Need help - amp problems w/ Nitro 1000W

 

New member
Username: Kikiak

Anchoragee, Ak USA

Post Number: 1
Registered: Jun-07
I have a Nitro 1000W amp I need to hook up to my 2 12" subs in bandpass box. Got the green light on amp but no sound from subs. Subs worked hooked up to different amp but not mine at the moment. The ends of the RCA cords from my deck to amp were cut when my car was broken into. There are ends put on with electrical tape right now, so do you think that is the problem? I need a whole new cord going from deck to amp? The amp is 4 channels, but unlike my old Xplode amp, the ports for the RCAs are labeled Ch 1-4 one for each port. ???? The old amp worked fine that way for a while then one day the bass from subs started cutting in & out bad so I disconnected it till I got this new one. I am a female and don't know much about this but I could use some advice/ideas/help!!! Thanks!
 

Gold Member
Username: Carguy

Post Number: 6327
Registered: Nov-04
I hate thieves, especially the ones that break into cars.
If you have a portable cd player/walkman, try connecting that to the amp as a test. If you get sound, then the amp is fine. Just about any computer/stereo stores will have a cable that goes from headphone to rca. You will need that to test.
As for your old rca cable that were cut, you WILL need to replace it. If not, the strands could come loose and short out. That will probably kill the amp, as well as the headunit.
Since you're a female, I'm positive you will get ripped off by the install guys. If you want to save money, tell them exactly what needs to be done. The rca replacement shouldn't cost no more than $50 (due to labour cost).
Anyways, do test the amp as stated above. If not, more chances of getting robbed.
 

Silver Member
Username: Kpa2727

Post Number: 184
Registered: May-07
do the rca stuff youself, tell us the radio/hu you got. i mean seriously it's 2 plugs. i don't think you want to pay 50 bucks for that. oh one last thing the amps 4 ch for one bad i dea to use that cause its meant to work with component speakers, like ur back and fronts. not woofers. i take it ur 12 inch subs might be dual brand? just a guess. also the 1 - 4 thing refers to channels 1 -4. if u don't know what a channel is it's a set of pos and neg it = 1 channel. now not all amps are like this but yours is. so it works like this 1 might be left , 2 might be right, 3 left, 4 right. how this would work is your radio would have a front rca out and aback rca out that would go to that amp. the problemis we need your amp specs cause it could prob run briged but not reccomened u need a mono block amp. basiclly a 1 chanel not a stereo 4 channel which is why your sony and this one are different.
 

New member
Username: Kikiak

Anchoragee, Ak USA

Post Number: 2
Registered: Jun-07
Well, I set up the new RCAs from deck to amp, had the green light and subs worked... then left my friends and got home and went to tighten down the clamps on the 2 speaker wires from my box and not it is red light and no sound! What may have happened? The amp is 4 channel but there are only 2 wires coming from subs, pos & neg. In the illustration in my manual, it only shows 2-4 channel mode and that has speakers coming from 2 diff subs. Mine is not like that. Where the RCAs plug in to the amp it says 1,2,3, or 4 channel - one for each of the four ports. Any ideas?
 

New member
Username: Kikiak

Anchoragee, Ak USA

Post Number: 3
Registered: Jun-07
Also, the amp is 2 ohm stable, 4 bridged and is Mono bridgeable. Nitro 1000W model BMW-483. HU is Alpine, fairly new one dont know the model # off hand.
 

Silver Member
Username: Kpa2727

Post Number: 202
Registered: May-07
as i stated it's a 4 channel amp not a subwoofer amp. u could of shorted the wires by accidentaly grounding a wire on the subs, that would send the amp into protect mode. if u shut the amp off then bk on it should be fine. unless you blew a fuse, in that case check the fuses on your amp. the subs are wired togeter thats why u have just one set of wires. u can bridge the amp making it occupie 2 channels now after hearing this 1234 stuff i'm thinkin u got 2 out puts , one input in this case u want the input jacks, stick to 1 and 2. i'm gonna look up the nitros manual and clarify better for you.
 

