Expert: Cleggsan - 4/3/2009

Question
Alright, here we go.  My car audio hasn't worked in a while, and I'm renewing my interest in solving the problem.  The amp I bought is a Kenwood Excelon KAC-X541 and the subs I bought are Kicker 05DCVR104.  I don't know how they're wired to each other, since they came already in the ported box.  There's a single connector on the outside of the box that I bridged to my amp.  It all worked fine for a while, and then it would short out from time to time, but usually come back on.  Now, it works in the sense that it turns on and I can hear some bass coming out of the subs, and they move around a little bit, but they're not giving me any kick whatsoever.  The amp is getting power too.  Any suggestions or clarifications needed?  I'm not all about spending a lot of money for new subs and/or amp.  Thanks, Joe.

Answer
The Kenwood Amp is a 4 channel unit OR 2 channel in bridged mode.  The Kicker speaker box is a 4 ohm unit.  So, if you have one box and the amp is in bridge mode you still have one idle amp.  Right?

Try moving the speaker wires over to the unused channel and see if it is the same or better.

Try turning off the main channel speakers so that only the subs are getting audio.  With a bassy music selection you should be getting the vrooming sound from the sub speaker box.  Listen to hear any scraping or rattling noises from the sub.  You could have a loose or shorted voice coil.

If the speaker units need repaired you can usually get them fixed up for not a lot of money at a speaker repair facility.  There are many around the country or Kicker may be able to repair them for you if you pull the bad unit out and send it in to them.

C