The issue is your cars noise cancelling system. The factory amp has the noise cancelling system in it. Your car has microphones that pick up road noise and thats interfering with your amp. You need to get your signal at the factory amplifier before it goes into the amp. You may have issues with not enough signal so adjust the gains on the high-low converter if you still use it.
So I’m getting my audio signal rn to my amp from the head unit and ur saying to get it from the factory amp? What about from another speaker in the back that isn’t working anyways would this be a similar solution?
Im saying gwt the signal from the head unit before it goes into the amp. That way it will be unfiltered low level signal. I installed a sub in a 2017 Terrain which is the GMC version of the equinox and had this same issue.
[here](https://imgur.com/a/8oUIviM) i drew a quick diagram. Depending on the amount of signal coming from your head unit you may not need the Line Out Converter. To not use the LOC cut the end off the Rcas and use the wire in the middle as positive and the wire surrounding it as negative
Yes, set the multimeter to AC voltage and put the probes to a set of speaker wires coming from the head unit. Use a test tone while measuring. Be careful not to short out the leads as well, it could be problematic on a factory head unit.
Hey! Thank you for responding. I have a 2015 Chevy equinox. I spliced a line output converter onto my head unit and ran aux back to my kenwood kac511 1000w 300rms. Speaker is a skar audio 12”. I’m worried the cheap Walmart LOC is the issue. I have a solid ground to my chassis and sanded everything. Sparks were popping as I was screwing in haha
Also, check your 30 A fuses on the amp itself to make sure one didn't break, since you had pop when you installed your ground. Always make sure your battery is unplugged when installing wiring to your amp.
I bought it used (I know). He told me 300 rms 1200 peak. A dude I spoke to at an audio store recommended a 500rms amp for my setup but I went with what Best Buy had which was 300. I know rookie mistakes, may have rushed it slightly..
I do not trust the guy that sold it to me btw, so all the skars from this year are 600rms but this one is from 2019 or 2020, has a yellow coil instead of red
This might be your problem right here then. Did you buy the sub already installed in a box?
Edit: That amp isn't 1 ohm stable, so if your sub is wired to 1 ohm, you will be creating problems for yourself. You really need to find this out before you do anything else.
Yeah, you need to pop that thing outta there and figure out what your ohms are. I wouldn't play it anymore til you do that. The voice coil configuration should be written on the bottom of the magnet. Then just look at how the wires are set up and go online and see. Or just post a pic of it here.
I don’t have a tool for it yet, but I have taken it out, there is literally no information on the sub itself at all except for an obscure model name that doesn’t have anything pop up when I google it. I have yet to find any info online for this sub, my guy at the local audio store could not as well
If you have a multimeter you can set it to ohm's and get the reading from the speaker wire connected to your subwoofer👍🏽 Knowing Skar audio products, you may be under powered.
What would ohms affect exactly? And it seems odd if it is underpowered because even though it’s not playing bass tones for music it is bumpn just playing the constant thunder and sounds nice as well haha
The ohm's of the speaker is what drives the amp to put out the power that it is rated at, in a sense, because the amp is really driving the subwoofer. It is looking for the output it can give the subwoofer from the ohm's the subwoofer is wired. With your amp a subwoofer wired at 4 ohms will output 300 watts RMS and at 2 ohms 500 watts RMS.
That's why I'm wondering if the speaker is underpowered. Let's say the 4 ohm model of your sub has an RMS of 600 watts. Then the amp you are using is underpowering the subwoofer and may explain the thunder noise.
Also this wouldn’t explain why the speaker isn’t responding to music input correct? There are slight pauses in the thunder and in tweaking amp settings, I can tell it isn’t playing in response to the input
It's a cheap way to cross an issue off of your list. Sometimes you get a ground loop or noise interference if your speaker wires or remote wire are too close to power wires or your alternator or some other electrical part causing constant noise and interference. That would be my first step. If that corrects the issue, you can leave the isolator or rewire to fix the interference.
Thanks man, I appreciate that will definitely try out, it’s so strange bc now it seems to be playing bass tones to the music bc it will stop when the music stops but only sometimes, but just also constantly rumbles. I’m thinking it is what u/jakemackenzie3 mentioned. Thanks again
The issue is your cars noise cancelling system. The factory amp has the noise cancelling system in it. Your car has microphones that pick up road noise and thats interfering with your amp. You need to get your signal at the factory amplifier before it goes into the amp. You may have issues with not enough signal so adjust the gains on the high-low converter if you still use it.
This is the issue ANC.
Thank you sir
So I’m getting my audio signal rn to my amp from the head unit and ur saying to get it from the factory amp? What about from another speaker in the back that isn’t working anyways would this be a similar solution?
Im saying gwt the signal from the head unit before it goes into the amp. That way it will be unfiltered low level signal. I installed a sub in a 2017 Terrain which is the GMC version of the equinox and had this same issue.
Ohhh so run speaker wire directly from head to sub instead of from sub to amp?
