how to wire my L7 subs ?

[Venom SHO s7]

I recently upgraded my subs/amp from a pair of 12inch MTX thunder4000 and a Prestige amp to a pair of 12inch 2003 Kicker Solobaric L7s and a HiFonics Brutus bx1500d amp.
The subs handle 750rms each and the amp can put out 1500watts RMS into 1ohm.
Im going to do the install myself since im descent with car audio stuff.
so my question is...
How do i go about wiring my subs so that they will give a 1ohm load so i can get the most out of my amp?
The subs are the dual 4ohm version and are in a sealed box with each box having its own sealed chamber. So its like having 2 boxes glued to eachother.

All the other subs ive had have been single voice coils so now that im dealing with DVC subs im kinda unclear on how exactly it is that the Ohm stuff works.

Can someone break down the principles of how to go about wiring these subs to get certain ohm loads? and the advantages of wiring them parallel or inseries?
Also, ive never noticed any problems with my sound getting static because of having the RCAs and power wire on the same side of the car, but ive heard its beter to have them away from eachother.
Is this really a concern or not really if you have the 'shielded' RCA cables?
thanks for the help.

 

[92sho16]

the only way to do it is if you have dual 4 ohm versions of the sub. First on each sub wire the coils together in parrallel, this will make each of the subs a 2 ohm sub. Once you do that take the two 2-ohm subs and wire each of their outputs together in parrallel and this will give you a 1 ohm load. Then to hook it up to the amp take your single wire ( positive and negative) and put those into the correct terminals of the amp to bridge the amp, im assuming that its 1500x1 at 1 ohm.

 

[NiNeTy Fo SHO]

To get a 1 ohm load on your amp with 2- Dual 4 ohm speakers, simply connect all of the positives (4 of them, 2 from each speaker) and all the negatives and bridge the amp to one channel. (as long as your amp is bridgeable) This is wiring them all in parallel.

A DVC is basically 2 speakers in one. It has to voice coils in one cone. The wire hookups for each speaker has one on each side, one for each separate voice coil.

There are many different wiring combinations with 2 DVC's or essentially 4 speakers. Advantages of wiring in parallel is you lower the ohms or resistance and in turn get more power out, but your amp will have to work harder. (It will get warmer/hotter) For wiring in series, its just the opposite, less power, easier for the amp.

With those speakers you can wire for a 1 ohm bridge load, a 2 ohm stereo load, a 4 ohm bridged load, a 16 ohm bridged load, a 8 ohm stereo load...and I think thats it. Stereo meaning you wire one sub to the left and one to the right channel. Bridged load meaning you combine the speakers and combine the channels on your amp. I am taking it you have a 2-channel amp.

If your amp is 1 ohm stable bridged, I would go ahead and bridge it to 1 ohm. More power that costs you really nothing. The book that comes with the amp will say if its bridgeable to 1 ohm and the book and/or the amp will show you how to bridge it.

Any more questions or if I have confused you, let me know.

 

[MelectroK]

1 ohm bridge load, a 2 ohm stereo load, a 4 ohm bridged load, a 16 ohm bridged load, a 8 ohm stereo load...QUOTE]


You cant run a class d amp in stereo mode.

A class D amp is internally bridged.

Take the 2 positives and 2 negatives on one speaker, and connect them to one channel. Take the 2 positive and 2 negatives from the other speaker and connect them to the second channel. This will set you up in 1 ohm mode.

P.S. If you plan on doing this you better have a capacitor. Or you wont have an alternator for long.

 

[93medusa]

Not true, Not all class D amps are mono. Very Commonly they are, due to the fact that most class D amps don't sound great in frequencies above say 500 hz so that makes them well suited to subwoofer duty. However, I'd like to point you to the Infinity Beta series of amps. I owned a Beta 100 that was a full range, class D, stereo amp.

http://www.carreview.com/Amplifiers/Infinity,Beta,Digital,100/PRD_97645_1806crx.aspx

As far as wiring goes, as previously stated, you want to run all of the coils in parallel. The fellas at JL audio have this on their site as an explanation

2 DVC drivers with Voice Coils in Parallel / Parallel
Connecting the voice coils of each driver in parallel (+ to +, - to -) and the drivers themselves in parallel (+ to +, etc.) will result in the following impedances:
Dual-6 Ohm Subwoofers: 1.5 Ohms
Dual-4 Ohm Subwoofers: 1 Ohm
Dual-2 Ohm Subwoofers: 0.5 Ohm

taken from this page:
http://www.jlaudio.com/tutorials/wiring/index.html#2dvcpp

 

[NiNeTy Fo SHO]

MelectroK - as 93medusa said, not all class D amps are mono. I have had one before that was stereo. My current one is mono like you said.

I should have explained that better...

 

[93medusa]

In any case, it is besides the point, the bx1500d is a mono subwoofer amp. He wants to follow the above diagram to pull the most juice out of it.

 

[Venom SHO s7]

Ok. First of all, Thanks all you guys for the great info.
Yeah the amp i got is a mono, and its stable at 1ohm, which is why i was wondering how to wire the subs to get a 1ohm load, therefore getting the most power out of the amp.

I should betting the amp tomorrow, well, more like later today.
Ill post how it goes and if i like the results.
I heard good things about these subs, and about the amp too, so i'll see how it goes.
THanks again.

 

[element913]

When you wire a circuit in serial (+ to -) you double the resistance, a dual 4 ohm VC sub will have an 8 ohm load. What you need to do is wire the + to + and - to - on each sub, this is called a parallel circuit, this will give each sub a 2ohm load. Then you need to connect those two subs together + to +, - to - and into the amp. This will take it from 2 2ohm loads down to a single 1 ohm load. I recommend you either get a capacitor or high output alternator because those amps are very power hungry and will clip if not supplied with enough amperage (which could destroy your subs).

