Just installed my subwoofer today, and I notice my lights dim a LOT when the bass hits. I also feel a hesitation in the throttle when the bass hits. It's like the car stutters. I assume this is because the voltage drop is messing with sensors and what-not.
I have never had a vehicle dim this much!
I will be ordering some more 1/0 awg wiring so I can do the "big 3". However, I'm wondering if a poorly soldered connector or a bad ground can cause this issue? Are there any ways to test this? Voltage with the car running is a solid 14.3V when measured at the amp (no music playing).
Some background info on my setup:
2011 Altima Coupe S 2.5L
Stock electrical system, including battery.
150A ANL Fuse
KnuKonceptz KCA 1/0 AWG power wire (run is ~17 feet)
KnuKonceptz KCA 1/0 AWG ground wire (run is ~5 feet)
Pioneer AVH_P3400BH head unit
Polk Audio DB651 speakers (doors)
Polk Audio DB651S speakers (rear deck)
Alpine MRX-M110 monoblock 1000W RMS @ 2ohm
Image Dynamics IDMAX10v3-D4
Custom enclosure, 3/4" MDF, 1.0 Cu.Ft. total displacement, not including driver.
you might want to double check your grounds, but it looks as though you have the right gauge power & ground wire. I'm thinking maybe you're clipping the signal since the head unit has 2v pre amp outputs so you may have cranked up the gain on the amp unintentionally.
I have almost the same exact setup as you other than me having a HF 2 channel amp to power my polk db 6501 comps and running a 1200.1D mono amp, yet I have not done the big 3 and don't have any dimming. I have a gold duralast battery so that seems good enough as I was thinking of switching it out for a Kinetik HC1800 battery but I figure I'd switch to that battery if I were running above 2k rms watts.
You might want to switch to a gold duralast battery and do the Big 3. Also maybe you want to check to see if the ground wire from the head unit is secure on a better bolt.
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2009 2.5s with Takeda sri, Stillen front strut brace, 6k HIDs, black matrix depo tails, glossy black roof vinyl, LED drls.
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future mods: lowering springs, Racingline or Stillen rear sway bar, 4 channel amp, catback exhaust, better rims
The salesman told me the 3400bh had 4V preouts. If they're only 2V then that makes me mad.
I checked the settings and the dimmer got a lot better when I turned the bass boost from +3db to 0. Unfortunately, the sub isn't very loud now. I think 1000 watts should be much louder!
I would try not setting the bass boost so high or using it all. Some audio aficionados don't even use the bass boost because it's simulated bass and if you crank it too high, you can also risk burning the coil of the sub. Raising the amp gain is probably what is causing you to clip and have dimming. The exact way is to use a digital multimeter, but I usually just use my ear.
The poor man's way is to set your head unit to about 3/4 or 75% loud, set your amp gain to 0, then slowly raise the gain until you can hear distortion from the sub, then slightly back down the knob. This way when you raise the volume on the head unit, the signal won't clip to the amp if the gain is the same as the head unit volume setting.
Also - def get rid of bass boost AND make sure to check your amp's SUBSONIC filter/switch. It needs to be on. What it does (in short) is "blocks" very low frequencies you can not hear anyways thus saving a lot of power draw which in it's turn prevents a lot of possible dimming.
I know I had dimming when I decided to try what it's like with that filter "off" so it's def a very likely cause.
On my amp there is no on/off for the subsonic filter -- it's just a potentiometer that goes from about 5 to 40 (I assume the scale is hertz). Currently I have it on 5. I thought I should have it on the lowest setting because my box is sealed. I though subsonic was more for ported boxes? If that assumption is incorrect, what setting do you recommend?
Your subfilter is from 5 to 30Hz according to info on Crutchfield.
Set your subsonic on 30Hz and LP filter on 80Hz (btw where is your LP at right now?)
with above setting (given that your gain is set right and bass boost is at 0) you should hear nice and clean bass. It will NOT be as loud and will not shake the car up as much as it does now but it's actually a good thing lol.
As for subsonic/sealed thing - yes, you need subsonic with ported boxes to prevent possible damage to your sub. While at it also saves a lot of power draw since amp now isnt required to "work" power-hungry lower frequencies (5-20-30Hz).
