I just finished the process of installing the factory subwoofer and amp in my truck. I do not have the factory wiring for this, so I wired it all myself and created a custom connection to the amplifier instead of using the factory plug.

The question I have is what I fear may be somewhat complicated and not a simple answer to solve it. My first bit of information is that I have determined one of the voice coils on the factory sub is blown, and this may be causing all problems. From my headunit (Pioneer AVH-2500 BT) I have ran both the red and the white RCA cables to the amplifier. When only one is plugged into the amp I have good bass response in the sub. It varies from the + and - RCA connection on the amp. I can switch the red and white from the headunit and the results are the same. The + rca from the amp seems to have good response while the - rca has a lower response. When both rca's are plugged in from the headunit to the amp I no longer have any response in the sub.

Is this problem to do with the non-responsive voice coil of the sub, or is it deeper lying? I apologize if my explanation of the problem is lacking, my knowledge of audio systems is somewhat limited.

Thanks!

 

You did put a resistor in the amp turn on lead to drop down the voltage correct? All aftermarket headunits put out 12v for amp turn on, while the factory sub and amp combo for the 04-08's uses a 5v turn on signal.

 

Yes. What would that have to do with the RCA problem though?

 

I was just making sure you did that, I have heard of factory amps getting blown out and giving the symptoms you describe.

 

Ah, I gotcha. It could be possible, I guess, that the amp is screwed up. Seems odd to me that the sub has a blown voice coil, but I guess this could be from normal wear and tear?

 

I used 12v to turn on the factory 09 sub I added in my 03. I also tied it off the rear speaker wires as a center channel.

 

You may be able to on 09+ but the 04-08 audiophile sub amp uses 5v for turn on.

 

Mines out of a F250 as well

 

The voice coils can be checked with an ohm meter a.k.a. Multimeter with the ohm option. 4Ohms speakers should give a close reading to 4omhs on the coil...same with 8ohms and so on.

The subwoofer should only carry one channel unless you have two subwoofers or your subwoofer is dual voice coil and one amp channel for each.

I don't quite understand your issue though.

The head unit sends the left and right audio signals to the amp (two RCA cables)...the amp amplifies the signals and the cross over separates the highs, mids, lows. The highs and mids are your left and right door speakers...the low is typically just one woofer.