Subwoofer/AMP Problem

[hunds02]

I have a strange problem where my sub or amp kicks off when my volume is set low. When i crank up the volume the amp or sub kicks on and the bass sounds good. After having it loud for awhile, I can turn the volume back to low and it will continue to have bass only for a minute or so, then the sub or amp kicks off again. I will find out later today if its the amp kicking off which would turn the sub off. I am guessing its something to do with the capacitor (1 Farad) not charging/discharging properly. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Andrew

[Bill Valley]

How many subs and how powerful of an amp are you running? My guess is the Cap is not necessary and could be removed.

[hunds02]

Originally Posted by Bill Valley

How many subs and how powerful of an amp are you running? My guess is the Cap is not necessary and could be removed.

Its one gigantic sub! its an Orion HCCA 12.4 I think its like 2000 W RMS 4000 W peak power. I am under-powering it, my amp is rated at 1169 W and its wired in series because my amp is unstable at 2 ohms, so its at a 8 ohm load right now. But i had this configuration for years and never had a problem, until now. I will try disconnecting the cap, but I feel like I would need it since I'm drawing a lot of power from the battery and I don't wanna kill my alternator.

Thanks for your input

[big bob]

Could be a dying amp, assuming your wiring is correctly installed.

Check the remote on voltage with a multimeter. Consider wiring the remote on to a permanent 12V as a test.

[hunds02]

Originally Posted by big bob

Could be a dying amp, assuming your wiring is correctly installed.

Check the remote on voltage with a multimeter. Consider wiring the remote on to a permanent 12V as a test.

will do, thanks.
I been fairly busy, but I plan on troubleshooting this problem this weekend, will report back maybe sometime tomorrow

[hunds02]

Sorry to revive this thread after such a long time.

Still facing the same problem:

I went to check it again, it seems as its the sub not being able to play at low volume NOT the Amp. The amp always stayed on (blue light illuminated) even when the subs stop playing. Voltage reading from PWR to GND was 14.18V and from REM to GND was 14.02V. So a very tiny difference. When I checked it just now, it seem as if the sub was playing at low volumes longer without shutting off, (I actually thought I fixed it!), but eventually it kicked off. Also I think when a heavy-bass song plays is when it usually kicks off, as if the volume was too low to kick on the sub for a loud bass note.. if that makes any sense. Also I have a circuit breaker, not an in-line fuse

So i am assuming the amp is still good, but maybe the sub is bad? The sub is underpowered, not sure if that will damage it. Amp is rated at 1100W but I have it wired in series, since the sub is a dual 4 ohm voice coil, I believe the load under series is 8 ohms. So basically 8 ohm load from a 1100 W amp powering a 2000 W RMS sub.. maybe that has something to do with it... but then again its been wired like that for years and there was never any problem..

[Clockwork]

I had the exact same problem in my E46 for years. Never could source the problem. I took the amp/sub out and used it in my E31 no problems. Weird.

[ViGuyChad]

spounds like a bad connection or they impendence on the channel its seeing from the sub. are you running a mono amp or a 2 channel?

[hunds02]

its a mono amp connected to a 4 ohm dual voice coil sub