# Sub barely moving.



## v2. (Oct 19, 2007)

Ok, I've got everything hooked up correctly...the way I had it connected previously when I had my sub connected, but the sub is barely moving. What can cause the sub to barely move? Bad ground?
What's a good place to ground to?


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## twelvevolt (Oct 29, 2003)

*Re: Sub barely moving. (v2.)*


_Quote, originally posted by *v2.* »_Ok, I've got everything hooked up correctly...


ok, so describe what's going where. what amp and sub are you using? what kind of box?


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## v2. (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: Sub barely moving. (1sik95jetta)*

900 watt Fosgate amp and I've connected 2 different subs (Audiobahn and Fosgate) and get the same thing...little movement. Slot vented box.


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## twelvevolt (Oct 29, 2003)

*Re: Sub barely moving. (1sik95jetta)*

still need to know what's connected where.


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## v2. (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: Sub barely moving. (1sik95jetta)*


_Quote, originally posted by *1sik95jetta* »_still need to know what's connected where. 

Ok...normal amp hook up. RCA's from the back of the HU, grounded to the car, power from the battery, remote wire coming from the fuse box...


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## pwnt by pat (Oct 21, 2005)

*Re: Sub barely moving. (v2.)*

How are the sub(s) wired? Where is the gain setting? The bass boost? Where are your crossovers set on the head unit AND amp? Subsonic filter - what's it set to?


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## v2. (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: Sub barely moving. (pwnt by pat)*


_Quote, originally posted by *pwnt by pat* »_How are the sub(s) wired? Where is the gain setting? The bass boost? Where are your crossovers set on the head unit AND amp? Subsonic filter - what's it set to?

Just directly from the sub to the amp, I've moved the gain up and down on the amp and no difference. As for the other things, I'm not real sure.


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## perishatmyhands (May 5, 2005)

for the time being, try to set the low pass x-over at 80 hz. check that all the x-overs on the headunit are turned off. turn off any subsonic filters off as well. this will ensure that your amp is getting the correct program....
are the speakers not playing loud? or do they just not move as much as you'd expect?


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## v2. (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: (perishatmyhands)*


_Quote, originally posted by *perishatmyhands* »_for the time being, try to set the low pass x-over at 80 hz. check that all the x-overs on the headunit are turned off. turn off any subsonic filters off as well. this will ensure that your amp is getting the correct program....
are the speakers not playing loud? or do they just not move as much as you'd expect?

I don't know how to do all of that. I'm not really audio savvy. Nothing has been changed on the amp or anything since it has been connected last.


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## pwnt by pat (Oct 21, 2005)

*Re: (v2.)*

If you look on the amp there should be a couple of knobs or dials. Each one is labeled.


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## v2. (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: (pwnt by pat)*

It's a Fosgate that requires something small to turn the knobs. I've moved them up and down and nothing changes.


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## pwnt by pat (Oct 21, 2005)

*Re: (v2.)*

what ones did you turn? something *does* change.
Please be more descriptive in what you are doing to solve the problem. Saying something doesn't work without saying exactly what you tried is enough to make someone bang their head off of a desk.
Like when people come to my computer shop and say "it doesn't work". Well what doesn't work? "It doesnt."...


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## v2. (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: (pwnt by pat)*


_Quote, originally posted by *pwnt by pat* »_what ones did you turn? something *does* change.
Please be more descriptive in what you are doing to solve the problem. Saying something doesn't work without saying exactly what you tried is enough to make someone bang their head off of a desk.
Like when people come to my computer shop and say "it doesn't work". Well what doesn't work? "It doesnt."...

No, *nothing* changes. No more sound comes out than what's already playing. The sub barely moves...not even enough to vibrate the box. The amp has power, just no sub movement. I have the amp bridged so I've turned the left gain and right gain...no changes in sound output.


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## pwnt by pat (Oct 21, 2005)

*Re: (v2.)*

Does it move, even a little, with the program material? We need to start at the top and rule out what could be bad. Those knobs should all have a major impact on the response of the subwoofer. 
Do you have a handheld cd player or walkman? If so, do you have a 1/8" stereo (headphone) jack to rca cable? If not, you can get one at walmart for $5. Use that cable to plug the cd/mp3 player directly into the amp. Turn the amp on and see if you get response. If you do then the problem is with the head unit or rcas.
IF you don't get sound, get a digital multimeter ($12 at radioshack, ~$10 at walmart). Unhook your sub and check the resistance across the voice coil(s) and make sure they're close to that of the manufactuers spec. Push the cone in gently and see if you feel and scraping or bumps or not-smooth motion in the speaker. Take a 9v battery and put it on the terminal(s) of the sub and see if the cone moves at all (it should). IF all of this checks out, you probably have a good sub and a bad amp.