With sealed boxed box itself "blocks" off those low frequencies but power draw is still there. By using subsonic filter you help your amp as it doesn't need to push real hard to produce something your box blocks anyways (AND you can;'t hear anyways as well lol). so now your amp doesn't work as hard, doesn't draw as much power, doesnt get as hot and you have a lot less dimming if any.
Try LP at 80, SUBSONIC at 30 and bass boost at 0 and report back
Your subfilter is from 5 to 30Hz according to info on Crutchfield.
Set your subsonic on 30Hz and LP filter on 80Hz (btw where is your LP at right now?)
with above setting (given that your gain is set right and bass boost is at 0) you should hear nice and clean bass. It will NOT be as loud and will not shake the car up as much as it does now but it's actually a good thing lol.
As for subsonic/sealed thing - yes, you need subsonic with ported boxes to prevent possible damage to your sub. While at it also saves a lot of power draw since amp now isnt required to "work" power-hungry lower frequencies (5-20-30Hz).
With sealed boxed box itself "blocks" off those low frequencies but power draw is still there. By using subsonic filter you help your amp as it doesn't need to push real hard to produce something your box blocks anyways (AND you can;'t hear anyways as well lol). so now your amp doesn't work as hard, doesn't draw as much power, doesnt get as hot and you have a lot less dimming if any.
Try LP at 80, SUBSONIC at 30 and bass boost at 0 and report back
My LP on the amp was set to 400 (highest setting) and my head unit was set to 63Hz. My though process here was that I wanted to be able to adjust it from the head unit, and if the head unit was dropping off at the same point or lower than the amp, then the amp setting was redundant. I set both to 80 Hz now, just to see if that changes anything.
I adjusted the subsonic filter to 30Hz. I'll have to wait until this evening to run the headlights and A/C to see what it's like under full load, but the dimming seems to be reduced. However, I do still observe SOME dimming when I crank the volume. I'll play with the gains some more.
Unfortunately these changes have also dropped the bass below my desired threshold. I guess I expected a lot more from a well-regarded $350+ subwoofer and 1000 watts. My last car had a JL 13W1 being pushed by a 250 watt amp and it was louder. You could feel that in your chest, and my girlfriend's hair would move. I know a 10" IDMAX sub has significantly less surface area, but I (wrongly) assumed that quadrupling the power would make up for it.
Now I wonder what ungodly systems others must be running to effect the annoying "boom boom" that I hear from 2 blocks away. How do their alternators even handle it?? Mine can't even handle a single 10" sub producing any appreciable bass.
Your subfilter is from 5 to 30Hz according to info on Crutchfield.
Set your subsonic on 30Hz and LP filter on 80Hz (btw where is your LP at right now?)
with above setting (given that your gain is set right and bass boost is at 0) you should hear nice and clean bass. It will NOT be as loud and will not shake the car up as much as it does now but it's actually a good thing lol.
As for subsonic/sealed thing - yes, you need subsonic with ported boxes to prevent possible damage to your sub. While at it also saves a lot of power draw since amp now isnt required to "work" power-hungry lower frequencies (5-20-30Hz).
With sealed boxed box itself "blocks" off those low frequencies but power draw is still there. By using subsonic filter you help your amp as it doesn't need to push real hard to produce something your box blocks anyways (AND you can;'t hear anyways as well lol). so now your amp doesn't work as hard, doesn't draw as much power, doesnt get as hot and you have a lot less dimming if any.
Try LP at 80, SUBSONIC at 30 and bass boost at 0 and report back
My LP on the amp was set to 400 (highest setting) and my head unit was set to 63Hz. My though process here was that I wanted to be able to adjust it from the head unit, and if the head unit was dropping off at the same point or lower than the amp, then the amp setting was redundant. I set both to 80 Hz now, just to see if that changes anything.
I adjusted the subsonic filter to 30Hz. I'll have to wait until this evening to run the headlights and A/C to see what it's like under full load, but the dimming seems to be reduced. However, I do still observe SOME dimming when I crank the volume. I'll play with the gains some more.
