problems running 2 different subs, the alpine is DVC but here's the question, is the Polk audio DVC or SVC? Personally I would only run 1 or the other

[grumby13 3]

Dvc its a sci 1240dvc

[grumby13 3]

Dxi not sci

[grumby13 3]

ive decided im going to go with a whole new setup it will consist of

 

2 ssa icon 12's

box will be the one i have now for the time being

amp i will need help choosing max im going to spend is $500

and will need help finding a good high output alternator

battery will be replaced with something affordable my guess will be around $200 maybe $250

 

if anyone can help let me know main thing im looking for to buy first is the amp

[grumby13 3]

would anyone know how much wattage a yellow top can provide since im thinking of replacing my battery and im upgraded as mentioned in the previous post above this one. while the yellow top be able to keep up with about 2k watts of power draw

[Doug McCambridge 4]

All depends how big of a yellow top u can fit under the hood, but even with 2k watts IMO id still have at least 1 in the rear also, never hurts to have the power if ya need it

[grumby13 3]

I can fit a 24f class and maybe a 35 class

[pmureika 31]

If you have  sears near you look at their Platinum agm batteries.

[grumby13 3]

Sears is about 15 to 20 miles away all I have is Wal-Mart auto zone and advanced auto parts near me auto zone has a yellow top for 145.99 which is not bad and a half inch shorter then my current one

[grumby13 3]

has anyone order from here before this is a great price for the alternators

http://www.qualitypowerauto.com/catalog.php?item=450

 

if so how satified are you with the alternator im thinking of getting the 320 for my 2000 3.0l camry. i know it is not a name brand like mechman mean green ohio generator and the other companies. but for me i need something on a budget 250 was my previous budget but when i looked at the name brand companies those prices were way out of my budget range it was like 550 for a 270amp alternator and im not looking to spend that much i sent in a inquire for singer alternators and so far no response so either a they/ he is very busy or my email is blocking his email or website.