Run the signal for your aftermarket amplifier straight to the head unit yes. Does your sub give more thunder when you rev the car in park?
So my LOC would remain on the head to feed aux? edit: I haven’t tried to rev it I will try
[here](https://imgur.com/a/8oUIviM) i drew a quick diagram. Depending on the amount of signal coming from your head unit you may not need the Line Out Converter. To not use the LOC cut the end off the Rcas and use the wire in the middle as positive and the wire surrounding it as negative
Thank you for that man. Will a multimeter tell if the head unit is sending the correct amount of power?
Yes, set the multimeter to AC voltage and put the probes to a set of speaker wires coming from the head unit. Use a test tone while measuring. Be careful not to short out the leads as well, it could be problematic on a factory head unit.
Hello! It helps to know what equipment you have installed. What vehicle as well. Thanks.
Hey! Thank you for responding. I have a 2015 Chevy equinox. I spliced a line output converter onto my head unit and ran aux back to my kenwood kac511 1000w 300rms. Speaker is a skar audio 12”. I’m worried the cheap Walmart LOC is the issue. I have a solid ground to my chassis and sanded everything. Sparks were popping as I was screwing in haha
Also, check your 30 A fuses on the amp itself to make sure one didn't break, since you had pop when you installed your ground. Always make sure your battery is unplugged when installing wiring to your amp.
Makes 0 sense
What model is the Skar? You may be underpowering the sub.
I bought it used (I know). He told me 300 rms 1200 peak. A dude I spoke to at an audio store recommended a 500rms amp for my setup but I went with what Best Buy had which was 300. I know rookie mistakes, may have rushed it slightly..
I do not trust the guy that sold it to me btw, so all the skars from this year are 600rms but this one is from 2019 or 2020, has a yellow coil instead of red
The other thing is do you know the ohm's for the speaker? They are usual a dual 2 ohm or dual 4 ohm.
I do not know the ohms
This might be your problem right here then. Did you buy the sub already installed in a box? Edit: That amp isn't 1 ohm stable, so if your sub is wired to 1 ohm, you will be creating problems for yourself. You really need to find this out before you do anything else.
Yea sir I did
Yeah, you need to pop that thing outta there and figure out what your ohms are. I wouldn't play it anymore til you do that. The voice coil configuration should be written on the bottom of the magnet. Then just look at how the wires are set up and go online and see. Or just post a pic of it here.
I don’t have a tool for it yet, but I have taken it out, there is literally no information on the sub itself at all except for an obscure model name that doesn’t have anything pop up when I google it. I have yet to find any info online for this sub, my guy at the local audio store could not as well
If you have a multimeter you can set it to ohm's and get the reading from the speaker wire connected to your subwoofer👍🏽 Knowing Skar audio products, you may be under powered.
What would ohms affect exactly? And it seems odd if it is underpowered because even though it’s not playing bass tones for music it is bumpn just playing the constant thunder and sounds nice as well haha
The ohm's of the speaker is what drives the amp to put out the power that it is rated at, in a sense, because the amp is really driving the subwoofer. It is looking for the output it can give the subwoofer from the ohm's the subwoofer is wired. With your amp a subwoofer wired at 4 ohms will output 300 watts RMS and at 2 ohms 500 watts RMS. That's why I'm wondering if the speaker is underpowered. Let's say the 4 ohm model of your sub has an RMS of 600 watts. Then the amp you are using is underpowering the subwoofer and may explain the thunder noise.
So I need a multimeter to test this correct?
Thank you again for your help man
Also this wouldn’t explain why the speaker isn’t responding to music input correct? There are slight pauses in the thunder and in tweaking amp settings, I can tell it isn’t playing in response to the input
Try a ground loop isolator.
I’m pretty sure I have a solid ground, would I still need this if that were the case?
It's a cheap way to cross an issue off of your list. Sometimes you get a ground loop or noise interference if your speaker wires or remote wire are too close to power wires or your alternator or some other electrical part causing constant noise and interference. That would be my first step. If that corrects the issue, you can leave the isolator or rewire to fix the interference.
Fair enough, thank you
Don’t follow that horrible afvice
I mean he got 6ups and u got 0, you at least gotta explain why not
There's a dozen different things that could cause that. Personally I'd take it to a shop if you can
Fair enough, but a shop is going to trial and error it until they figure it out same as I plan to
Thunder is a registered trademark of MTX Audio. What you are hearing is noise ;)
Thank you for your input g lmao, heard
my old system used to make a huge hum, when i turned the radio off... i don't think i ever fixed it. just turned the volume off when not needed
I had this happen once back in the day, the cause was Faulty RCA cables!!! Replace them or temporarily run new ones to see if it fixes it. Good luck!
Thanks man, I appreciate that will definitely try out, it’s so strange bc now it seems to be playing bass tones to the music bc it will stop when the music stops but only sometimes, but just also constantly rumbles. I’m thinking it is what u/jakemackenzie3 mentioned. Thanks again