New subwoofer and amplifier not working

[Aaronss99]

I recently bought a Pioneer GM D9601 Amplifier and a Pioneer TS-W261S4 subwoofer. Im wiring them to a 2014 Mini Cooper and as I'm using the stock head unit I have cut into the the rear speaker wires and ran a speaker wire to an adaptor allowing me to plug them into the RCA input on my amp. The amp accepts speaker wire input so no need for a low output connector. I connected everything however my subwoofer only makes a small vibration when I play music (about the same amount as my regular speakers do) does anybody have any suggestions on how I can resolve this thanks.

[rodacollier]

Need more details on how the speaker wires are coming into the amp. Assuming you have the switches set right on the amp, it sounds like the input signal is not sufficient.


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[Chris from Washington]

Welcome to the forum, so from how you describe it. It sounds like the sub does play some music?

I'm a little confused by this part
" as I'm using the stock head unit I have cut into the the rear speaker wires and ran a speaker wire to an adaptor allowing me to plug them into the RCA input on my amp. The amp accepts speaker wire input so no need for a low output connector."

Are you using the speaker level inputs on the amp, or RCA?

[Aaronss99]

Hello thanks for all the replies, i have taken some photos.
It does play some bass but very little you can only tell if you touch the subwoofer.
I dont know if this has any relevance but my car has stock subwoofers below the seats.
On pioneers website it says "Speaker line input sensor-connect your existing OEM unit without the hassle of add-on adapters" so im guessing it doesn't have a direct speaker level input it just detects an input and adjusts it self.

I cut into both rear speakers and crimped on some speaker wire and then ran that to an adaptor that came with my amp, allowing me to plug it straight into the RCA input

[Chris from Washington]

not super familiar with how their speaker level to RCA thing works.

The sub woofer, you have 1 and it's 4 ohm.
If so, that would mean you're putting 500 watts to the amp. It should have some sound and be moving.

So I'm wondering about the factory subs. how are they wired in relation to your new amp/sub? any chance could could unhook those completely for a test to see if it makes any difference?

[Aaronss99]

I think it just works the same was as a speaker level input on a regular amp but uses the RCA input to do so.
Yeah the subwoofer is 4 ohms and i have one.
The factory subs come off of the cars wiring ive taken some photos.
i disconnected the connectors and played some music nothing changed but the front door speakers also turned off as well as the under seat subs. the connector is 4 pin so im guessing two of witch are the positive and negative for the front door speakers.

[Chris from Washington]

hmm, I'm stumped.
it may almost be worth it to get a true line converter (they are cheap) and try that.
It seems to me that your signal is low, not sure if it's because the Amp isn't working right, or something in your wiring.

[Aaronss99]

That's the thing ive already tried a line output converter, im thinking its the wiring.
Im going to look into taking the signal from the head unit or from the factory subwoofers. maybe it will be stronger i dont really know.
Im also going to try powering it off of my friends head unit as he has RCA outputs so i can see if its a problem with my wiring or a fault with the amplifier.

[Chris from Washington]

That's the thing ive already tried a line output converter, im thinking its the wiring.
Im going to look into taking the signal from the head unit or from the factory subwoofers. maybe it will be stronger i dont really know.
Im also going to try powering it off of my friends head unit as he has RCA outputs so i can see if its a problem with my wiring or a fault with the amplifier.

Yes I was going to suggest that too, if you can find another audio source to feed into it. If it's still doing it, then you know it's the amp/sub.

If it works fine, then ya it's something in your cars wiring causing it.

[Aaronss99]

Yes I was going to suggest that too, if you can find another audio source to feed into it. If it's still doing it, then you know it's the amp/sub.

If it works fine, then ya it's something in your cars wiring causing it.

I wired it up to my friends car using RCA leads today and it worked perfectly.
Its something to do with my wiring just got to figure out where to re wire it to. Thanks for your help