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Badly need help. Why are my subs not hitting as hard??

25K views 15 replies 7 participants last post by  Jefftc14 
#1 ·
Hey everyone I have been really disappointed recently with what has been happening with my sound system. I have <B>2 JL W3V3 Subs powered by a Rockford Fostgate 1000 amp.</B> I have the harmon kardon with stock headunit.

<b>My subs haven't been hitting half as hard as they did 3 months ago.</B> Whats going on??! They used to be ear bleedingly loud and too much to handle at full power and now they are very weak even at a top setting from my punch button. Does anybody know what this could be??



Im very beginner to sound systems and really would appreciate any help. <b>Thanks guys</B>
 
#10 ·
its probably the amp... (and just to be sure, u can test the subs by pushing them in gently and if they make a scratching sound then its bad, or once they are out the box if u even see the wires are fried then, guess what, the sub is fried lol. also u can take a small battery like a 9v or something and take 2 pieces of wire and connect the ends of the sub to the battery but leave one of the wires off, and then for just a split second place the wire on to complete a current and if the sub makes a pop noise or it moves then its still good.... if it doesn't do anything then either ur battery is dead or your sub is blown)

ok now to troubleshoot the amp... I'd make sure all of your connections are correct and connected REALLY WELL!! no half-assing it... u might as well just re-do them honestly... that's what I've always had to do.. and make sure the turn on wire to the amp is connected properly. most likely what is happening is the rca signal is still being sent from the head units built in weak amp to the subs and that's why u still hear sound, just not much of it... u can also take the amp somewhere to have them test it. but it could also be your head unit since its stock... I'd check your connections on that too of course. anyway I hope this helps.. feel free to ask questions and I'm sorry if this is confusing.
 
#15 ·
if its brand new, then no it shouldn't just die. I've owned rockford fosgate amps in the past and I love them and they are normally pretty reliable.. unless u peaked all the eq levels and turned the sound up to the point u fried it or something...:lmao: but if u were stressing the amp by having the levels too high u would notice a distortion in the sound and a change in the quality of the sound tho.. but if u really can't figure it out u can always take the amp to best buy or to a local sound shop or something and they can test the amp for free or for a small fee... be careful doing that tho! I once had a place charge me 40 bucks to check my subs out and they couldn't figure it out, I then went home and in literally 5 minutes I discovered the problem....:facepalm:

I'll try to help u best I can... does the amp even turn on?? if the amp doesn't turn on at all (the light on the amp doesn't even come on) then there are 4 things u need to check... the + cable connections on BOTH ends of the wire connected to the amp, and the - cable connections on BOTH ends of that wire... MAKE SURE THE NEGATIVE WIRE IS GROUNDED CORRECTLY!!!! (sry for caps but that is really important!) then check the remote turn on wire running to the amp, it should be a really thin/small wire and it is sometimes connected to the rca cables running to the amp, they are all different depending on what cables you used... check both ends of that wire especially if the amp isn't turning on!!!! after that make sure both ends of the rca's are connected and pushed in all the way..

what I have had happen in the past when the same thing happened to me, is my remote turn on wire (that little one) came loose or it got worn out and started grounding itself on something along its way to the amp and so the signal is lost, meaning the amp won't even turn on and your subs are only getting the extremely weak signal from ur stock head unit..
 
#16 ·
o and I just read your post about the bolt connection... and I don't really get what u mean but that just sounds like FAIL. I say this because when it comes to car audio, especially if u have loud a$$ subs, all of your connections have to be absolutely perfect and tight!!! those subs can rattle all those bad connections loose if they are half a$$ed, and result in your problem u have now.. just take the time to do it properly the first time and u won't have to keep tearing your car apart and having to ride around without your precious subs!! hahaha trust me bro, I've been there and made those mistakes... take the time to do it right!!!
 
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