Blown2run: Did the stereo shop guys offer any advice other than that the subs were ok? Did they try an alternate amp? Did they measure the pwoer going in or out of the amp? I'm wondering if you're exceeding your amp's or your power system's capacity and, therefore, the amp is doing exactly what it should and shutting down.....

 

Ok, I just posted something similar to this the other day, and one of the responses was to put in a cap, and then was followed by a rebuttal, and this was inserted into that thread
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=338863
helped explain a little better to me about caps, hope it helps here too.

 

Morcutt,

They did check the power going into the amp which was the same result as my own. They didn't try an alternate amp as I would have had to pay for it. The subs that were tested I actually paid for but was reimbursed the money once it proved that wasn't the problem. One thing I have failed to mention is that I also had alot of light dimming when hitting hard before the shutdown. How can I measure the power output this amp is putting out right before it goes into protection? At this point I'll try anything. My brother has an Optima Battery which I will try on my truck to see if it helps any.

 

Hi Blown2run,
no flamez was intended (stated in my first line of the post!)...it just amazes me how many folks fall for those caps.

I'd check your power path starting from the battery onwards out to the amp. Look at your grounds too. Maybe that ground connection or path isn't a nice clean solid ground back to the battery.

Probably the easiest way is get a DVM and set to DC scale. Keep in mind, those DVM's are slow, so you won't be able to see everything. Crank your tunes just high enough not to shut down the amp. Probe the entire distance between power and several different chassis ground locations and see where there's a big drop in millivolts. You might have better luck looking on the AC mV scale and take a reading everytime a bass note hits. Big jumps = bad.

If there's a weak ground/power connection or something, it'll be just before the jump in voltage drop. You can isolate it this way..

If you have a weak/old battery (low CCA rating won't help either), that'll likely conk out the amp too... but CCA's are measured down to 7-something volts if I remember right which is far below the amp cutoff, so that in itself is somewhat meaningless measure of battery performance for car amps, but it should be good enough as an indication.

 

Thanks guys for your time and assistance. I got home and checked the system out again. I made sure the ground was tight and the paint was completely off the area where it makes contact with the chasis. I was getting 12.33v with the truck turned off and 13.7 with it on. I turned the system on and began measuring it again with the DMM. The volts were at 13.6 to 13.7. When the bass hit hard, the amp would cut out anywhere between 12.7 to 13.2. In one occasion, it went as low as 11.5 and others 11.8,11.9, 12ich. Starting to think it's the battery/alternator which cannot provide enough power. It's weird that when it'd drop below 12, the amp wouldn't cut off. It was only two or three times when it did. Sometimes at 13+ and others at 12+. Last time I checked it, it never dropped that low. Like I said before, the lights dimmed drastically. What do you guys think? My brother should make it in later this evening to swap batteris.

 

We'll as disappointing as it is, I've ruled the lack of power out. I think the amp is bad. Can no longer hold the load. It sounded better than with my battery the times it worked. It was steady at 13.5 to 14.5 volts. Never dropped below 13v. The bass hit harder than with my battery. Seems those Optima batteries really do what they claim. Is it worth it to send the amp to Kicker to have it repaired. I called them during the day and told me they'd charge me $60.00 to repair it if it circuit board was not fried. Here's the deal. I bought this amp off ebay 1 week ago. I spoke to the seller who claimed it was working fine on a car he had bought. I explained the problems and what I'd done to troubleshoot. He would give me my money back once I'd send it to him. What would you guys do? I got a great deal on it as far as the price. Not so on the product. If I decide to return it to get my money back, I'll have to buy a new one at a higher price. I guess at this point, I don't know what to do. I was looking forward for this amp to work properly as it'd allow me to run low and highs on one unit. Don't really want to install two amps.

 

IMHO, your amp is ok. If it was bad, you wouldn't hear anything. Did you try measuring voltage at the battery while it was running also? If it's jumping around as bad as your measurement at your amp, it's not your wiring or amp.

As I mentioned earlier, DVM's are very slow. If you're reading 11-ish volts, I bet it's really quite a bit lower during transients. If low enough long enough, your amp will cut out long before your DVM will come close to seeing anything.

One simple thing to try with your 2nd battery is tie it in parallel with your existing battery as if you are going to jump the engine. Now, jumper cables aren't all the greatest and I'm sure there's going to be some drop. Regardless, see if that makes a diff. It won't cost you anything. If so, that says you need a lower impedance power source.

Just as a FWIW, I was playing around with my 1000W 12V->120VAC inverter on my car this last weekend by attempting to run a high power leaf blower. This puppy is pumping out 1000W continuous power output in the realest sense, so I was pulling at least 120A. The engine also bogged down without giving it some gas and my alt belt started squeaking. Ultimately the inverter shut down due to low voltage. What's really cool is watching the power cables feeding the inverter flinch/move every time I powered it on. Talk about big EM fields... Way kewl dude...

 

aquaman, what vehicle u got with a alternator like that? I think my 93 only handles up to 90A. Run some Audio cables by those EM fields to see how they sound

Blown2Run - have u tried running just the subs without the mids and hi's?

 

Aquaman,

I'll try that this evening. Hope it works, but at this point, I've pretty much given up.

Memorex,

I did try the subs without the mids/hi's. I even tried it with one sub wired in parallel and does the same thing.

 

Well guys, its gone. I used the other battery together with mine and it would still go into protect mode. The second time it went into protect mode, it never came out. Seems it's now dead. I let it cool off for about an hour and tried turning it on, but never got out of protect. What do you guys think gave inside the amp? I will now send it to Kicker to have it repaired. They said if the board is fried, it will be costly but if not, it'll be bout $100. It didn't have a burnt smell. I've smelled that before. The guy that sold it to me is willing to pitch in for the repairs but I'm curious to know what fried.

 

How much did you pay for it in the first place? Also which model is it?

 

It's the KX800.4 and paid 175.00.

 

I think it's better to just go buy a new amp considering how much it'll be to fix it which sounds like a min of $100 bux.

BTW, Memorex, I was playing around with my old 84 Toyota . It has a standard 85A alt and I had a larger-than-factory-spec 24R battery. Anyways, I wasn't surprised the inverter shut down. I just wanted to see if I could run a leaf blower which I doubted anyways. However, it would run my sawzall with no problems. That's most important :-)

 

Running a sawzall off a truck.. I like the way you think.

I think you should get a new amp too, it seems pretty expensive to get it "fixed" and that's if they even get it. The problem can come back up. As much as I like Stillwater Designs (Kicker) they're still a company, and they're going to try to make money.

 

302v8,

Should I use a cap in this example? I'm running kc offroad lights (2-4lights). I use driving/ fog lights too, radio, cb, and I roll at low rpms/speed. (hunting truck). Are may electronic safe.
Thanks 79 Bronc