Subwoofer works but turns off after a while

[spacemonkee23]

There are many things that could cause this. Overheating, short, bad amp component, bad ground, loose/dirty connections, wire gauge too small, Sub itself, etc, etc.

I would start with the basics. When it stops working does the power light on the amp change color, or as stated above, turn on a protect light? Check your connections, make sure there is a solid ground and also check that the battery terminal is clean with no fuzzy buildup. As a rule of thumb I would make sure the ground wire is the same gauge as the power wire (at least 4 gauge). If all that checks out I would unscrew the sub and check the wiring inside to make sure there is no short inside the box. Otherwise it may just be an old amp that needs replacing.

Good luck, hope you figure it out.

Oh and I have had bad luck with sony amps, even their lower power amps around 500W RMS, the quality is just lacking with the Xplod series. I've seen a brand new xplod amp show massive clipping on my oscilloscope which melted the voice coils on two subs before I checked it out. I would just go straight for a new amp. You can get a decent 500W RMS amp for around $100-$150 brand new that would be much better than what you have now.

 

[Drew707]

Finally got around to checking thinngs out for my sub. At first when i turned on my car the sub would work for like a minute and shut off. Now it never turns on. There was fuzzy buildup on my positive battery post. I Cleaned it up. I had a loose ground wire that i tightend up. Took apart the box and checked the sub. Everything checked out fine no shorts everythings connected. I turned everything down on my amp still nothing. My amp turns on with a power light green. Just the sub does not work.

 

[spacemonkee23]

Give the sub a push and see if it feels grainy or has high resistance like its seized. Might be a melted/damaged voice coil. If you replace the sub make sure you get one that matches the ohms of the amp. Good luck.

 

[Drew707]

So my uncle had a extra amp. Swapped out the amps and my sub is back to life hitting hard agen. Guess my amp was bad. Now im in the market for a new amp. Any suggestions? I have a 12" jl audio w3v2-d4.

 

[spacemonkee23]

I'm running Rockford Fosgate 500watt prime single channel. Tested at 645rms @2ohms. I've used this amp in the last 3 installs for friends. Low cost for great performance. http://www.amazon.com/Rockford-Fosgate-R500X1D-1-Channel-Amplifier/dp/B00BF6HYDE#

EDIT: Since you have a dual 4ohm sub, you can wire it in parallel to match the 2ohm stable amp. Your sub is 300w RMS so this amp would be perfect even if you decide to upgrade later. Should bump nice and hard.

 

[Drew707]

Lately ive heard bad things about rockford fosgates quality. But ima keep that amp on my list. My budget was 200$ max. Great price at 129$

 

[spacemonkee23]

Late reply but I've used Rockford in most of the systems I recimmend/build, no issues to report. The problem is that most people don't know how to tune them properly and destroy perfectly good equipment. Proper tuning and setup is key.