Let me know how the subs sound, I was interested in getting two 12" L5's (I have 1000w for subs).

A good site I recommend for a starting car audio enthusiast is:

http://www.the12volt.com

Hope it helps,

 

[Brandontw]

you got it dudes just wire the coil + to + and _ to _ then wire what left into the bridged outputs of the amp.!

 

[Venom SHO s7]

Ok. I did the install this weekend and everything went well, the amp and subs were running fine. On the amp though, there are 2 sets of + and -, as if the amp were a 2 channel, eventhough its a mono.
So far the only problem is that the amp does go into protection mode, it turns off once in a while, and seconds later it will turn back on.
I was expecting something like that to happen tho, so right now i turned the bass all the way down and barely turn the system up so it doesnt clip and possibly mess up my subs.
Element913 - Im satisfied with the subs so far. I havent really tuned the amp at all yet and havent checked how the subs are wired inside the box so im not sure what the resistance right now is.
But the subs do pound hard. Hits good low notes and its clean and smooth.
Now I need to decide if i should get 1. one of those yellow top batteries or something along those lines
2. get a more powerful alternator
or 3 get a capacitor.
Which would get the job done without spending too much?
if i go with a cap, what size/brand is good?

thanks for the help.

 

[93medusa]

The terminals on the amp are still mono. They are set up as a parallel connection. They put the second one on simply for convenience when wiring boxes that have two subs in them. I would recomend checking the subs wiring if you didn't do it yourself, just to make sure everything is hooked up correctly.

When does it hit protection? Only when the bass hits really loud? If that's the case, a cap might serve as a band-aid. However, Getting your alternator rewound so it puts out a higher capacity is the best way to go. A second battery will only make it so that you can play the system longer with the car off.

For mor information, Check out crutchfield here:
http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/S-8CFuunFq1AB/learningcenter/car/amplifiers_install_power.html


I just hooked up one 12 inch solobaric in a 2 cubic foot enclosure with an MTX mono amp pushing about 1000 watts in the back of an Envoy. It was extremely loud, and since it was in a larger box, it played very deep. I was really impressed. It blew away pretty much every single sub that I have heard so far. But then again, that could have just been because I haven't listened to a lot of systems pushing 1000 watts into one sub.

 

[MelectroK]

Get a 1 Farid Capacitor. When the amp cuts out, feel if it is hot. If it is hook up a fan to try to keep it cool.

 

[93medusa]

Like I said before, a 1 *farad* capacitor is still just a band-aid fix. What you really need to do is upgrade your alternator.

 

[element913]

I have a hifonics z1000d (1000w mono), it also has 2 channel outputs, I noticed that when i route 2 2 ohm loads to them seperately the amp only puts out a 4 ohm wattage (400 or something), what you need to do is put both the + and both the - to the primary output and leave the secondary ones empty. Your amp is most likely going into protection mode because of a faulty ground (i also had this problem, i recommend wiring the amp power ground wires all the way to the battery, do not ground it to the chassis).

Hope it helps,

 

[K-Dawg]

If its a single channel amp, and has "two outputs", then they are parallelled inside the amp. It just makes it easier when amping more than one sub.

Capacitors are the ****. :***:

 

[element913]

for whatever reason, i think that hifonics wired them serial. If i wire them both into the same output then i get WAY more wattage that i do if i wire them seperately into the 2 outputs.

 

[Venom SHO s7]

Yeah Im going to personally check how the subs are wired inside the box to make sure its right.
Ill also try hooking up the wires to one set of + and - instead of using both sets.
The amp turns off when i turn the system up and leave it up for more than say...10, maybe 15 seconds. If the system is kept at low volume, the amp will hardly ever turn off.
I also checked the amp and its not hot, which is why i figured it wasnt getting enought power which was why it was turning off, that and my headlights do dim when when i turn it up.
Ok, unless i can find a cap for a really good price, Ill just look into getting the alternator rewound.
Whats a descent price for this? and what kind of shop would be able to do it?
I read in an article in Mustang and Fast Fords that you can fill the box with polyfill to make the subs act like theyre in a bigger enclosure and its overall beneficial to the sound.If this is so, where would i be able to buy polyfill?
Sorry if im asking so many questions everytime i post, but id rather ask and know, than spend money on something thats not gonna help.
thanks

 

[Whiner]

My L7 blew every amp i put in there. Unfortunatly i had to spend some real money on a decent amp. I hooked my L7 up regular and it hits like no other. (amp is bridged tho)

 

[element913]

That amp does take 160 amps to operate at max output, there is a good chance that in 15 seconds you are draining your battery. I knew a guy with an old chevy S-10, he was running 4 kicker s15l7's off 3000 watts of kicker amp, his battery lasted about 5 seconds (but for the time it worked it was amazing). It didnt take long for him to fry his alternator, i dont know what year your sho is, but depending on that you have either a 90, 120 or 130 amp alternator, ALL of which are not powerful enough for that amplifier. I recommend you get 2 batteries and a 150 to 200 amp alternator, a cap is important too as its purpose is to smooth out the flow of power to the amplifier. If you have light dimming problems, when you install a cap, the lights dont fluctuate, they just stay dim (or a happy medium), but with a high output alternator you wont have this problem. The engine takes anywhere from 10-40 amps to operate depending on rpm (shotimes?). Power accessories take alot as well and the electric fan takes around 40 amps. All in all, ford didnt make the alternator in the car reasonable for a system. What I suggest is expensive, but its the right way to solve your problem.

hope it helps,