Sight Gauge

Boat stereo cutting out when bass hits.?

I have read previous Q & A's that people have made in the past regarding the stereos and the same issue but I thought i'd get specific with myset up and ask for help. Please note this system was put together by parts/components from other previous systems ive had in cars. Currently in the boat I have: JVC kd head unit. 1 2 channel Almani 1100 wt amp. 2 12" Kicker C12 comp subs. 2 6.5" Rockford Fosgate Prime speakers in front 2 6.5" M162 Rockford Fosgate marine speakers on the sides. The 4 speakers are hooked directly to the rear of the head unit making the subs the only thing connected to the amp. For the amp, I ran 4 gauge power and ground directly to the battery. Originally for the head unit, I used the stock power and ground wires but found there was not enough power to handle the new load, so I ran new power and ground lines directly to the battery as well. I have tried multiple things to try and solve this issue, but everytime I turn the volume up to a decent level (not even that loud) the sound always cutts out when the bass hits. My question to you is, what am I doing wrong? Have I wired it incorrectly? Am I drawing to much power? Should I wire the speakers to the amp and just use one sub? Any response would be greatly appreciated! Thanks Josh

Public Comments

1. I'm not even an amateur but two possibilities: 1. check sub grounds, or, 2. subs may have been damaged by volume above their capacity.
2. What is happening is that the amp is drawing so much voltage when producing the bass it is draining the system of the required amount needed to produce the rest of the sounds. You simply need to upgrade your alternator to handle the added load of the bad a$$ amp! 1100 watts is simply a monster amp and it will require more voltage from an upgraded alternator. I had the exact same problem in a Mustang Gt and fixed it by installing a higher rated alternator. Hope this helps.
3. your amp has to much power for those subs your subs are 150 rms watts each and 300 watts peak each try turning the gain way down if it has a bass boost turn it down to 0 also wire subs at 4 ohms this will decrease the total watts. way to much power
4. When the bass hits, it draws a lot of current, and voltage in the system will sag; when that happens, current everywhere will slow down, and things will fade. This is because the battery is a bit "slow" to deliver large current loads. You can improve things a little by shortening wires everywhere, and using larger gauge wiring. Another thing that might help is a capacitor, which is like a battery that is smaller, but faster. It will deliver "backup" power during bass hits, and then quickly "recharge" between them, to fill in where the battery is dawdling. I've heard mixed results about caps, though, and never bothered with one myself (using large gauge wire was sufficient, and my loads weren't ridiculous). Try trimming your bass cut-off, and lower your bass gain trim (i.e. less bass); that will also help to reduce load on the system during peak power (bass hits). What are you using to recharge/supplement your battery? Alternator? Upgrade that puppy first, and you can skip the other stuff (cap, better wiring).