Clipping
 

o.k I tried this on another forum but it seem not alot of people dont know what it is.
I keep blowing my subs at relatively low volumes. From the research I did, it seems that my amp/subs are clipping because my lights are dimming hard when I turn it up. My question is how do I stop it? will a yellow top battery stop the problem? a new stock alternator? or should i look for a an upgraded alternator with more amperage? thicker power wire? I'm running 500 watts rms.

Bad wiring and bad grounds usually constitute in clipping as its not getting a proper ground or proper power it clips. Check for loose wires, however not only visually but also tug on them a lil to see if they are really tightly attached. The amp you use might have a internal short. Dimming lights mean you need a capacitor. Check these and one should fix your problem

Matt

The lights dimming can be cured with a capacitor - at 500RMS, I would suggest at least a 2-farad cap, or if your budget holds it - a Kinetic Power Cell mounted ni the trunk.
An Optima yellow top and/or a new alternator won't do much unless you're constantly running your stereo for long periods of time with your car shut off.

clipping can be caused by a lot of things.
My question is - what are you using as far as amps, h/u, subs, gauge wire size, and what car is it running in

Could be you have a shitty amp, or you're using the wrong class amp
Same can go with the subs
At 500RMS (I'm assuming your amp is 500RMS) you should be using 0 gauge power wire.
Also, I agree with msequence - you should check your grounds.

Basically it sounds like your clipping the amp because its starved for power, and you are trying to push it louder than it can possibly be.....at the moment.


Who did the install>? They should've known to use the proper gauge and grounding properly.

Its a kac-7203 Kenwood amp. It does 500rms bridged at 4ohms. It was wired with an 8 guage kit running a Kenwood 400rms sub, wich I beat for over a year with no problems. When that sub blew at low volume. I took it to Bestbuy under warentee and I got a JBL 300rms. I was working this sub in and only powered it to about halfway when it blew on the 2nd day.
I did the install myself and i've done a couple for my friends with no problems. I havent had any problems with my system for over a year also. I just find it weird that I happen to blow these 2 subs within 1 week and while playing them at mid to low volumes.

your gain on the amp may be set too high, match the gain to the rca out on the head unit, the gain is not a volume control!!. You should be doing the big 3 upgrade first of all if you have dimming problems, caps are band aids they are used more to stabilize voltage for long or heavy bass hits it will help, but the big 3 should be done. For 500rms 0gauge is OVERKILL, 4 guage should be completely fine, you can get away with 8 guage but 4 guage would be a better match. Make sure that all your grounds are to the chassis and that all grounding points are bare metal, not primed, not painted, but bare sand the primer/paint off the points if there is any. The lights dimming is not the cause of clipping, it just means your vehicles charging system isn't flowing enough power to run everything(headlights, deck, engine, stereo,interior lights etc) do the big 3 and the dimming problem will go away, or be very very mild, if you have done the big 3 and still have dimming, i would also get your alternator checked, but thats also assuming it puts out enough amps in the first place to run everything you have, this is also assuming that the battery is also in good condition. like said before optimas are good only if you are running the stereo with the car off, they are deep cycle batteries and can be drained completely and recharged many times without problems.

heres a quick write up on gains and other misc things:
Tutorial - Amplifier Gain & Crossover Adjustment - Mobile Electronics Australia

the big 3:
How to upgrade the Big Three

your gain on the amp may be set too high, match the gain to the rca out on the head unit, the gain is not a volume control!!. You should be doing the big 3 upgrade first of all if you have dimming problems, caps are band aids they are used more to stabilize voltage for long or heavy bass hits it will help, but the big 3 should be done. For 500rms 0gauge is OVERKILL, 4 guage should be completely fine, you can get away with 8 guage but 4 guage would be a better match. Make sure that all your grounds are to the chassis and that all grounding points are bare metal, not primed, not painted, but bare sand the primer/paint off the points if there is any. The lights dimming is not the cause of clipping, it just means your vehicles charging system isn't flowing enough power to run everything(headlights, deck, engine, stereo,interior lights etc) do the big 3 and the dimming problem will go away, or be very very mild, if you have done the big 3 and still have dimming, i would also get your alternator checked, but thats also assuming it puts out enough amps in the first place to run everything you have, this is also assuming that the battery is also in good condition. like said before optimas are good only if you are running the stereo with the car off, they are deep cycle batteries and can be drained completely and recharged many times without problems.

heres a quick write up on gains and other misc things:
Tutorial - Amplifier Gain & Crossover Adjustment - Mobile Electronics Australia

the big 3:
How to upgrade the Big Three