Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

I recently recieved this sub/amp setup from my uncle for my birthday. 600W MegaVox Competition Amp and 2 x 10" Marathon subs in a Marathon competition sub box. I have a 200W power supply that I used to test them as they are 20-25 years old. When connected to the 200W (12V @ 18A) power supply the subs could play sound (used an RCA to 3.5mm adapter that came with it) but was dropping out, which I assume is to be expected considering I was running a 600W amp off a 200W power supply. After this I installed them in my mates car ( AU Falcon, his wiring was all setup as he has subs of his own) by taking the wiring from his subs and connecting it to mine. When the car was started the amp powered up, but wasn't able to get any sound either from the head unit or the 3.5mm jack adaptor. Checked the voltage running through the power input and it read 14 Volts (normal as AU Falcons charge at 14V apparently). after fiddling around trying to get it to work i took them out and hooked them up to the power supply and it was back to being choppy but could still get sound.

 

Any help or insight into why I can't get sound from the subs in the car but can off a 200W power supply would be greatly appreciated

 

Cheers, Blake

IMG_20211031_223256.jpg

IMG_20211031_223336.jpg

IMG_20211031_223315.jpg

IMG_20211031_223357.jpg

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/482968-subamplifier-problems/
Share on other sites

On 10/31/2021 at 10:40 PM, blakemcdonnell said:

I recently recieved this sub/amp setup from my uncle for my birthday. 600W MegaVox Competition Amp and 2 x 10" Marathon subs in a Marathon competition sub box. I have a 200W power supply that I used to test them as they are 20-25 years old. When connected to the 200W (12V @ 18A) power supply the subs could play sound (used an RCA to 3.5mm adapter that came with it) but was dropping out, which I assume is to be expected considering I was running a 600W amp off a 200W power supply. After this I installed them in my mates car ( AU Falcon, his wiring was all setup as he has subs of his own) by taking the wiring from his subs and connecting it to mine. When the car was started the amp powered up, but wasn't able to get any sound either from the head unit or the 3.5mm jack adaptor. Checked the voltage running through the power input and it read 14 Volts (normal as AU Falcons charge at 14V apparently). after fiddling around trying to get it to work i took them out and hooked them up to the power supply and it was back to being choppy but could still get sound.

 

Any help or insight into why I can't get sound from the subs in the car but can off a 200W power supply would be greatly appreciated

 

Cheers, Blake

IMG_20211031_223256.jpg

IMG_20211031_223336.jpg

IMG_20211031_223315.jpg

IMG_20211031_223357.jpg

Not sure why you have bridged the outputs like that.  The actual little wire in the middle isn't needed, and probably causes issues. Take it out and see what happens.

On 11/1/2021 at 10:18 AM, Ben C34 said:

Not sure why you have bridged the outputs like that.  The actual little wire in the middle isn't needed, and probably causes issues. Take it out and see what happens.

its the remote/switch input. bridged to power so that it turns on whenever it recieves power. will give it a try soon, just confused as it works fine with power supply but not in the car.

On 11/1/2021 at 10:38 AM, blakemcdonnell said:

its the remote/switch input. bridged to power so that it turns on whenever it recieves power. will give it a try soon, just confused as it works fine with power supply but not in the car.

also i thought it could be going into protection mode, but it doesnt make sense to me as the ground works perfectly on his subs and off the power supply both speakers work.

The amp is probably going into protection mode with the outputs bridged like that. That's not how you bridge channels together.

They do not act like AA batteries.

Also using that kind of wiring for power will cause more issues.

Also with the cost of car audio dropping exponentially, you'll be silly not to run a small footprint marine amp. Here's a fantastic one for the price.

The below amp would destroy what you have there in terms of power delivery, SQ, size, heat manage, etc.

https://frankiesautoelectrics.com.au/clarion-xc2410-400w-micro-size-4-3-2-channel-class-d-marine-amplifier/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw_fiLBhDOARIsAF4khR3wzCm4oVysGSSApkJvO81oVKIuGFZln-lEvBhk6526rHRAXp3pV8caAts8EALw_wcB

Clarion XC2410 400W Micro Size 4/3/2 Channel Class D Marine Amplifier

On 11/1/2021 at 10:08 AM, blakemcdonnell said:

its the remote/switch input. bridged to power so that it turns on whenever it recieves power. will give it a try soon, just confused as it works fine with power supply but not in the car.

That's not what I am referring to. There is a wire that shouldn't be there on the speaker outputs.

On 11/1/2021 at 10:56 AM, Ben C34 said:

That's not what I am referring to. There is a wire that shouldn't be there on the speaker outputs.

Righto man, cheers. Itll still run without that bridge on both outputs? or will i have to run another cable somewhere?

On 11/1/2021 at 10:41 AM, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

The amp is probably going into protection mode with the outputs bridged like that. That's not how you bridge channels together.

They do not act like AA batteries.

Also using that kind of wiring for power will cause more issues.

Yeah, we were running 50amp wiring in the car this was just the setup we used for the power supply to test it as it was a spur of the moment decision. regarding the output bridging do i just remove the cable bridging the negative to positive and leave it? or do i run speaker wire's from both to the respective parts of the speaker?

 

as you can probably tell im very new to this sort of stuff haha, only time ive hooked up subs had a built in amp and just needed power, ground, remote and input. all other wiring seems alright though?

On 11/1/2021 at 1:41 PM, blakemcdonnell said:

so literally just take it out and it should be fine?

As in.....it won't blow up, which we're all surprised that it hasn't already with the way it is wired now?

Yes.

You should do a little google on what it means to bridge an amp, and how it is achieved, so you at least understand, rather than flying blind.

