Anyone know how to setup a sub?

[mob]

Ok guys I need some help from some audio people. This is my first time setting up an amp and sub. I have a 12" mtx thunder 4500, peak watts is 225, and I have a single mono 1 channel Visonik 300W amp. I am confident I wired everything up correctly. When I turn my radio on I have power going to the amp, the amp power light comes on and I have 14.6V going to the amp with the car running. The problem is I just have no output to the speakers. I cant get the subs to do anything. I have 0V at the speaker wires.

As far as the input goes on the amp, my head unit has 2 output jacks, but the amp is a mono with one input jack. I can just plug in one of the two jacks into the amp and it should work correct?

When i turn my radio on, on the amp the protection light comes on for a second and then switches to the power light, is that normal?

I am not sure what else to check or do.

 

[k4mjk]

make sure the amp is in bridged mode it should have a setting for it. also the speakers should be wired differently for mono what head unit do you have?

 

[mob]

How do I check if it is in bridged mode? It is a one channel so how can I bridge it? My head unit is a pioneer DEH1100MP. What do I have to do on my headunit to make it work?

Here is everything I have on my amp

Side one:
1. RCA input jack
2. RCA output jack
3. 24dB low pass variable control
4. Input Gain Level control
5/6. power and protection light

Side two:
1. Power
2. Ground
3. Remote
4. +/- output for speakers
5. fuse

and thats it. I am not sure what I would bridge since I only have one + and one - output for speakers. How do I need to wire it for mono? Also do I need to get a 2 to 1 adapter from the headunit to the amp for the input?

 

[5.0Droptop]

Ok here it goes.

1. you will need to run a power wire from the battery to the area where the amp will be. You will want to have an inline fuse of at least 30 amps at the battery. This connects to the 12v input

2. You will need to run RCA cords from the rear of the radio to the location of the amp. These will plug into the rca inputs on the amp.

3. You will need to run a wire for the remote turn on for the amp. Normally you would connect this to the power antenna lead off the radio or the remote lead off the radio. (normally a blue wire) this connects to the rem terminal on the amp.

4. you need to ground the amp to a good ground using no more than 18 inches of wire. This connects to the Grn terminal on the amp.

5. Since the amp is one channel you dont bridge it. If you have one sub you connect the + wire to the + output and - wire to the - output.

The gain lever adjustment controls how much power you put to the sub. I usually start off with it about 3/4 way up and see how it sounds. The 24dB low pass variable control is a crossover that can be adjusted to only allow bass and block the highs out. Experiment with it to get the sound you want.

I usually aim the sub toward the back of the car. It generally sounds better that way. Experiment with it to see whats best.

 

[1990Coupe]

Id get a 2/1 adapter for your RCA's. Run the left and right RCA into a splitter that feeds it to 1. Run that into the input of the Amp.

 

[mob]

5.0droptop thats exactly how I wired it up. I just cant get any output to the sub for some reason. I guess I will try the adapter to see if I can get some input to the amp, I hope thats the problem because if not I dont know what it is.

 

[5.0Droptop]

MAke sure you have the rca cord plugged into the rca input jack.

 

[Chrome_Rust]

In most audio applications you use the left channel for Mono. On some of the pioneer decks there is an option that you have to turn the subwoofer outputs on. read your manual or google the option to turn them on. Or try the rear outputs. make sure that you have it fading and balance set correctly ( I know you more then likely do, but I am just making sure)

 

[mob]

It is, I have the 2 rca jacks plugged into the headunit, but I can only plug in one of the input wires into the amp because it is a mono, should I still get something even if only one jack is plugged in or do I need the adpater?

 

[mob]

In most audio applications you use the left channel for Mono. On some of the pioneer decks there is an option that you have to turn the subwoofer outputs on. read your manual or google the option to turn them on. Or try the rear outputs. make sure that you have it fading and balance set correctly ( I know you more then likely do, but I am just making sure)

I've read the manual for the head unit like 3 times and it doesnt say anything about a sub. It just shows how to wire up an amp but no additional info. How do I know which is the left? I also have no idea what to set the fade and balance to, I just set everything to zero because I am not sure what to do with the settings on the head unit.