Unfortunately these changes have also dropped the bass below my desired threshold. I guess I expected a lot more from a well-regarded $350+ subwoofer and 1000 watts. My last car had a JL 13W1 being pushed by a 250 watt amp and it was louder. You could feel that in your chest, and my girlfriend's hair would move. I know a 10" IDMAX sub has significantly less surface area, but I (wrongly) assumed that quadrupling the power would make up for it.
Now I wonder what ungodly systems others must be running to effect the annoying "boom boom" that I hear from 2 blocks away. How do their alternators even handle it?? Mine can't even handle a single 10" sub producing any appreciable bass.
My LP on the amp was set to 400 (highest setting) and my head unit was set to 63Hz. My though process here was that I wanted to be able to adjust it from the head unit, and if the head unit was dropping off at the same point or lower than the amp, then the amp setting was redundant. I set both to 80 Hz now, just to see if that changes anything.
I adjusted the subsonic filter to 30Hz. I'll have to wait until this evening to run the headlights and A/C to see what it's like under full load, but the dimming seems to be reduced. However, I do still observe SOME dimming when I crank the volume. I'll play with the gains some more.
Unfortunately these changes have also dropped the bass below my desired threshold. I guess I expected a lot more from a well-regarded $350+ subwoofer and 1000 watts. My last car had a JL 13W1 being pushed by a 250 watt amp and it was louder. You could feel that in your chest, and my girlfriend's hair would move. I know a 10" IDMAX sub has significantly less surface area, but I (wrongly) assumed that quadrupling the power would make up for it.
Now I wonder what ungodly systems others must be running to effect the annoying "boom boom" that I hear from 2 blocks away. How do their alternators even handle it?? Mine can't even handle a single 10" sub producing any appreciable bass.
as vital posted earlier, the subsonic filter is always on...it has to be because it prevents the sub from producing frequencies that it wasn't designed to do at the factory. The LP cuts off any frequencies above that setting. Setting it to 400 is not recommended but if it sounds ok to you, then go ahead. Like Vital posted again, first start at 80hz...you can try going up to about 100 or 120hz, but if you have a 2 or 4 channel amp powering speakers, the midbass should be overlapped... Like set the HP filter on the 2 or 4 channel amp to about 50-60hz depending on the specs of your speakers, perhaps set the mono amp to about 70-80.
Loudness of the bass depends on what kind of box the sub sits in such as sealed or vented. With vented, the bass will be louder but not necessarily deep. You want something in between or in my case, I love deeper & louder bass!! My bass is around the low 30's in a 2.1 cf vented box tuned at 32hz...my Lanzar Opti1232d sub plays nice low tones!!
Those other guys might be running a Kinetik battery as their starter battery or even 2nd battery and maybe a much more powerful amp like 2k+..probably dual subs and in a much bigger vented box...I'm assuming maybe the inside volume is at least 2.5 cf.
You might also want to consider sound deadening like Raamat or Dynamat or Second Skin
I'd say your last resort is a high output alt. After you do the big 3, if you still have some dimming, consider getting a Kinetik or Shuriken as your starter battery. Those batteries have a lot more cranking amps and amperage hours than the gold duralast from autozone.
I think the kinetik HC1400 would be good enough unless you decide to scrap that amp and go with a 1500 or 2k rms mono amp!
1. did you check your ground?? That is still very possible cause here.
2. How's dimming with subsonic at 30?
3. I didnt know you had your filter on a headunint set to 63 so yes, no need to set it on amp as well. You can keep it on 400 as long as headunit does LP. 63 is ideal for sound quality but in your case I'd even move it to 80 since you want to be louder. Def keep your subsonic thou.
AND MOST IMPORTANT 4:
If being loud from 2 blocks is what you want you made 2 big mistakes from the get-go - choice of subwoofer and enclosure.
IDs are awesome sound quality subs. They produce very accurate bass and sound awesome in sealed enclosures. Key words here are "sound quality". Apparently you are looking for SPL (sound pressure level aka "loudness"). In this case you should have went with 2 12'' subs like Sundown, DC, DD (Digital Designs).... in a vented enclosure... or just about any other sub in vented enclosure.
What unholy systems other people you hear from 2 blocks away have?? Believe it or not most of the time it's a pair of some cheap 12'' subs in a vented enclosure and a capacitor. It is pretty easy to be loud as long as you got the right equipment for the job.
