Installed Basslink - It Cuts Off High Volumes
 

Do I need to get a capacitor?

Grr.. cant believe I would need a capacitor for this little baby

something has to have gone wrong.

I got my friend who installs audio for a living to do it for me. He said I will need a capacitor because it works fine with low low volume but cuts out when I turn it loud.

Where could the problem be? I dont see why I would need a capacitor if nobody has ever had this problem.

Maybe weak battery? Bad connections? Need ideas here. Any welcome

If you are tapping your 12v from one of the small guage power wires back there, try this:
Connect your 12v directly to the power block at the back of the spare tire well. Then connect your ground to the grounding block on the floor of the well, or another very close bolt that is unpainted. Make sure you are using heavy guage wire such as 4awg.

That will take all of 10 minutes to do, and will tell you if it is a current problem or not.

do you have your speaker level inputs connected to the wires before the amp or to the wires going to the subwoofer(after the amp)? don't know if this matters, but if it's connected to the wires going to the subwoofer, they may be putting out too much voltage when you turn the volume up. your input sensitivity is 1-16v for speaker level outs, so maybe the voltage from the amp is exceeding the 16v limit? :dunno:

when I connected the power under the spare tire I didnt use a voltometer.
I used a lightbulb connected to two wires to find the connections.
I assumed everything in that green box was putting out 12v?
I just connected it to an empty slot.
The power kit is rated 350Watt. I got them from walmart.

*the guy who connected my sub with the power end going to the sub said the connector was too big but he said he could make it touch. maybe that is the problem? I would have to cut the wire and add a smaller connector to it so it fits perfectly to the sub.*

I connected the factory harness to the connections (as labeled on the homepage) going into the factory amp. Pins 7 and 14 I believe.

it could be an issue with the basslink itself...........my buddy has one in his X5 and his cuts out too. follow what ncx suggested to make sure it isn't a problem with the current. use the biggest guage the basslink allows.

I give up. Either Infinity makes crap products or I am doing something wrong.

I tapped directly into the power connection. I checked to see if it was 12 volts. I even re-cut the power/ground wires so they would fit better.

I event cut the wires myself leading to pins 7 and 14 and I connected the two wires like that. Hell, I even tried the other harness and the other wires on each harness.
On the harness... 4 wires. I am using 2. Just like the directions said.

So wtf could it be? Ive done everything possible

the 350watt power wire I got from Walmart is crap? I dont see why it would be. It is rated at 350watt.

& to top it off I doubt Infinity is going to help me. I bought the thing on Ebay, but they will want the store number and proof of purchase I bet!

I am frustrated. Everyone keeps telling me capacitor. Well that solve my problem?

Any of the available constant +12v taps from the green box near by the spare tire provide enough power capacity to power an amp. The problem may not be from the +12V but it may come from a bad ground. Where did you get the ground from?

Below the green box to the left of it. It was under the spare tire if I remember correctly, but I know it was a little further below from the green box to the very left.

Tomorrow I will know for sure if it is a bad ground/power.
I am going to connect it to a car battery that I have. The battery is charging for the night.

I know it is not Infinity's sub. I am just frustrated so I would like to blame them to make myself feel better. :P

I am thinking I have a bad electrical system if it is not the ground/power connection.

What gauge wire is your power and ground? 12? higher?

As Alpac said I would recheck your ground. That is critical. Have you measured the voltage at your speaker-level inputs at full volume (as X5GuyinLA mentions)? If it is not a current problem, you would next want to check to be sure you are not clipping the input on the Basslink.

You might also want to check with Wagner to see if he dealt with any of these problems. I really doubt this has anything to do with the electrical system in your X5 unless your battery and alternator are both bad, and you would know if they were.

Hooked up properly, I would be amazed if a Basslink drew enough power to require a stiffening cap.

Just out of curiosity, how is your Basslink tuned? Where do you have your gain adjustment and bass boost set at?

I connected it to a battery I had laying around in my garage. Basslink worked perfectly

I then directly connected it to the main battery. It keeps cutting out.

Voltometer says 14 coming from the main battery without the car being turned on. I burnt a fuse and tried again but still no results. I tried with car on and off.

Voltometer said 12 when I connected it to the outlets in the green box. No results.

The problem is coming from my battery since it worked perfectlty with the other battery I had in my garage (it is from a maxima).

Update: For the hell of it I added capacitors to the speaker wires. No change. Still cutting offf.

Buy a new battery?

Any suggestions what is wrong?

I figured out the problem ..

It looks like I used a 12 gauge power cable.
If I replace it with an 8 gauge power cable it should work

Still puzzled as to why it worked with the battery that wasnt in the car.

If you can, go with the biggest the basslink can take (I think it's a 4 gauge). The amp will have an easier time getting the power it needs.

I had a Basslink in a wakeboard boat, hooked both the power and the ground directly to the battery (8 ga cable) and never had any issues with it cutting out. I think you need to bypass that green box and go directly to the battery - should be easy considering the battery is back there too!!

Good luck!!

The person who installed my basslink sucks: I just looked at it

The speaker level connections were cut and reconnected with the sub. There is a capacitor (mini one) on the wire and I was wondering why it was helping. The wires are not solded! The guy just twisted the wires.

Now I dont know if that is the problem or not?

Another thing i noticed was that when he cut the power/ground cables that half the wires are sticking out when it is connected. I asked him and he said it doesnt make a difference as long as all the wires are touching. The wires are curled up and going all over the place.

I am using an 8 gauge wire cut to 4 feet.

I still dont understand why it worked with the battery I had in my garage and not on the X5 (I connected it directly to the battery).

Hopefully the wires are just messed up.
This whole time I was just the tester and my installer was the one in the back doing all the work. My job was simply to suggest new ideas to him and turn on the radio when he said go.