Car audio question. (UPDATED)

[Chrishuff1]

I got a Denon 450 watt amp that I tried to hook up to my car today. I got power to it and everything (its only going to power my Pioneer 6x9's) Well everything seems to work ok until it hits bass notes and then it kinda clicks and cuts in and out. I have the volume turned all the way down on the amp as well as the bass. Is it possible that the power wire is too small and not providing enough power to the amp or what? The 6x9's are rated at 150 watts so I'd think there wouldn't be a problem. Any idea's? TIA! \


UPDATE: I just put some 12 gague wire on it and it works great; but I have a constant power flow to the amp, will this cause my battery to die over night? Should I disconnect the pwoer to the amp or what?

 

[mtbiac]

you did run a ground, right??

 

[Chrishuff1]

Yes. Its grounded, could it be a ground problem?

 

[rudeguy]

make sure its grounded to metal...no paint...if not, it sounds like one of your 6x9's are about to blow

 

[Chrishuff1]

Its grounded to metal, no paint and the speakers are only a few months old with hardly any use

 

[minendo]

Originally posted by: Chrishuff1
Its grounded to metal, no paint and the speakers are only a few months old with hardly any use

What size power wire did you use?

 

[Chrishuff1]

I don't know, its not very thick.....should I use something like 12 gague wire or...?

 

[tnitsuj]

Originally posted by: Chrishuff1
I got a Denon 450 watt amp that I tried to hook up to my car today. I got power to it and everything (its only going to power my Pioneer 6x9's) Well everything seems to work ok until it hits bass notes and then it kinda clicks and cuts in and out. I have the volume turned all the way down on the amp as well as the bass. Is it possible that the power wire is too small and not providing enough power to the amp or what? The 6x9's are rated at 150 watts so I'd think there wouldn't be a problem. Any idea's? TIA!

Denon makes care amps?

 

[minendo]

Originally posted by: Chrishuff1
I don't know, its not very thick.....should I use something like 12 gague wire or...?

8 guage. 4 guage or larger (smaller guage number) if running into a distribution block.

 

[rudeguy]

make sure you ground is as big as your power wire...otherwise it will short out like that

 

[Atrail]

Originally posted by: Chrishuff1
I don't know, its not very thick.....should I use something like 12 gague wire or...?

8 or 10 gauge is usually reccomended for the many watts...

 

[Chrishuff1]

lol, whats a distribution block?

Both the power and ground are the same size (just snipped a long wire in half and used the halfs) I'm thinking I have like a 2 gauge wire for my power and ground, assuming this is wya to small and would cause the problems I am having?

 

[tnitsuj]

Originally posted by: Chrishuff1
lol, whats a distribution block?

Both the power and ground are the same size (just snipped a long wire in half and used the halfs) I'm thinking I have like a 2 gauge wire for my power and ground, assuming this is way to small and would cause the problems I am having?

2 gauge should be plenty. I use 4 gauge for a 200 watt amp. Have you tried just hooking the amp to a 12v power supply and seing if it still cuts out? Does the thermal protection light come on?

 

[glen]

the smaller the gauge the thicker the wire
go buy soem 8 guage and re do your power and ground, and make sure you include a fuse in the power wire.

 

[TonyG]

Walmart as some car amp install kits for like $20, comes with some 4 and 8 guage wire, along with a distro block and fuse. The fuse is a must if you are running the amp directly off the battery, which you should be with that size of an amp.

 

[Chrishuff1]

I used to have this hooked up to a old AT power supply and i power 14 speakers in my room and it NEVER cut out at all, thats why this is so confusing. There isnt a thermal protection light......

 

[Chrishuff1]

BTW: There IS a fuse in line so i got that covered.

 

[tnitsuj]

Originally posted by: Chrishuff1
I used to have this hooked up to a old AT power supply and i power 14 speakers in my room and it NEVER cut out at all, thats why this is so confusing. There isnt a thermal protection light......

Are you sure this is a car amp?

 

[Chrishuff1]

Yes. Its fairly easy to hook up a car amp to a old AT power supply. Use the Yellow Wire as the power, the black directly next to that yellow as ground and run a wire from the remote terminal to either the power or the ground and it will work.

 

[tnitsuj]

Originally posted by: Chrishuff1
I got a Denon 450 watt amp that I tried to hook up to my car today. I got power to it and everything (its only going to power my Pioneer 6x9's) Well everything seems to work ok until it hits bass notes and then it kinda clicks and cuts in and out. I have the volume turned all the way down on the amp as well as the bass. Is it possible that the power wire is too small and not providing enough power to the amp or what? The 6x9's are rated at 150 watts so I'd think there wouldn't be a problem. Any idea's? TIA! \


UPDATE: I just put some 12 gague wire on it and it works great; but I have a constant power flow to the amp, will this cause my battery to die over night? Should I disconnect the pwoer to the amp or what?

Yes disconnect the power. Your turn on wire is still not working right. What are you tapping for turn on? The best thing to do is tap the turn on wire for the head unit, or perhaps the power antenna.

 

[Chrishuff1]

well i have a 93 jetta and there's pretty much power to everything all the time, if i dont turn the radio off it will stay on all night.....

 

[minendo]

Originally posted by: tnitsuj
2 gauge should be plenty. I use 4 gauge for a 200 watt amp. Have you tried just hooking the amp to a 12v power supply and seing if it still cuts out? Does the thermal protection light come on?

4 guage is awfully big to fit into the small connections on the amp. Of course this depends on the amp.

 

[TonyG]

As for the always on power problem, is the radio powered off of the fuse box that is located somewhere under your dash, or is it hooked directly to the battery also? It should be hooked up the fuse box which should cut off power when you turn the car off. The amp should be connected directly to the battery for the power wire and the power signal wire should be hooked into your fuse box also.

 

[Chrishuff1]

Whats the signal wire?

 

[Chrishuff1]

This is how I have it setup: Power to the power source, ground is grounded and for the remote wire or whatever its called I got it hooked up to the ground I believe. That way i don't need to run another wire back to the amp.