Bostons94Vert Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 Arite so i installed a set of jl audio 3 way component set running off a jl 300/4 and a New kicker L7 12 running off a 600 watt kenwood amp and i was wondering if this has something to do with me losing my dash llights...i did the "big 3" upgrade but added a run from the alternator to the aux post all done with 0 gauge wire...can you hep me with any of this i appreciate any help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white4d96 Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 What do you mean losing your dash lights? Are they dimming when you turn the stereo up or are they gone altogether? If they are dimming you are pulling more power than your alt and battery can put out. You shouldn't have this issue with the two amps you have. I'm betting you have the gains cranked way too high and are clipping. Set your gains properly using a DMM or if you're lucky enough to have one an oscilloscope before you do damage to your amps or speakers. If your gains are set properly, have your battery tested. A system like that will put extra strain on your battery so if it is bad it will really have a hard time with the load. If your batt is still good, consider adding a battery in back. If you look around you can get Kinetic 600's or equivalent-size audio batteries for around $100 shipped online, which should be more than enough for you. Also, CHECK DOUBLE CHECK TRIPLE CHECK YOUR GROUNDS! make sure all of them are making contact with bare metal and are not loose anywhere: where they're bolted down, where the wire goes into the terminals, etc. etc. This will have a detrimental effect on your charging system. Best of luck to ya! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Powered Posted October 21, 2010 Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 what is the big 3? our cars need the big 5, or it was done wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bostons94Vert Posted October 22, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 I did notice that the sub amps gain was up a little high so i turned it down and it did help a lil thank you...as far as using an O-Scope thats not an option but i do own a Dmm but dont know how to tune using it...as far as a second battery is it possible to install one without a H/O alt? and for the big three i just said that but i did use 0 for the bat. ground to body whre the stock one goes but i shaved it down to bare metal...the bat positive to aux post...and a run from the alt to aux post...what am i missing...i know im asking a ton of questions but im new to this car and the heavier audio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white4d96 Posted October 22, 2010 Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 Take the RMS power of your amp, multiply by the impedance. you want to see that number as AC voltage out of the amp with no subs hooked up on a 50hz tone. Example: if your amp does 400RMS at 4 ohms, take the square root of 1600 which is 40. set your meter to AC volts, put the probes in the speaker terminals, play a 50hz test tone at full volume, and adjust the gain until you see 40 volts. That should get you in the ballpark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Powered Posted October 22, 2010 Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 and for the big three i just said that but i did use 0 for the bat. ground to body whre the stock one goes but i shaved it down to bare metal...the bat positive to aux post...and a run from the alt to aux post...what am i missing...i know im asking a ton of questions but im new to this car and the heavier audio you are missing the main ground strap from the bat tray to block then. the most important one by far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted2bass Posted October 22, 2010 Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 http://www.memphiscaraudio.com/support/productresources/gain-matching/ This is a pretty good walkthrough on setting gains with a DMM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.