Car audio help... buzzing from subwoofer.

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turboash78

turboash78

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Regina, SK
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Turboash
I just installed a 12" shallow mount sub under the passenger seat of my 2006 Tucson, running off of a Kicker IX252 amp (small, yes I know). I chose to use the line level inputs (using stock head unit), which I took signals from the rear door speakers. Here are my problems:

- I am getting a buzzing / popping sound from the sub when the bass hits at all volume levels (no matter if engine is on or off). Which is strange because I tested the sub on my home system and it sounds fantastic. What is causing this in my vehicle?

- When I disconnect either one of the line level inputs (left or right), the sub becomes twice as loud... which is great, but why is this happening?

FYI I have made the ground wire as short as possible, tried 3 different fuse locations for the remote wire, and have tried every different combination of wiring for the line in to the amp (switching positive to negative wires and vice versa). I have installed subs/amps in many previous vehicles and have never experienced this before... any help would be appreciated!
 
The buzzing popping sounds like a bad ground or maybe possibly just the levels on the amp being set too high. Usually home and car audio run on different ohms so that could be why it sounds different in your house. Have you tried taking a wire wheel to your ground connection?
 
Signals from the rear door speakers are NOT line-level!!!!! so I'm confused.

What feeds what, exactly? You say your took the signal from the rear door speakers. Did you just take wires from those and solder an RCA connector on them or what? That's an amplified signal, not line-level, and if you feed it to line level inputs you'll be WAY overdriving those inputs.

If you meant to say that you used high-level inputs, which basically makes your amp a booster, then crappy sound is exactly what you should expect. You've got head unit with its amp driving what it thinks are speakers, but are actually inputs to a booster, and then your amp (as a booster) is amplifying that, including whatever crud is already contained in it as a result of the head unit's amp of whatever quality and power.

Did you remove the door speaker connection, or is your amp in parallel with the door speakers because they're still connected? If so, then now you have an impedance problem on your head unit's outputs.
 
Are you sure it isn't the car itself that has parts buzzing? My dad's Mustang buzzes, even with the stock 2x subwoofer.
 
wfooshee
Signals from the rear door speakers are NOT line-level!!!!! so I'm confused.

If you meant to say that you used high-level inputs, which basically makes your amp a booster, then crappy sound is exactly what you should expect. You've got head unit with its amp driving what it thinks are speakers, but are actually inputs to a booster, and then your amp (as a booster) is amplifying that, including whatever crud is already contained in it as a result of the head unit's amp of whatever quality and power.

Did you remove the door speaker connection, or is your amp in parallel with the door speakers because they're still connected? If so, then now you have an impedance problem on your head unit's outputs.
Click to expand...

Yes sorry, HIGH level inputs. I tapped into the door speakers (which are still operational) and ran the wires directly into the high level inputs on the amp. I've done this exact same thing with my G6 (that is, tapping into the rear speakers) and it worked fine, although I did use a line level converter... perhaps that is the solution.

Thanks for the ideas... I will update once I try a few things out.
 
I was gonna ask if the gains are set. I know the amp is only 25x2 rms so it won't blow the speakers but it could be putting out more than it can handle.
 
First get a real line-level from the head unit.

Second, this sounds like the power cable from the amp is interferring with the "sound cables".

Use one side of the car for the ground and power
and the other side for the speakers cables.

If that's too much work sometimes a little module can help (anti-hizz), they are fairly common and not pricey (10-15€)
 
So I finally got around to doing a test... I used a stereo jack to RCA cable, plugged the RCAs into the amp and played some music from my phone. Buzzing confirmed. Must be the ground.
 
turboash78
So I finally got around to doing a test... I used a stereo jack to RCA cable, plugged the RCAs into the amp and played some music from my phone. Buzzing confirmed. Must be the ground.
Click to expand...

No, you have either the LOC or subwoofer voice coils out of phase.

When you unplugged 1 channel and the sub got louder, that's a tell-tale sign that something is crossed. A popping or buzzing sound is more than likely one or two of the following;

-The gains are set too high and the amplifier is clipping causing the subwoofer to make mechanical noise. If you have either the inputs of the amplifier or the voice coils in the sub out of phase, you're effectively cancelling out much of the music and you have to jack the gains way up to compensate for that and to create some volume

-The enclosure of the subwoofer has leak making a poor suspension for the woofer resulting in mechanical noise.

I'm 100% certain that you have a wire crossed. Figure that out first. Next, push on the cone of the sub (in the center) slowly and gently until it's recessed in the box. Let go. Did it bounce back quickly or did it take its time?

If it bounced back quickly, you have a leak in the box. (I'm assuming you have a sealed enclosure since it's under a seat)

A poor ground will show different symptoms such as your amp turning off, overheating, droning noises, and letting out some smoke.
 

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