• Welcome to the Contour Enthusiasts Group, the best resource for the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique.

    You can register to join the community.

Knowledgable audiophiles give input please

Yeah, I took some pics and I am about to upload them to photobucket and post em up on here. I have the RCAs and the remote wire running down the passenger side and the power running down the driver side. This isn't my first install...but it is my first install in my own vehicle and the first one that hasn't worked...haha...which sucks. It is either a bad amp or something with voltage distribution/regulation/registration/deliberation in the vehicle's electrical system. Ha.. Umm...yeah, so I will got on dem photopictorials.
 
Hookup at battery:

DSC01785.jpg


Car off with sub and amp working. Notice the blue light:

DSC01789.jpg


Picture of the ground connection. Yes, it is connected to bare metal:

DSC01786.jpg


Wire connections on rear of amp:

DSC01793.jpg


Turned the car on and what do ya know...the red light of domination:

DSC01795.jpg


I know you can't read what it says next to the red light in the pic but it says 'Protection.' I am thinking that the amp isn't getting enough electricity...for whatever reason.
 
But yeah...any of you TC guys, if I don't have this figured out by the next time we get together, could someone bring an extra amp along that I can borrow for ten minutes? That'd be great... Or you know, if anyone just wants to meet up sometime...haha.
 
Sprebound said:
But yeah...any of you TC guys, if I don't have this figured out by the next time we get together, could someone bring an extra amp along that I can borrow for ten minutes? That'd be great... Or you know, if anyone just wants to meet up sometime...haha.
Click to expand...

I've officially sold all of my amps... but I'd still be up for looking at it sometime.

Edit: I'd like to see what your remote wire is doing. You should check that with the multimeter with both car off and car on to see if there's any difference. Do it at the connection on the amp and use the ground on the amp ;) That should eliminate some possibilities.
 
Last edited:
First off, why don't you try grounding your amp to bare metal and not a bolt on the bottom of the rear shelf. Try grounding it to the metal under the carpet, just be careful not to drill or screw into your gas tank or anything else like electrical, etc, etc. Be sure to scrape away paint so your ground is touching bare metal...

What voltage read outs do you get at the amp when the car is off, and when it is on?

Try this for me, unhook your RCA's and then turn your car on and off and see if the amp still "pops"..... It may be your RCA's if it doesn't pop when they are disconnected. Otherwise you may have to try a relay to turn on your sub.
 
The grounds are bolted to bare metal. I found a hole on the rear deck, dremeled off the paint and bolted the ground to it.

12.29v with the car off and sub/amp off
12.00v with the car off and sub/amp on
14.36v with the car on and sub/amp on

And for whatever reason...the sub isn't popping anymore...and I don't know why, but it only did it yesterday. It has yet to backfire once today.
 
Sprebound said:
The grounds are bolted to bare metal. I found a hole on the rear deck, dremeled off the paint and bolted the ground to it.

12.29v with the car off and sub/amp off
12.00v with the car off and sub/amp on
14.36v with the car on and sub/amp on

And for whatever reason...the sub isn't popping anymore...and I don't know why, but it only did it yesterday. It has yet to backfire once today.
Click to expand...

Have you tried it while using some of your accessories? Try turning the AC on high and the headlights on etc.

That should drop your voltage down some with the car running :shrug: the 14.36 might be a little high but that shouldn't really cause problems.
 
Redlineracer12 said:
Have you tried it while using some of your accessories? Try turning the AC on high and the headlights on etc.

That should drop your voltage down some with the car running :shrug: the 14.36 might be a little high but that shouldn't really cause problems.
Click to expand...

Perfectly normal...

See section on Lead-Acid batteries towards the bottom....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_battery

Sprebound, I'm just saying try a different grounding area, a bad ground can cause an amp to overheat or give a protect light as well. Just a thought, I just think that the grounding between the rear shelf and the (-) battery terminal is more welded sections than if it was grounded on the bottom of the trunk.... but I could be wrong..... Another thought occurred to me as well... maybe it's not the amp wiring in back, but possibly the ground at the battery? I've heard of people adding extra 4 awg grounds from the battery to the body, but that was on a 4-channel amp install.... so shouldn't really apply to this situation.... I guess you're best bet is to take the amp somewhere and test it, and see if it's just the amp acting up and not any of the wiring you did.... If you really want to determine a good ground, you can hook your multimeter up to (-) battery terminal and run your probe back to your trunk, if your resistance is getting above about .02 ohms then you should choose a new ground.... I get .02 usually when my multimeter is set on continuity, I think I get .2 when it's set to 200 ohms.... IIRC
 
