[topgunz1]

I think something broke in my audio system this morning, I was driving along and had it barely playing, nothing with heavy bass either, when it stopped hitting and just made a low pitced humming constantly. I switched the sub to off on my headunit and it still made the noise. When I got to school and parked I looked it over, the sub looked fine and all the connections were good. Any ideas why it would still be humming even if the sub is switced to off? I really hope it isnt anything serious, cause I definately cannot afford a new sub or an amp.

sub is a kicker solobaric L5 15
amp is an ooold legacy (yeah I know, shut up it gets the job done and I'm poor, like I mentioned)

 

[LostRacer]

Grounding out somewhere? :shrug: check your rca cables to make sure they're in all the way.

 

[Excelcier]

Even though the connections at your amp are good doesn't mean they are good at the other end. Check the other ends to make sure your ground / power wires are good and well connected. Humming usually occurs when there is a voltage potential difference from the RCA ground points to your amp ground point. Make sure the RCA cables are snug coming out of the radio or any interconnects along the way. I always reccomend taping over the connections to keep them secure as vibration can cause RCA's to come loose.

 

[tad]

yeah.. definitely check the rca's because it is what gives the amps the signal (basically tells the sub to hit how hard and at what frequency)
it is however odd that you turned it off from your head unit and the sub continued..
have you ever turned it off on your deck before and the sub actually did shut off?
that's important to know
if it all worked just fine before, then it must be a loose connection
go over every single wire and see how it looks
hope you get it figured out.. i can't imagine how annoying that would be
something else i'd try is to just unplug the rca's from the amp
see if that stops it
good luck

 

[topgunz1]

yeah it used to cut off if I switched the sub to off, so I know it should work lol. I'll check all the cables tonight, I am at work right now and the car is way out on the edge of campus.
Yes its very aggravating, I just turned it all off and the only audio I had was the sweet sounds of duratec, courtesy of SCA, K&N and SVT.

Thanks for the suggestions guys, keep 'em coming if you have other ideas

 

[topgunz1]

UPDATE:
I got to the car this afternoon and everything worked...I checked the RCA's anyway and unplugged them and replugged, it worked but it didnt sound like it was hitting right, not near like it usually does. Then I had to brake quickly before I missed my turn and when I did the sound from the sub changed. This leads me to think that a wire is loose SOMEWHERE...I wont have time to check it out until sunday or so, since I have school and then I am off to new orleans for bit of mardi gras...so I guess no bass for me...I turned the high pass filter off on my radio, regular speaker bass SUCKS

 

[99CouGSweetRide]

check the wires going to your speakers (not subs, the speakers)

Mike

 

[topgunz1]

ok I finally got it fixed, the sub was fine and all wiring was fine, except the power wire, which had a bit of the insulation melted or something toward the end of it, must not have been getting the proper voltage or something, I dunno... we cut it and re-stripped and its fine now.

 

[mercurycougar]

Had the same problem happen to me. Most of the time it is the ground. Where is your amp grounded at?

 

[EternalOne]

If the wire is melted you have the predecessor to a larger problem on your hands. Either one of two things is probably happening, like mercurycougar said, you could have a bad ground. Make sure its large enough (at least as big as the sum of your amp wires), and that where its grounded that you stripped any and all paint from that area. Also make sure that your power wire is large enough to handle the amperage you are drawing towards the amp.

E1

 

[topgunz1]

it is an 8 gauge power and ground, grounded to the floor of the trunk by the spare tire and we sanded the paint off first. it has started cutting in and out again, no humming or total loss of bass yet. I think my amp might be going insane, I dont know. I checked as much of the wire as I could and it all looked good. It's been in the car for almost a year now, with the solobaric in since july

 

[mercurycougar]

What RMS does the amp run at? If it is above 300 you should definitely upgrade to 4 gauge wire. Sometimes underpowering amps can cause them to shut off for brief periods of time.

 

[01blkcat]

I would stop using the system until I figured out what the problem is (or really was) because melting isn't normal... I would pull up the area that the power wire travels and make sure it's not getting pinched or making slight contact with the body anywhere.

 

[Kooter]

could be ur amp..mine made some F'ed up noises and made the subs sound really weird