audio help please

hey guys i have a 2000 civic sir i just put in a system (amp Ma audio 500 watt, cap power acoustic 2 farad and a kicker soloberic sub) i know the amp is not the best but for now til i have more money. the problem is

1. the amp heats real fast like 20-30 mins then will shut off till it cools down then back in the game. is it doing that because of the big cap ? i know 2 farads= up to 2000watts and i only have 500 watts??

2. the cap turns on(digital display reads the voltage and the blue lights are on) even when car is off just for a bit then will shut off, even when i set the alarm it comes on for 1-2 mins then shuts off. this will happen every so often throught out the day. somtimes it just turns on for 1 min.i'm lost did i hook it up wrong???

3. my lights still dim here and there i thought the cap would take care of it but at a high bass note it dimms.

so guys did i mess it up?

any help suggestions will be great

thanks
gary

idk if you messed up.. but i would try just connecting the amp on its own and see how it acts by itself...if it still overheats then its the amp if not then i would run your setup with out the cap....(also if the amp does over heat and you wanna run the cap i would set up a fan to keep it cool just like a computer does ) idk... hope that helps

caps are a band-aid. A 2 farad cap will strain the alternator more than anything else. I'd get a High Output amp before wasting $$ on a cap. If your amp needs more voltage, a cap doesn't provide more, it just fills and discharges whatchs there quicker than a battery. An HO alternator will actaully give more voltage. I'd junk the cap and get a HO alternator and upgrade the ground/charging system wires.

Also, where is the amp installed, how much space is around it? Are the gains set up correct? IDK, hard to say without being there. If you just cranked the gain with no regard (like a lot of ppl), set is properly. Why? if there's clipping it'll kill your subs quick, and overpowering the amp could overheat it. As I said, hard to tell without being there. Sorry I can't be more help. Seriously though, just the cap and install the amp without it. Set the gains properly. Do you have a multimeter? If yes let me know, if no follow the manufactures instructions. The gain is not a bass boost, an too many ppl use it as such. The gain is there to level match the headunits output voltage to the amps input voltage so the amp is properly powered. Too high and the amp is overpowered and clipping happens, and then by by voice coil on the sub.

If you still have dimming lights after that, I'd recommend an HO alternator. If you really refuse to pay the amont they cost (not cheap) junk the 2 farard cap, all it's do is kill the alternator. No more than 1 farad, max. Though half's what you need. If you ever to get an HO alternator remove the cap for sure.

hey thanks so much for all the help guys

ya i have a multimeter hoe do you set the gain properly?

its about half way

but where can i get a high output alt? and how much?

thanks again

gary

HO Alterantors, for a good one...are expensive.

Ohio Generator
330-875-6677
http://www.ohiogen.com/

Wrangler Performance NW
503-235-4110
1-800-962-2616
http://www.wranglernw.com/

I'd call them, it's much easier than the websites, which I find not much help.

I've also heard the following site has decent HO alternators, but I can not say as I have never used them. I run Ohio gen, I know a guy who runs wrangler. You should be fine and you'll get a good product built right with either. You can check out mean-green but I don't know much.

http://mean-green.com/

As for how much, it depends on the output of the alterantor you are buying, but it can be spendy for a good HO alternator.

As for gains...

You only have a sub amp right? irst get a test tone, 60 hz. Next turn the gains all the way down, and if you have bass boost, loudness, etc turn it off. Next figure out the AC VOLTAGE you should be reading at the speaer terminals with the multimeter...then turn the gain up slowly with the multimeter on the speaker temrinals on the amp, reading ac voltage. When the multimeter shows the right voltage your set.

To figure the voltage, multiple the ohm loud you are running times the rms wattage. The number should be voltage sqaured....the sqaure root of that number should be what the multimeter reads. If you are confused let me know and get me your RMS wattage and ohm load and I'll try and figure it out and let you know the number.

sorry i looked every where and i can't find out what the rms of the amp is it's an older amp and cheap one i think its a older MA audio MA-500 watt amp, 2 channel but i have it bridged to a kicker solobaric. sorry i think it's time to buy a better amp, but thank you o much for the help.

if you can figure it out the number thats cool but don't waste your time on it..

thanks again
gary

sorry i looked every where and i can't find out what the rms of the amp is it's an older amp and cheap one i think its a older MA audio MA-500 watt amp, 2 channel but i have it bridged to a kicker solobaric. sorry i think it's time to buy a better amp, but thank you o much for the help.

if you can figure it out the number thats cool but don't waste your time on it..

thanks again
gary

This is the way most people set gains. I find it a little harder becuase you have to listen for distortion and not everybody does that well, but follow the steps to the t and do it right and you should be ok. Read it, you should be able to set the gains that way without any numbers, as long as you do it right and listen properly while doing it.

http://www.caraudiohelp.com/car_audio_system/car_audio_system.htm#amplifier_level_setting

thanks a lot it sounds good now :)

thanks again

gary

thanks a lot it sounds good now :)

thanks again

gary

No Problem, I'm glad I could help. I'm glad you got the problem fixed and it sounds good now. If you need any more help let me know.:)