I need help from all you Audio Guru's..... I got video of the problem.

[mpbclutch33]

Sorry I can't get the video to work, so I will try to explain.

Alright, this is not for my A/C, but my girlfriend's Jeep. Her system worked fine for years and recently it started to cut out. It is not overheated, it has something to do with the RCA's. When you push on the white RCA, the subs hit, let go and they don't. Then sometimes while driving, it will stay on for a good while before cutting out again. I can't tell if it is the wires or where the RCA's connect inside the amp.

I had an almost new Kenwood KAC-7252 Amp and I tried to hook that up to her system and the power light comes on 'red' and the fan comes on, but no sound. I am not sure if the light is supposed to be red or if that means it is in 'protection mode'. If it is, is there a way to reset it? None of the fuses on the amps or the power wire is broken. I know that it can be a hairline fracture, so I replaced them and still nothing.

[rjdmmfl1]

Sorry I can't get the video to work, so I will try to explain.

Alright, this is not for my A/C, but my girlfriend's Jeep. Her system worked fine for years and recently it started to cut out. It is not overheated, it has something to do with the RCA's. When you push on the white RCA, the subs hit, let go and they don't. Then sometimes while driving, it will stay on for a good while before cutting out again. I can't tell if it is the wires or where the RCA's connect inside the amp.

I had an almost new Kenwood KAC-7252 Amp and I tried to hook that up to her system and the power light comes on 'red' and the fan comes on, but no sound. I am not sure if the light is supposed to be red or if that means it is in 'protection mode'. If it is, is there a way to reset it? None of the fuses on the amps or the power wire is broken. I know that it can be a hairline fracture, so I replaced them and still nothing.

it could be the RCA's or maybe not the RCA's themselves, but the RCA inputs on the amp, or the RCA outputs on the headunit.

I've had audio systems in the past where BOTH of those went bad. If its the RCA outputs on her headunit, then the headunit needs to be fixed or replaced. If its the RCA inputs on the amp, then the amp needs to be fixed or replaced.

Usually, the protection light on your amp won't come on just due to lack of a good signal (from the headunit's RCA's or from the amp's RCA's inputs) but rather due to a problem in wiring. if its somehow wired too low at the woofer. THis could happen if, over time, the internal wiring comes loose on a dual voice coil sub, but this doesn't seem to be the case in your scenario.

I'm confused by your last line.. did you replace your RCA's or not. If you replace your RCA's, and the problem persists, then again its either the RCA inputs on the amp, or RCA outputs on the headunit.

Audio shops would first test your amp by removing it, hooking it up on a bench to another headunit and testing it on a woofer. If you have a spare headunit you can quickly hook up the power and ground wires to your battery, and then run the RCA's from there to your amp, and see if the problem persists. If it doesn't, then you know its the rca putputs on her deck. If it does, it is most likely the rca inputs on her amp.

[mpbclutch33]

I am almost 100% sure it is the inputs on her Amp. I have tried switching the RCA's and still the loose connection is at the amp inputs. She has some "no name" directed amp so I would really like to get my Kenwood Amp in there. I just don't understand why there is no sound coming out of the subs. When I hook up the Kenwood, the power light comes on and the fan, but there is nothing coming out of the subs. I tried turning the gain down, but still nothing. She has two 12" Kicker comps. I have it bridged at the amp. My Kenwood amp should be enough to power them right?

I have + off the amp going to the 1st Sub and -- off the amp going the 1st sub. Then + off that 1st Sub to the + on the 2nd Sub and the same for the negative.

[rjdmmfl1]

can't figure this one out just from listening... wish I could play around with it...

hopefully the converted will chime in at some point.

when you hook your kenwood amp up, are you connecting the remote turn on wire also?

[mpbclutch33]

Yup.... I am hooking up the amp turn on, power, ground and the speaker wires on the bridged terminals. Does anyone know how much it would cost to take it somewhere and get it bench tested? Or, I bought a multimeter(Dont' know how to use it yet) and test everything and see where the problem may be?

I am guess I would check that the power and ground terminals should have around 12 volts at the amp..... right?

If so, how would I test the speaker wires?

[shortys408]

if it was the head unit you dont really need to replace it, you can just get a line out converter.

[rjdmmfl1]

if it was the head unit you dont really need to replace it, you can just get a line out converter.

not exactly... it depends on the type of headunit... some headunits have dedicated subwoofer outs which are usually non fading and sometimes have seperate adjustments... if you go with a line out onverter, it will usually use the signal of the rear speakers for the subwoofer RCA outputs... doing so will cause you to lose the functions that the dedicated subwoofer RCA output had!

[mpbclutch33]

Ok.... So I took her old Amp out and the Kenwood I wanted to replace hers with and installed both of them in my a/c and neither one worked. So, we are going to buy a new amp. I am not sure what exact subs she has, but she has (2) 12" DVC Kicker Comps. What size amp should I get and should it be Mono or 2-channel if she is onlt using it to power the 2 12's and no plans for powering component speakers later on?

[rjdmmfl1]

Ok.... So I took her old Amp out and the Kenwood I wanted to replace hers with and installed both of them in my a/c and neither one worked. So, we are going to buy a new amp. I am not sure what exact subs she has, but she has (2) 12" DVC Kicker Comps. What size amp should I get and should it be Mono or 2-channel if she is onlt using it to power the 2 12's and no plans for powering component speakers later on?

mono, class D or BD amps are best for subs (usually more efficient)... and many have two channel outputs to hook up two subs (some older mono amps only had 1 channel output)

as to what size, you have to be more specific regarding your subs...

solobaric L7 subs would require something completely different than a kicker comp VR sub!