[stratplaya06]

Hey guys,

Tried to install my sws-8 subs and alpine pdx 2.150 amp today, and ran into some issues. I was using technic's harness, and when I hooked everything up I had no sound from any speakers, and no gong noise when the door was open. I also found that the AUX, SAT, CD changer and bluetooth functions did not work. I assume this indicated a blown amp. I took the amp out of my car and threw it into my dad's e60 m5, and found it to play just fine, eliminating that as the possible culprit. I tried putting everything back to stock and removing the technic harness, but the problem still persists.

I would assume it is a break in the most-bus, but I looked around and everything was plugged in as it should be. I also have the seats out of the car, registering a SRS warning, as I have the BT tool to get rid of it. I assume there's no way that the seats being out has anything to do with it.

Any ideas?

[Technic]

Originally Posted by stratplaya06

Hey guys,

Tried to install my sws-8 subs and alpine pdx 2.150 amp today, and ran into some issues. I was using technic's harness, and when I hooked everything up I had no sound from any speakers, and no gong noise when the door was open. I also found that the AUX, SAT, CD changer and bluetooth functions did not work. I assume this indicated a blown amp. I took the amp out of my car and threw it into my dad's e60 m5, and found it to play just fine, eliminating that as the possible culprit. I tried putting everything back to stock and removing the technic harness, but the problem still persists.

I would assume it is a break in the most-bus, but I looked around and everything was plugged in as it should be. I also have the seats out of the car, registering a SRS warning, as I have the BT tool to get rid of it. I assume there's no way that the seats being out has anything to do with it.

Any ideas?

Put the seats back and plugged in. To be blunt, that is not a good way of installing anything in the car.

[stratplaya06]

Been PM'ing ya, Technic,

Got the seats back in, but unfortunately the MOST devices are still unreachable. Does anyone know how to diagnose where a break in the fiber optic chain is?

[fdriller9]

Did you touch the HU at all?

You seem like you know what you're doing, minus the airbag warning, but have you tried putting the amp from your father's M5 into your car?

[stratplaya06]

Have not touched the head unit on this job. I installed the modmynav interface a few months back, but had to remove it in order to have the dealership replace my radio. Everything was working just fine for weeks until I started this most recent project.

As far as the airbag warning goes, I didn't see a problem in removing the seats for easier access to the subs. I have the BT tool and clearing those codes was extremely simple once the seats were back in.

I have not tried my dad's amp in mine, but I did try mine in his and found that it worked just fine. I am definitely open to trying his in my car though. I really think that there is some sort of MOST bus issue, but I can't for the life of me find anything wrong with the fiber connectors. I have done work with the fiber optics before (retrofitted sirius myself), so I know how these things are supposed to look.

Is there any to reset the MOST bus, or to do any deep diagnosis on it? I know that there's a way to use a flashlight to diagnose fiber problems, but I am not really sure where to start/what to look for.

Also, I have the sws-8's into the stock wiring/amp right now, is this a problem? I wouldn't assume so, but I am really getting desperate for solutions at this point.

[808MGuy]

I recall Technic posting awhile back (in another thread) that any break in the MOST would cause an instant warning light so it would be very obvious. Did you have a warning light come on?

Also, doesn't Technic's harness totally remove the OEM amp from the signal chain? If so, what is running your front and rears if your SWS is connected to the PDX?

[Technic]

Originally Posted by 808MGuy

I recall Technic posting awhile back (in another thread) that any break in the MOST would cause an instant warning light so it would be very obvious. Did you have a warning light come on?

Also, doesn't Technic's harness totally remove the OEM amp from the signal chain? If so, what is running your front and rears if your SWS is connected to the PDX?

The OP sound system is the Logic7, not the HiFi. None of my harnesses break any MOST rings or CAN networks.

[808MGuy]

Originally Posted by Technic

The OP sound system is the Logic7, not the HiFi. None of my harnesses break any MOST rings or CAN networks.

Oops, missed that.

[VP Electricity]

Did you pull the head unit at any time?

Did you unplug the L7 amp MOST connectors at any time?

If your amp worked in his car, I would NOT try his amp in your car.

Do you have iDrive or Professional CD? If the latter, put it into the diagnostic mode and see which audio system it reports.

It sounds as if you might have a wiring problem downstream of the Technic harness, which could be locking up your L7 amp. I would try reinstalling the Technic harness with the underseat woofer wires disconnected at the harness, and see if you can get mids and highs.

[stratplaya06]

Found a blown 20A radio fuse, ended up fixing the problem with the amp and MOST system. Thanks again guys, really shoulda checked that earlier.

New issue: SWS subs are installed now, and even without any grills they make a rattle, almost like knocking sound when they reach any kind of large extention. I have pulled back the carpet and looked at them, and can't see anything being hit as they move. Any suggestions?

[kmarei]

Originally Posted by stratplaya06

Found a blown 20A radio fuse, ended up fixing the problem with the amp and MOST system. Thanks again guys, really shoulda checked that earlier.

New issue: SWS subs are installed now, and even without any grills they make a rattle, almost like knocking sound when they reach any kind of large extention. I have pulled back the carpet and looked at them, and can't see anything being hit as they move. Any suggestions?

are you using spacers?
or did you trim the ribs in the bottom of the enclosures?

[VP Electricity]

When you pull back the carpet and look at them as they play, do they still make the noise?

With our steel rings, we advise trimming a rib under the frame. With someone else's thicker spacers, it's not supposed to be needed. But if you didn't trim it, the woofer frame might be hitting that... do both woofers do it?

I assume you don't have a Corn Nut on the woofer cone?

[stratplaya06]

I did use the jtsherri spacers, and did not trim the bottom of the enclosures. What I found was that when I pulled the woofers out and held them as they were playing (not sure if this was an accurate test, just let me know if it wasn't), the woofer would reach a decent extension and then it would make the noise, almost as if it was peaking. I gotta say though that the gain was hardly past 1/4 on my pdx 2.150, which I assumed was a relatively conservative setting, given the max 150watts per channel.

Maybe I am expecting too much of these woofers, but I really didn't think I was being too aggressive with the settings.

[808MGuy]

Originally Posted by stratplaya06

I did use the jtsherri spacers, and did not trim the bottom of the enclosures. What I found was that when I pulled the woofers out and held them as they were playing (not sure if this was an accurate test, just let me know if it wasn't), the woofer would reach a decent extension and then it would make the noise, almost as if it was peaking. I gotta say though that the gain was hardly past 1/4 on my pdx 2.150, which I assumed was a relatively conservative setting, given the max 150watts per channel.

Maybe I am expecting too much of these woofers, but I really didn't think I was being too aggressive with the settings.

So you were holding them out of the enclosure? That would not be an accurate test since you are unloading the woofer and basically relying solely on the suspension of the woofer to control its motion. It sounds like you are reaching the end of the woofers suspension which is something you don't want to be doing on a regular basis.

[stratplaya06]

That's kinda what I figured. I have them set to a point where they seem to sound good, but there are still some frequencies that really make them sound terrible even though the amp and EQ settings are pretty conservative. I would definitely be open to adding a trunk sub to my system, but the corner enclosures don't work for me (CD changer and amp on driver side, and meth on the passenger side), and I am really liking having no loss of trunk space

[kmarei]

if you want to meet up to listen to mine you are welcome to, i live in north virginia
i have the SWS 2ohm version
and they sound great
what frequency are you using for lowpass?