Then the next question, can you even bridge channels with that amp?

There are no physical markings saying you can bridge these channels.

 

Honestly, just buy that Clarion amp I posted up above. Cheaper than a car catching on fire.

On 11/1/2021 at 2:33 PM, GTSBoy said:

As in.....it won't blow up, which we're all surprised that it hasn't already with the way it is wired now?

Yes.

You should do a little google on what it means to bridge an amp, and how it is achieved, so you at least understand, rather than flying blind.

 

On 11/1/2021 at 2:39 PM, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

Then the next question, can you even bridge channels with that amp?

There are no physical markings saying you can bridge these channels.

 

Honestly, just buy that Clarion amp I posted up above. Cheaper than a car catching on fire.

hahaha fair enough, this is just how i recieved them from my uncle. unless hes changed the wiring, this is how he ran it in the 90s. very confused as i cant find anything about the amp on google at all. i will probably end up buying that amp to be honest. what should i be looking for besides on google to see if they can be bridged?

Amps probably stuffed, might be a blown capacitor or three. So weird with that wiring setup, I'm surprised it worked haha.

Just get a Class D or mono amp (rated higher than the RMS of the subs, check impedance), save yourself the hassle.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • I had 3 counts over the last couple of weeks once where i got stranded at a jdm paint yard booking in some work. 2nd time was moving the car into the drive way for the inspection and the 3rd was during the inspection for the co2 leak test. Fix: 1st, car off for a hour and half disconnected battery 10mins 4th try car started 2nd, 5th try started 3rd, countless time starting disconnected battery dude was under the hood listening to the starting sequence fuel pump ect.   
    • This. As for your options - I suggest remote mounting the Nissan sensor further away on a length of steel tube. That tube to have a loop in it to handle vibration, etc etc. You will need to either put a tee and a bleed fitting near the sensor, or crack the fitting at the sensor to bleed it full of oil when you first set it up, otherwise you won't get the line filled. But this is a small problem. Just needs enough access to get it done.
    • The time is always correct. Only the date is wrong. It currently thinks it is January 19. Tomorrow it will say it is January 20. The date and time are ( should be ! ) retrieved from the GPS navigation system.
    • Buy yourself a set of easy outs. See if they will get a good bite in and unthread it.   Very very lucky the whole sender didn't let go while on the track and cost you a motor!
    • Well GTSBoy, prepare yourself further. I did a track day with 1/2 a day prep on Friday, inpromptu. The good news is that I got home, and didn't drive the car into a wall. Everything seemed mostly okay. The car was even a little faster than it was last time. I also got to get some good datalog data too. I also noticed a tiny bit of knock which was (luckily?) recorded. All I know is the knock sensors got recalibrated.... and are notorious for false knock. So I don't know if they are too sensitive, not sensitive enough... or some other third option. But I reduced timing anyway. It wasn't every pull through the session either. Think along the lines of -1 degree of timing for say, three instances while at the top of 4th in a 20 minute all-hot-lap session. Unfortunately at the end of session 2... I noticed a little oil. I borrowed some jack stands and a jack and took a look under there, but as is often the case, messing around with it kinda half cleaned it up, it was not conclusive where it was coming from. I decided to give it another go and see how it was. The amount of oil was maybe one/two small drops. I did another 20 minute session and car went well, and I was just starting to get into it and not be terrified of driving on track. I pulled over and checked in the pits and saw this: This is where I called it, packed up and went home as I live ~20 min from the track with a VERY VERY CLOSE EYE on Oil Pressure on the way home. The volume wasn't much but you never know. I checked it today when I had my own space/tools/time to find out what was going on, wanted to clean it up, run the car and see if any of the fittings from around the oil filter were causing it. I have like.. 5 fittings there, so I suspected one was (hopefully?) the culprit. It became immediately apparent as soon as I looked around more closely. 795d266d-a034-4b8c-89c9-d83860f5d00a.mp4       This is the R34 GTT oil sender connected via an adapter to an oil cooler block I have installed which runs AN lines to my cooler (and back). There's also an oil temp sensor on top.  Just after that video, I attempted to unthread the sensor to see if it's loose/worn and it disintegrated in my hand. So yes. I am glad I noticed that oil because it would appear that complete and utter catastrophic engine failure was about 1 second of engine runtime away. I did try to drill the fitting out, and only succeeded in drilling the middle hole much larger and now there's a... smooth hole in there with what looks like a damn sleeve still incredibly tight in there. Not really sure how to proceed from here. My options: 1) Find someone who can remove the stuck fitting, and use a steel adapter so it won't fatigue? (Female BSPT for the R34 sender to 1/8NPT male - HARD to find). IF it isn't possible to remove - Buy a new block ($320) and have someone tap a new 1/8NPT in the top of it ($????) and hope the steel adapter works better. 2) Buy a new block and give up on the OEM pressure sender for the dash entirely, and use the supplied 1/8 NPT for the oil temp sender. Having the oil pressure read 0 in the dash with the warning lamp will give me a lot of anxiety driving around. I do have the actual GM sensor/sender working, but it needs OBD2 as a gauge. If I'm datalogging I don't actually have a readout of what the gauge is currently displaying. 3) Other? Find a new location for the OEM sender? Though I don't know of anywhere that will work. I also don't know if a steel adapter is actually functionally smart here. It's clearly leveraged itself through vibration of the motor and snapped in half. This doesn't seem like a setup a smart person would replicate given the weight of the OEM sender. Still pretty happy being lucky for once and seeing this at the absolute last moment before bye bye motor in a big way, even if an adapter is apparently 6 weeks+ delivery and I have no way to free the current stuck/potentially destroyed threads in the current oil block.
×
×
  • Create New...