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New member Username: CheebaMiamiUSA Post Number: 1 Registered: May-05 | Hey Guys, I've already done a search but I can't find the solution to my problem. I've been having it for months and I just found this forum today, so I'm hoping that someone can help me. I have a JL Audio 500.1 pushing 2 JL W3 speakers and also a JL 500.4 pushing my stock speakers in my toyota camry. I'll try my best to describe my scenario and if you need more information, just ask as I am desperate to solve this. Everything was working perfectly for months, then one day when I was taking my amp out of my car, the power wire touched the ground wire and my amp began smoking. When I opened the amp, I noticed that there was a bit of charring on the circuit board but when I hooked it back up, the amp still worked fine. To add to my scenario, I also am using a car battery that I got from a friend that he told me was bad, but it appears to be working fine (always starts car, powers all accessories fine, never died on me). Now my problem is that the bass will play fine for a few minutes, then go soft, then go back to hitting hard, all at random. It doesn't matter if the car is on or off and my mids and highs don't appear to be affected (they're on the 500.4, my subs are on my 500.1). I have swapped the speakers, so I know that it's not my subs. I just can't figure out if the problem is my amp or car battery or what. I doubt it's my head unit or wiring. Does anybody know of anyway that I can troubleshoot this very annoying problem? I don't have another battery or amp to swap. Could my amp be bad? Could the car battery appear to be performing fine, but not be supplying enough power constantly for my subs? I hope I was clear enough. Please help! Ps. Sorry for the long post. |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 2857 Registered: Nov-04 | If you have DMM, then use it to troubleshoot. Monitor your car's voltage while the bass is playing normally. When it fades, see if the voltage is also dropping. The only way to know that is with DMM. When your car is off, measure your battery. See if you get 12.5v. With engine on, measure it again. You should be close to 13.5v. |
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New member Username: CheebaMiamiUSA Post Number: 2 Registered: May-05 | Thanks Isaac. I don't have much experience using a DMM. I want to buy one but I don't know what to look for. Can you guide me? Thanks! |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 2859 Registered: Nov-04 | Visit a Radio Shack. They have ones that range from $6 - $100+. Look for one that can also show true rms rating. It might cost around $30. It's a tool that can be used in many situations. Every guy should own one anyways. |
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New member Username: CheebaMiamiUSA Post Number: 3 Registered: May-05 | I've been to the radio shack site and they have a very limited selection of dmm's. I also checked ebay but that's overwhelming. This is the only one on radio shack matching the description you gave me: http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog_name=CTLG&category_name=CTLG_011_0 08_002_000&product_id=22-816 But that's $90 bucks. Something for under 40, with true rms would be nice. Can you help me find one? Which one of these do you recommend? http://www.radioshack.com/category.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG% 5F011%5F008%5F002%5F000&Page=1 |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 2864 Registered: Nov-04 | On eBay there's one that's ending in 23hours. Here's the number,7513272435. Very reasonably priced too, $39. If you're going to purchase a DMM once, then it's better to invest a little now. There are lot of electrical devices in the house that you can use it on. I'd spend $80+ on a good unit. The eBay link I gave you, is a true rms DMM at a graet price. If you're lucky, no one else will bid on it. |