Hey how's it going everyone, I'm new here but I look forward to benefitting as well as contributing to the forum. I have a question regarding my subs/amp I have hooked up in my Blazer . . . I have an 02 Blazer LS ( 4 door, rear wheel drive ) and I hooked up two 10 ' Polk Audio Competitions that are being powered by a Kicker Amp and a Tsunami wiring kit. Ive had the system hooked up for roughly a month and a half and started experiencing some issues a few weeks ago. Sometimes the system will cut out when I have the volume and/or bass turned up high, and it seems to cut out for the same amount of time ( 2 - 3 seconds ) then it will turn back on. The part that has me confused is that I didn't have any problems with the system for the first month or so, and out of nowhere I started experiencing the problems described. I had the same system hooked up in my 01 Acura CL Type S for a few years without any issues, the only thing that has changed is the blue ( radio ) wire that runs from the deck to the amp . . . I left the original wire from the Tsunami wiring kit in the Acura and just bought a new one ( 12 or 16 gauge I believe ) from advanced auto parts. If anyone has any ideas of what the problem/problems could be and possible solutions I would really appreciate the help, thanks in advance !

 

Sounds like your amp is over heating and going into protection. The LED on the amp will often change colors when it goes into protection, so that would verify what's happening. If so, make sure that your amp has proper air circulation around the heat sink. If it has a built in fan, make sure the fan is working too.

Also check to see that the combined impedance of your subs (ohms) matches the rating of your amp. If the combined impedance of the subs is too low that will also cause the amp to go into protection, especially when you're pushing them hard.

The other thing to check is to make sure that the ground wire is attached to bare metal. The paint should have been scraped off before bolting the ground cable to the chassis of the vehicle. A bad ground can also cause the amp to heat up.

 

Thanks for the fast response . . . I drilled a hole in the compartment behind the rear left seat where the jack goes and fastened the ground with a screw that's a few sizes bigger in diameter than the hole. I removed the paint in and around the hole with a wire wheel, my ground wire isn't very long so my options were kind of limited. Do you think I should find a better spot for the ground ? If so where would be a good spot that's close to the rear trunk area ? That way I wired/ grounded the system worked for a good month or so with no issues, that's what has me so confused ! I just really want to get this figured out so I can enjoy my system and make sure I'm not going to do any damage to my truck or system.

 

As long as your ground is to part of the body, and not something bolted to the body you should be fine. If your ground is to the body and still tight then that's likely not your problem. I'd suspect one of the other two things I suggested in my first post. Especially look at the combined impedance of your subs vs. the rating of your amp. Remember that impedance changes dynamically as your sub plays which affects how it works. I had a 700W mono block amp that was rated for 2ohm that would play all day long with a pair of 10" Pioneer Premier subs at 2 ohms, but a single Kicker L7 Solobaric at 2 ohm put it into protection within a couple of minutes at moderate listening levels. Subs will change a bit as they break-in and the suspension loosens up. This may have affected the impedance. What impedance do you have the subs wired to deliver, and what's the rating for your amp?

 

I hate to admit it but Im not really sure, I bought the subs already installed in the box/enclosure from a friend who blew his motor. I bought the amp band new from Circuit City right before they went out of business . . . The amp is a Kicker ZX300.1. I never had any problems what so ever for the first 2 - 3 years when the system was installed in my Acura. Do you think I could be having this problem due to a lack of power ? Maybe the system is not getting enough power from the battery ? I know there may be a problem with my amp, but Im praying that's not the case !

 

Easiest way to test the impedance of the subs is to unhook the speaker wires from the amp and measure across the two wires with a multimeter.

It is possible that it's a lack of power, but the ZX300.1 isn't a super power hog. Do your lights dim noticeably when the bass hits? What gauge of wire did you use to supply the amp? Are your battery and alternator in good running order?

 

Not so much the inside lights but I have noticed the head lights dim a little bit when the bass hits. I havnt had any problems with the battery or alternator, although sometimes the music turns right off when I take my keys out of the ignition ( even with all the doors still closed ) but not always ! I'm going to test my battery next chance I get, and take it from there . . . I will post the results regardless of the outcome so hopefully this thread can/will help another member in the future. Thanks again for the help man !

 

Sorry it took soo long to get back to this thread, just thought I'd give an update on my problem/solution. I had a strong feeling that the problem was related to my subs/amp so I decided to get a new system as Ive been wanting to upgrade anyway . . . Sure enough once I installed the new subs and amp the problem was solved ! I will be hooking my old amp up to the new subs to verify if I blew the amp or the subs ( more likely than not it was the amp ). Thanks again for the help bro !

 

just came across your thread and honestly I would want to say the system should be fine the only time I have ever had problems like you where was when I was having charging /battery problems or over heating but that was on a 200 watt walmart amp that was powering subs that where more then it was made for lol but I fixed that with a couple computer fans. Figured I would post just incase you wanted to hold on to your other amp and subs.