What model sub and amp do you have?


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## v2. (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: (pwnt by pat)*

Well, the head unit is less than a month old, so I'm ruling that out. I'll check all the other things though.
Thanks http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## broken junk. (Feb 7, 2008)

*Re: (v2.)*

i'm no audio guru so i might not even be going in the right direction, but did you check the fuses on the amp. i just re-hooked up my subs, they didn't work, took it apart and re-hooked it back up still didn't work. checked the fuse, it was blown, problem solved, now they work


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## v2. (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: (veryslow vw)*


_Quote, originally posted by *veryslow vw* »_i'm no audio guru so i might not even be going in the right direction, but did you check the fuses on the amp. i just re-hooked up my subs, they didn't work, took it apart and re-hooked it back up still didn't work. checked the fuse, it was blown, problem solved, now they work 

The sub is getting power. Does that mean the fuse is ok?


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## broken junk. (Feb 7, 2008)

*Re: (v2.)*


_Quote, originally posted by *v2.* »_
The sub is getting power. Does that mean the fuse is ok?

most likely, then thats probably not your problem. just thought id throw it out there though


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## perishatmyhands (May 5, 2005)

look for a switch on the amp for the crossover....set it to low pass or LPF. NOT HPF.


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## v2. (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: (veryslow vw)*


_Quote, originally posted by *veryslow vw* »_
most likely, then thats probably not your problem. just thought id throw it out there though

Thanks for the input though http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## v2. (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: (perishatmyhands)*


_Quote, originally posted by *perishatmyhands* »_look for a switch on the amp for the crossover....set it to low pass or LPF. NOT HPF.

Ok, it's on LP.


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## Non_Affiliated (Feb 12, 2002)

*Re: (v2.)*

I'll throw my cards in. When you say it's getting power, how do you know? Is the Power light comming on? What model amp is it?
Are your Sub wires hooked up? 
Did you at any time take the subs out of the box? 
Have you made certain that none of the wire came loose inside the box? Has any rewiring been done to the subs?
Are all you RCA cables plugged in? 
Plugged in at the Head unit? and plugged into the amp? 
What Model Headunit do you have, and does it have a defeatable Sub output? 
Are you hooked to a sub output?


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## goauto (Mar 2, 2008)

*Re: (Non_Affiliated)*

deffinatly need to know what HU you have, also i doubt it but if dor some odd reason you are useing a LOC you may have to adjust the output of them, also you might want to try to just drape a different set of rca's accross and see what happens


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## v2. (Oct 19, 2007)

*Re: (Non_Affiliated)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Non_Affiliated* »_I'll throw my cards in. When you say it's getting power, how do you know? Is the Power light comming on? What model amp is it?
Are your Sub wires hooked up? 
Did you at any time take the subs out of the box? 
Have you made certain that none of the wire came loose inside the box? Has any rewiring been done to the subs?
Are all you RCA cables plugged in? 
Plugged in at the Head unit? and plugged into the amp? 
What Model Headunit do you have, and does it have a defeatable Sub output? 
Are you hooked to a sub output?


Yes, the power light is coming on. It's an older Fosgate 900 watt. I have removed the sub, rewired and then reinstalled. All RCA's are connected. The headunit is DXZ385USB from here.


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## v2. (Oct 19, 2007)

I just connected a different amp and now the sub works...so obviously something's wrong with the amp. Any ideas on what could be wrong with it?


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## Trade-N-Games (Feb 22, 2008)

*Re: (v2.)*

Its broke!
Or you had a high pass going to it and it was running a low pass out therefor nothing really would happen.


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## dubdalk (Sep 5, 2007)

*Re: (v2.)*


_Quote, originally posted by *v2.* »_I just connected a different amp and now the sub works...so obviously something's wrong with the amp. Any ideas on what could be wrong with it?

some of the rockfords have a bass knob that needs to be plugged in. if not you will get a minimal output from the amp


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## CMihalcheon (Jan 29, 2007)

*Re: (dubdalk)*

You guys seem to just be looking at the amp. Have you tried another audio source to see if maybe the Sub RCA from the deck is just turned off, or the sub volume is turned all the way down?


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## perishatmyhands (May 5, 2005)

but he said the other amp works fine....so, assuming he didnt change anything on the HU or with the crossovers, that would mean the original amp is blown.


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## Non_Affiliated (Feb 12, 2002)

*Re: (v2.)*


_Quote, originally posted by *v2.* »_I just connected a different amp and now the sub works...so obviously something's wrong with the amp. Any ideas on what could be wrong with it?

Does the amp have a protection light on it? If so does it come one when the amp is hooked up?
Hmmmm. also where are you grounding too?


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