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Subs "freak out"

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Minno

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Ok so this is a very random thing. At first I thought it had to do with the volume but it can happen even when im just sittin there with the stereo off. Its this humming that like resonates and gets louder and then it will go down some and then turn off. If I turn off the power to it during the humming it will pop really loud. I am thinking its the amp or possibly has something to do with the voice coils maybe? I got tools to test a lot of electronics so if theres anything I can do please let me know! :D
 


It honestly just souns like horrible ground, I get people all the time with a problem just like this and moving the ground to a better place and/or scraping ever last bit of paint down to bare metal is the best thing you can do for it. It also could be very loose at the amp terminal for ground and just kind of dangling there barely touching the terminal.

Try that first and we will go from there.
-steven-
 
Another Thing To Check Is The Wattage Your Running Out of Your Amp Comparred To The Gauge Of Wire You Are Using For The Amp Kit! 2 Small Of Wire (power and ground) Can Cause This Problem. That Can Cause A Bad Ground Connection As Others Have Said.
 
Check connections like they said.

Even more remote possibility is it's from your cell-phone. What service do you have and is your phone in the car with you when it happens?

Why does my cell phone make my computer speakers emit noise? - Yahoo! Answers

I am sorry I just don't think that is a possibility, this is usually a hardly audible buzz when associated with this problem the subs probably aren't even capable of playing that buzzing noise as it is in such a high frequency range.
 


Another Thing To Check Is The Wattage Your Running Out of Your Amp Comparred To The Gauge Of Wire You Are Using For The Amp Kit! 2 Small Of Wire (power and ground) Can Cause This Problem. That Can Cause A Bad Ground Connection As Others Have Said.

That is a likely possibility, but on a devil's advocate note: it would probably pop the main fuse from the strain it put on flow of current therfore increasing amperage.

Usually an amps fuses on it are actually the worst case scenario on max amperage draw, but using so small of a wire would actually exceed that "worst case scenario."
 
Nope, I make a phone call and my sub goes nuts. I left my phone in my jacket pocket and put it in my trunk, I got a call, subs went crazy. I didn;t know why till after I got my jacket out and saw I had a missed call.
 
I just dont see it picking up interference from a phone as I dont think our cell phones run on or send any frequency 80hz and below (I have no scientific proof of what frequency our cell phones send signal out as.) It is basically the same reason why you dont hear alternator whine from subs.

What is your freq set on? What kind of rca cables do you have. The only thing sending any kind of actual signal to the amp that would cause the subs to play anything other than bass from the music is the rcas. Getting some better rca cables would probably be the best thing for your system (chances are that would probably get rid of that problem), if it is in fact picking up interference from a cell phone.

I can only speculate because I have no proof of this not being the problem but out of almost 10 years experience in car audio, your case is the first I have ever heard of having this specific problem. Sure I have heard of it in computer speakers and sometimes really cheap home systems but never car enviroment and thus the reason I have a hard time believing this.
 
That is a likely possibility, but on a devil's advocate note: it would probably pop the main fuse from the strain it put on flow of current therfore increasing amperage.

Usually an amps fuses on it are actually the worst case scenario on max amperage draw, but using so small of a wire would actually exceed that "worst case scenario."

Just cause the wires are too small doesnt mean the fuse would blow, many,many times i've seen the fuse much bigger than the wire's capacity for current....

But my cell phone does that thing on almost any radio, even the stock one gets feedback when I get a call
 
I'll try to take a crappy cell phone video tomorrow by sending myself a text mesage or something.

The speaker wires pick up the freg like an antennas, it has nothing to do with the amp or even being turned on.

Read up on GSM network call phones and speakers.
 


Just cause the wires are too small doesnt mean the fuse would blow, many,many times i've seen the fuse much bigger than the wire's capacity for current....

But my cell phone does that thing on almost any radio, even the stock one gets feedback when I get a call

yes I can see your point about people running a bigger fuse than the wire is rated for but the amps fuses would blow if it was pulling to much current as its own fuses can't support it and/or the wire would actually melt.
 
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I'll try to take a crappy cell phone video tomorrow by sending myself a text mesage or something.

The speaker wires pick up the freg like an antennas, it has nothing to do with the amp or even being turned on.

Read up on GSM network call phones and speakers.

I was actually talking about the rcas that send the signal to the amp, not anything specifically about the amp itself or it being turned on. But.....Since it was brought up, It has everything to do with the amp in this case because if those subs start making noise without the amp turned on (and getting power to the subs) you really need to reconsider the phone you are using, and send me it so I can start using it as a cordless power supply. haha.

"The RF in a GSM phone "pluses" and its picked up by devices that aren't shielded well."
"This frequency causes audible noise in the voice band (300 -3k Hz)."
These are quotes directly from the write ups you told me to "read up on".

As I stated before Your subs shouldn't have this problem as they aren't even designed to play anything in the affected frequency range.
Also, The devices not shielded correctly they are refferring to in that article would be the rcas in this case as that is the only thing that can actually pick up a signal andsend it through the amp and then tell the sub what exactly to play.

ex. In your case the under-shielded rcas are picking up a signal from your cell-phone then the corrupted signal carries down the line and is then sent through the amp and out to the sub.

This why I asked you what rca's you had running to your amp, because if the cell phone is the problem then you have significantly undershielded cables and they are the weakest link.
My guess would be that you have rca's that are not even rated for car use, maybe a cheap home rated version. I am not saying this your fault or that you use shoddy products, so do not take it as me bad mouthing you.
I am not an e-thug nor do I like arguing over the internet, but I do like playing devil's advocate and letting people understand my thinking and also understanding their thoughts on certain things also.
 
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I just like to make people aware of other possible issues for troubleshooting purposes. I hate spending hours on something when I had the solution all along.

I'm pretty sure this isn't his problem but how pissed would you be if you found out days later that all you had to do was take your phone out of your pocket.
 
Ok ill definitely check the grounds. I know its not the wires, ive had this setup for over a year and have had it loud as all hell and it hasn't ever been a problem. I am running wire thicker than a pen I think around 4 gague or something of that sort. I have 0 gague from the battery to the capacitor so im fine in that sort. The ground for the wire is under the seat. Scraped the paint off and just screwed it in. I am thinking a ground wire could be loose because it only happens sometimes. Also it will happen after I stop hard or something like that so im gonna guess a loose connection. Its a sony xplode amp, it wasn't very expensive so I figured the subs might have rattled the electronics in the amp out but it still works. I will check the grounds. BTW yes I do have a cingular phone but ive never had problems with the interference on my stereo, I have on the computer speakers tho. Thanks guys appreciate it!
 
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