Last edited:
Wow...I turned the AC on max, turned on the lights and fogs and then turned the car on. The idle went low, around 500rpm, and the sub came on. Then the car adjusted itself by raising the rpms and it turned off again. SO...that confirms that the amp is getting too much voltage and it won't run when it does so. Is there a way to tone down the amount of voltage the amp gets?
 
Sprebound said:
Wow...I turned the AC on max, turned on the lights and fogs and then turned the car on. The idle went low, around 500rpm, and the sub came on. Then the car adjusted itself by raising the rpms and it turned off again. SO...that confirms that the amp is getting too much voltage and it won't run when it does so. Is there a way to tone down the amount of voltage the amp gets?
Click to expand...

turn down the gain... Still sounds to me like a grounding issue or an internal amp issue... Pretty sure my cousins did that and any strain you put on it, it would cut out... then again... his amp was in a roll over from his driving....
 
Yeah...I wouldn't be surprised if it is the amp to be honest. I bought it used from ViggenPower here on the forums and it was beat up when I got it. The right channel wire screws are stripped out and I am forced to use the left channel. Oh well...you get what you pay for I reckon. So I guess this means I need to get a new amp. Any suggestions? My sub is dvc and peaks at 800w and the RMS is 350w. I have been looking at the Pioneer GM-7200...I can find em on ebay for about $80 shipped. Any other suggestions...I don't really have a lot of monies right now so the cheaper the better.
 
Well you can wire your woofer to 1ohm or 4ohms... If you can find a 1ohm stable amp I'd go for it, otherwise 4 ohm is a pretty common bridged output load for most amps, more I see have a 2ohm or higher load they will accept at bridged output.... I really don't know of any really cheap amps off the top of my head that would fit you... I could suggest all day... but they will probably be out of range you want to spend...

1_2ohmDVC_1ohm.gif

1_2ohmDVC_4ohm.gif


Outputs 220W x 1 @ 4ohms or 400W x 1 @ 2ohms
U.S. $230.00
http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/products/product.php?model=MRP-M450

P1000-1bd
1000 Watt Class-bd Mono Amplifier
250W x 1 @ 4-Ohms RMS
500W x 1 @ 2-Ohms RMS
1000W x 1 @ 1-Ohm RMS
MSRP $649.99
P1000-1bd_1_m.jpg


P400-2
400 Watt 2-Channel Amplifier
100W x 2 @ 4-Ohms RMS
200W x 2 @ 2-Ohms RMS
400W x 1 @ 4-Ohms bridged RMS
MSRP $349.99
P400-2_1_m.jpg


P500-2
500 Watt 2-Channel Amplifier
125W x 2 @ 4-Ohms RMS
250W x 2 @ 2-Ohms RMS
500W x 1 @ 4-Ohms bridged RMS
MSRP $449.99
P500-2_1_m.jpg


http://ampguts.realmofexcursion.com/Hifonics_Zeus_ZX7500/

http://ampguts.realmofexcursion.com/Hifonics_Zeus_ZX1000/

etc
etc
etc
etc.....
 
KyleQ said:
On a side note -> where is a good place to ground an amp or two in the trunk area of our cars?
Click to expand...

You can pull up the carpet and use the metal floor. It works nicely but takes tools and effort and the risk of drilling your gas tank if you are dumb, haha. I'm lazy and just used on of the Torx bits holding in my trunk latch. It works like a charm :shrug:
 
zorrex said:
You can pull up the carpet and use the metal floor. It works nicely but takes tools and effort and the risk of drilling your gas tank if you are dumb, haha. I'm lazy and just used on of the Torx bits holding in my trunk latch. It works like a charm :shrug:
Click to expand...

Metal floor FTW

Bolts and other body screws FTL

Talk to any Real car audio installer... I guarantee they scrape off the paint on the metal and screw to it.... Unless they're lazy.... It's not that hard to look under the car and double if not triple check before you drill to make sure you're not drilling into important things....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top