 

[5.0Droptop]

It is, I have the 2 rca jacks plugged into the headunit, but I can only plug in one of the input wires into the amp because it is a mono, should I still get something even if only one jack is plugged in or do I need the adpater?

Yes you should get signal from either wire. You do not need an adapter.

 

[5.0Droptop]

On some radios you have to go into the settings on the head unit to turn features on and off. My sony has actual sub output jacks and I have to go in and turn on that jack in the settings. Most rca cords are always on though. If the amp is not new I would suspect something is wrong with it or the sub could be bad.

 

[Makdaddymac]

does the sub have a safety mode, usaully a red light? i would put money on something to do with the amp and sub not matching up....what is the rms for the amp............i am not one to judge about brands cause to me an amp is an amp....but i personally will not buy sony or visonik amps ever again.........if the protection light is staying green/good while music is playing but you are not getting anything out of your subs, its purely wiring to the sub. find out if the protection light is suppose to stay on, or iff off is a sign of fail, all my subs just were green light good then if something was wrong the light would turn to red.......but maybe the visonik is different.....if it is going into safety mode asap, something is not wired properly. i have heard of improper sized gauged wire can cause the amp to kick off......

also;did you box this sub yourself, or is it factory boxed with the red and black connectors already done,,,if so, i would take it apart and make sure the wires are connected or in tack,

 

[mob]

I dont know what the RMS of the amp is. I guess I shoulda found that out before I bought it but I cant find the info anywhere. Can I just put 12v to the sub and see if it bumps to make sure it works? I think I am going to try an install my brothers california 600W amp on a sub and see it it works.

 

[mob]

ahhh I just found on the bo of the amp it says 70W @ 4 ohms. The sub is a 4ohm. So I am basically only getting 70W at the sub correct? Can I run this sub at a 2 or 1 ohm with a monoblock amp or is this not safe for the sub.

 

[Makdaddymac]

idk about straight to the sub, ive never done that...might burn something up???
yeah try your bros amp, since all the wires are there and you have any/another amp to test it could opnly take 5 mins.....
my bet is its the amp.......under powering a sub is just as bad as overpowering...but dont quote me on this...im also a newb to the audio world.
but i have done the basic setup (what you are doing) so many times with budget components its not funny my best setup was two pep boys 10's and a bazooka amp with a jvc head unit and all wires that i got from my buddy for 50.00 bucks,
and i can tell you something, if that mtx gets working/good power, you are going to love it...... one 12' in a hatchback =

 

[Makdaddymac]

i doubt that 70w is RMS you might be lucky to be getting 50 watts to the amp which is def not good....im guessing a mtx 12' would require at least 75-100rms and 250 max.....but i would think that some watts would still move the sub....im betting the amp is in protection mod.....switch out the amp...

 

[mob]

Well the amp has a protection light and it isnt coming on. When I turn the radio on it comes on for a second then turns to power. So if this amp is a 300W amp how do I get 300W out of it, do I have to run it at 1 ohm? I am not sure if this sub is a svc or dvc but if it is a DVC can I run it at 2 ohms safely?

What if I bridge my bros amp and am running 600W to the sub, is that safe? Should I just turn the gain down all the way?

 

[Makdaddymac]

that amp is not 300w rms capable,.. RMS watts is what matters.....kind if like crank vs wheel horsepower...try another amp bridged and yes turn the gain down,,,,just see if you get something to the sub,,,,then mess with the gain.....

 

[mob]

Man thats bs, I wish I would have known about the rms stuff a week ago before I bought this useless amp. Lesson learned, thanks for the help guys, I am just going to use my bros amp until he wants it back and I will buy a new one.