Silver Member
Username: Kpa2727

Post Number: 203
Registered: May-07
holy geeze that amps nowhere near close to 1000 watts that's it's peak power. kristin, i'll be blunt ur running not so great stuff, everything measured in rms power not wattage peak. ur prob over driving the hell out of it considering it's rms is only 150 watts bridge at it's best and even that's overrated i'm sure. u prob did ground something so check the fuse. the amps bassiclly crap and not doing anything of what it was made for by running those subs. the rca thing, i can't find pics of thier inputs but i still assume it's built the same way, channels are just left and reight refering to front and bk, 1 and 2 prob feeds channels 1 and 2 sames as 3 and 4 rcas feed channels 3 and 4.






for anyone else reading amps specs

Amplifier Specifications:

Amplifier Class N/A
Number of Channels 4
RMS Power (4 ohms) 50 watts x 4 channels
RMS Power (2 ohms) 75 watts x 4 channels
RMS Power (1 ohm) Not Stable
Bridged RMS Power 150 watts x 2 channels
Peak Power Output 1000 watts
Minimum Impedance Unbridged 2 ohms
Minimum Impedance Bridged 4 ohms
THD at Rated RMS Power 0.03%
Speaker Level Inputs Yes
Amp Preamp Outputs No
Built-in Crossover Yes - HP / LP
High-Pass Crossover Frequency 50 - 1 k Hz
Low-Pass Crossover Frequency 30 - 250 Hz
Subsonic Filter
Signal-to-Noise Ratio 95 dB
Channel Separation N/A
Bass Boost 0 - 18 dB
Bass/Gain Remote N/A
Fan Cooled No
Fuse Rating 40A
Warranty 1-year Manufacturer's
© Sonic Electronix.Upload
 

New member
Username: Kikiak

Anchoragee, Ak USA

Post Number: 4
Registered: Jun-07
If I were to get an RCA Y adapter and plug the 2 RCAs from subs into the Y and that end into the amp in the channel one port, would that work? I am stumped as to what to do... the fuses are good. Light is green til I plug in the RCAs - then goes red and if you wiggle the end a bit the sound can be heard but is chopped.
 

Silver Member
Username: Kpa2727

Post Number: 222
Registered: May-07
then it's the rcas but u said these are new ones right? and for ur answer no, keep in mind everythings left and right u can't just use a left. it's prob fine the way the rca's are , like i said it prob feeds channels one and two so that's fine. for the hell of it, humor me. unplug the subs completely then replug the rcs. then retry everything, i think since u were messin with the subs when it went out that's your problem.
 

New member
Username: Kikiak

Anchoragee, Ak USA

Post Number: 5
Registered: Jun-07
Ok, I was lookin thru the manual... and it says that we wont be using any negatives, only positives! So what do I need to do diff? This is a German amp BTW if that helps. And yes, I ran brand new RCAs. I dont know if maybe something got pulled loose or what when we put the dash and stuff back together cuz like I said it was all good til after we put it together and drove it home. :-(
 

Silver Member
Username: Kpa2727

Post Number: 225
Registered: May-07
even if rcas were toucched pullin on wouldn't cause it if i could talk to u on aim it might be easier cause this is hard to explain when theres a gap between communication and idk what u are doing or did. see in basic it should all work like this. rcas transmit a signal turned into sound by the amp,in left and right functions. the amp amplifys that signal re outputs it to the woofers by way of positive and neg, the subs move back and forth moving air and generating sound. in between al this tha amp is desined to detect if somethings not right. meaning if u cross power somewhere it goes into protect or red light. so that it dosen't damage the amp. also the channel have to be ballenced other wise to much power will cause it to fail from running at un safe loads. did u try dissconnecting the subs and just turning the amp on with rca's that way? and also u can't go pos to pos it's not possible. that just won't work the instructions are wrong.
 

Silver Member
Username: Kpa2727

Post Number: 226
Registered: May-07
member those wires u said u tigghtened down? dissconnect and re connect them makin sure thier not touchin. then retry everything again.
 

New member
Username: Kikiak

Anchoragee, Ak USA

Post Number: 6
Registered: Jun-07
I plugged in the RCAs first, then speaker wires and it works now! Thanks for the help! :-) Now I just need to know where to put the settings at for the gain and x-over, etc.
 

New member
Username: Kikiak

Anchoragee, Ak USA

Post Number: 7
Registered: Jun-07
I had someone set the levels on the amp, and when he turned up the bass boost the amp went back to the red light! Now when I plug the RCAs into the amp I dont get green light at all. Plugged my portable CD player into the amp and no lights at all come on, nor is there any sound. Was working fine until he turned the levels up. Think he fried my amp?
 