BTW capacitor will take care of your dimming but use that option ONLY as a last resort. After you check your ground and play around with subsonic filter and gains. Capacitor doesn't cure the issue, it only covers it up.
btw a quick look at this car audio forum's f/s section brings up perfect equipment solution. I don't even know how many watts it is rated at but I am 100% sure it'll be louder then your ID in sealed. For $80 together with enclosure it's a no-brainer as long as loudness is what you are after and you have a monoblock to match as this sub is 4 Ohm single voice coil. Too bad you are not in Florida
IDMax's also do well in vented so that's a very easy way to add more "wooop" to your bass - get a vented enclosure instead of sealed. One VERY important thing here is to have it built to specs, don't just buy one from Best Buy/Walmart. Pay a shop to built the right size vented box.
Which now leads me to this - was your current sealed box built right? You mentioned it's custom built and is 1.0 cu ft but I don't know what IDMaxs like as far as size of the box hence why i'm asking. Did you actually check sub's manual for the recomended enclosure specs?
1. did you check your ground?? That is still very possible cause here.
I checked with a ohm meter and it's not measuring any meaningful resistance. But I don't know that this is a very useful test... My first ground location also measured no resistance but the amp was entering protect mode and the voltage dropped at the amp to only 9V. Moved the ground and now I get a solid 14.4V at the amp and it doesn't enter protect.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vital
2. How's dimming with subsonic at 30?
Dimming is definitely reduced. It still dims a little, but it's noticeably improved. I'm hoping the big-3 will help with that. I'm considering a new battery. I had Les Schwab test my stock battery and they said it tested good and the CCA rating is pretty high, compared to other cars. But perhaps I still need something bigger.
I find it funny that Alpine advertises this amp as being extremely efficient. That has not been my experience.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vital
3. I didnt know you had your filter on a headunint set to 63 so yes, no need to set it on amp as well. You can keep it on 400 as long as headunit does LP. 63 is ideal for sound quality but in your case I'd even move it to 80 since you want to be louder. Def keep your subsonic thou.
Yea, I thought only one was needed. I like using the HU to control it so I can tweak it much easier. Once it's dialed in, however, it won't matter. I do think it sounds best when at 63 Hz.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vital
AND MOST IMPORTANT 4:
If being loud from 2 blocks is what you want you made 2 big mistakes from the get-go - choice of subwoofer and enclosure.
I don't want to be heard from 2 blocks away. Actually I don't want to be heard at all. I don't like disturbing my neighbors. I always turn my radio down when I get to residential sections. But I do have a highway commute every day, and I don't mind cranking it when I'm going 70mph. I guess I was just expecting something a bit louder than what I have now. Don't get me wrong, it actually sounds quite good... but I think my friends will not realize that I got a subwoofer, lol.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vital
IDs are awesome sound quality subs. They produce very accurate bass and sound awesome in sealed enclosures. Key words here are "sound quality". Apparently you are looking for SPL (sound pressure level aka "loudness"). In this case you should have went with 2 12'' subs like Sundown, DC, DD (Digital Designs).... in a vented enclosure... or just about any other sub in vented enclosure.
I was under the impression (apparently this was wrong of me) that the IDMAX was one of those subs that did both SQ and SPL well. Everyone told me that a TypeR would have been very loud, but then people also agreed that the IDMAX was going to be even better.
I have an Altima Coupe. In case you haven't seen one in-person, I'll tell you that the trunk is comically small. I mean blue-pill small! I don't think you could fit two 12" subwoofers in there without ripping out the floor. My box rubs the top of the trunk and the box is 12" tall. I could have fit two 10" subwoofers, but then I'd have nowhere to put my stuff. I know I'm a difficult guy to satisfy... But I really want bass and practicality.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vital
What unholy systems other people you hear from 2 blocks away have?? Believe it or not most of the time it's a pair of some cheap 12'' subs in a vented enclosure and a capacitor. It is pretty easy to be loud as long as you got the right equipment for the job.
I'm sure that you are correct. I don't think these systems sound good -- they're just loud.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vital
BTW capacitor will take care of your dimming but use that option ONLY as a last resort. After you check your ground and play around with subsonic filter and gains. Capacitor doesn't cure the issue, it only covers it up.
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