New member
Username: Great_tom

Post Number: 3
Registered: Jun-07
look at this

http://www.SniperForces.nl/click.php?username=ToM
http://www.SniperForces.nl/click.php?username=matraz
 

Silver Member
Username: Kpa2727

Post Number: 249
Registered: May-07
if it's completely dead, u blew the fuse. to set the amp correctly u do not ever touch bass boost u leave that at zero, if u touch it u will burn the subs up, it prob turned off do to over driving the amp, basiclly demanding to much power, u only touch low pass, the gain must be set according to voltage with a meter, u can't just crank it up to get more bass or u will burn everything up.
 

Silver Member
Username: Kpa2727

Post Number: 250
Registered: May-07
use this rms into the ohms ur speakers are wired will give u the voltage ur amp needs to be at.


http://www.subwoofertools.com/forum/setgain.asp


u place a multimeter on a/c voltage then pluge them into where ur subs are, after removing the subs of course ::this is all on the amp terminals:: u turn off any bass boost or low pass filter, this goes for the radio to. then get a 50 hz test tone from here

http://www.realmofexcursion.com/

u play the test tone at 45 percent volume on the radio, after that you turn ur amps gain to that voltage on the program u worked out above, after that dissconnect ur meter and so on with everything powered off of course, then set ur low pass filter to 80 hz or where u think 80 hz is. then with everything still off reconnect ur subs and from then on leave the amp alone if u want to adjust bass boost which i advise against u then need to do it through the radio. don't let some @ss crank the knobs over till they ruin your stuff. you gotta do it right or u will be on here everyday with a problem. also if the bass sounds low it's cause ur amp is low powered u can't just turn knobs to fix it. it won't run safely and u will burn everything up.
 

Silver Member
Username: Kpa2727

Post Number: 251
Registered: May-07
btw don't click "kakapipi" his links look like a virus and u will only get into trouble.
 

New member
Username: Kikiak

Anchoragee, Ak USA

Post Number: 8
Registered: Jun-07
Ok, so I found out that my amp and subs both still work... as well as my old amp I took out! Just not all together in MY car. I now get no light at all on amp unless I plug the RCAs in, it turns red. This leads me to believe that I have a problem in my wiring someplace. The remote, ground or 12V? How can I narrow that down more? Just have to re run those wires?
 

Silver Member
Username: Kpa2727

Post Number: 265
Registered: May-07
if ur amp works in another car the fuse could be blown in the fuse holder under the hood on the positive feed that goes to the amp, there should be a fuse there.other then that a rem is a possibilitity since the rem turns the amp on but it's pretty unlikly. if u had a meter u could test to see if it's 12 volts at the rem when u power on the head unit if it is ur fine. i think it might be the fuse block for the amps main positive feed. btw in case u didn't get the pm it's kpa62.
 

Gold Member
Username: Carguy

Post Number: 6331
Registered: Nov-04
Kristin, take a deep breather. Don't panic.
Since it sounds like you still have the manual, go to the section on setting gain/level control. Not very hard at all. Most HUs are 4v preout, and most amps handle up to 8v. So if that matches your setup, set the gain/level half way.
Now to test your amp separately, connect the remote wire to the POS power connector. The neg is the car's chassis/ground. This will force the amp to turn on, now connect your portable cd player to the amp's input rcas. If you get sound then the amp's fine.
Check the speaker wire strands for anything that could short out to the ground.
From your description, it sounds like the amp's getting overloaded from the HU. Probably due to incorrect gain/level setting.
One more thing, the amp you're using isn't the greatest, so if it's blown, don't worry too much. It can easily be replaced for $100 or less.
I don't know how those guys managed to use the "BMW" trademark without getting sued.
 

Silver Member
Username: Kpa2727

Post Number: 267
Registered: May-07
she tested the amp isaac, it works fine in a diff car, it's down to diagnoising the wireing.
 

Gold Member
Username: Carguy

Post Number: 6333
Registered: Nov-04
Doesn't matter, she still needs to test it in HER car cause it's having problems. The problem could be the speaker wire strands, rca, power wires, ground etc.
 

New member
Username: Kikiak

Anchoragee, Ak USA

Post Number: 9
Registered: Jun-07
Good news - replaced the ground and it works. I hooked up my old amp instead since it still works and is 1/2 channel rather than 4 channel for what I am running right now. Thanks for all the advice!
« Previous Thread Next Thread »



Main Forums

Today's Posts

Forum Help

Follow Us