Kommander

Thanks. I think maybe I needed some rest and to regroup. After tonight I am thinking along the same lines as your post, and this is what lead me to it. 1 problem solved.

My headlights. I added OEM hids and used the Morimoto harness I got from TRS. When I bought them I bought a second harness because it was a good deal and my friend who has a 150 was going to do the same but he changed his mind. When my first relay went out I was glad to have a second. I put it in and they worked again. I called TRS and the first one was no longer under warranty (I know why now). So, in my frustration I bought 2 more. With 2 new ones on hand I went about my merry way. Until now. They would not come on cold, but once the truck warmed up they came on. So I came home and put on one of the new relays. Nothing, not even once warmed up. I assumed the new relay was good. I was wrong. 3 relays and only one had lasted more than a week. So, I dug out the 2nd new one and plugged it in. Voila, I have lights once again.

Now for the stereo. I took everything around the battery out again and put it back together slowly and made sure everything was done correctly. No bad fuses, good clean connections. 12v to the 4ga and the remote wire and my ground wire is still firmly attached to the base seat frame of the rear seat as it has been for more than a year. I removed all connections from the amp and LC6i.

I installed the LC6i 1 wire at a time. Hot and ground first. Red power LED came on. I connected all the RCA's with no issue (the other end of the RCA's were unplugged from the amp). I connected the high level inputs from the HU. Still just the red power LED. I connected the remote 12v and the remote out on the new LC6i shows 9.94v out just like the old one so I guess this is normal. So, I disconnected it since I am going to run it directly to the amp. It is connected to fuse 41 via a tap a fuse and shows 12.54v when key is on, 0 when key is off.

The Amp. I started with the Alpine and then the Fosgate. Same results and same process so I won't type it all twice. I connected 12v, NEG, and rem 12v first. No lights at all on either amp. The Alpine LED did come on briefly but then went back out. Again, this is with only these 3 connections.

I connected the RCA's one at a time and with each one I looked at the LC6i. When I connect the RIGHT RCA for channel 1, 2, or Sub the maximized light comes on on the LC6i. This doesn't happen with the LEFT channel. I think this is significant. I think it means a short in one of the channels. This is where I am right now. I had to take a break to eat and type this up while it was still fresh for posterity.

I am going to remove the intermediate harness adapter I used to splice in the aftermarket stuff and put it back to stock for now. That way I can get out of the truck and not be limited to only nights I am off. I will remove the wires, RCA's, amp and LC6i. That way if I get frustrated I can just leave it stock. Otherwise I will run new wires and maybe in a different way this time.

Kommander

Update #2:

I pulled the high level inputs off the LC6i and ran them directly to the speaker outs from the amp effectively cutting the amp and lc6i completely out and removed them from the truck. Its back to stock and all 4 speakers work as they should.

I put the amps on my work bench and ran them to my old stock battery that just came out of my truck. They both powered up and LED's lit up blue like they should. This is really weird since they had the same thing run to them in the truck and would not power up. Both the hot and the remote test positive for 12v. Which leaves the negative. The one I have not messed with because its less than 18" long and is still firmly bolted to the truck. How is that possible?

I am going to go back and hook up one of the amps and mess with the ground wire. If it turns out to be the ground I think I will kick my own ***.

OhioLariat

There you go.. Methodical troubleshooting.

Kommander

Final update: Problem solved.

It was the ******* ground! The ************* ground!

Oh my God! I swear I checked it! I am usually THAT GUY you hate that is always telling you to check the ground! The damn thing was very tight! All I did was remove it and reinstall it and the damn amp came on! Gah!!!! I was even able to use it to check the voltage on the hot side!

Breathe...Ok. I have the JL Audio Stealthbox. One of those bolts goes through the seat frame of the rear seat to hold it in place is where I grounded. It has a washer and a lock washer. The bolt itself is not a ground but it touches the inside of the hole there from the factory and the inside of the frame is metal. So I had the bolt through the hole, then a washer, the ground wire, and then a lock washer and then a nut. It has worked that way for almost 2 years! WTH?!?!?!?!

Ugh. My amp has continuous power now and works. I just have to put all the other stuff back in and I should be good. I found a new place to ground but the eye of the ring that goes around the bolt is not wide enough by just a hair. I will ream it out tomorrow and move it.

Thank you to everyone who patiently gave me loads of good ideas and went along for the ride and watched me waste A LOT of money. I might be selling an LC6i and amp soon. Not sure which ones though.

Ok, I'm off here to get some sleep before work, right after I kick my own ***.

Kommander

Oh, time for a little crow. Good thing I have some Franks Red Hot Sauce...

from: Robert Bailey <rbailey413@gmail.com>
to: Rockford Fosgate Support <rftech@rockfordfosgate.com>
date: Mon, Oct 16, 2017 at 10:00 AM
subject: Re: Amplifier stopped working [Incident: 171002-000006]

I owe you guys an apology, it's not the amp. It was the ground. Long story but it was a weird issue unique to my setup, one I overlooked even having checked the ground. I'm not proud of my mistake, but I can admit when I make one and own it. The amp still works. Not sure why I am writing, not sure anyone is even reading this. But, I sent it anyway.

Happy Monday.

OhioLariat

I would have suggested checking that, but you indicated it was solid right from the start. Yep, those seat bracket bolts are a crapshoot. That said, I'm glad you found the problem, and it's an easy fix.

Recommendation: Take your ground directly to the frame of the truck, not the body. Mine is run through a grommet in the floor, and attached to the frame where I used a wire wheel to clean the area, applied an oxidation limiting and conduction-improving compound (NO-OX-ID) to the hardware and mounting point, then coated the connection and area with rust-proofing spray.



P.S. That's a seat-bracket bolt in the upper right corner of the picture.

.

Kommander

Thats a good location. I will see if there are any of those near my amp that I can go through.

I think I have decided to keep the Alpine. Question though, how do you tune it? The fosgate was easy, it came with a disc. I have no clue how to set the dials and such on the Alpine.

eyecandynsx

I don't know what it is with these F150 harnesses but they're garbage. I went thru 3 harnesses, and then gave up and put the halogens back in. Crappy halogens were better than not knowing if the HID's were going to turn on or not. I have since gotten rid of the F150, but did a full retrofit on my other car and no issues at all... just something with that harness.

OhioLariat

There are a number of tutorials online (like THIS ONE at Crutchfield) on setting gains. I downloaded the Bink Audio Test CD for my testing/setup, but can't seem to find a good link now. There are OTHER OPTIONS FROM GOOGLE.

Setting the gains on the LC6i looks pretty straightforward: INSTRUCTIONS I'm not sure though, how to find the max undistorted volume setting on the head unit with this unit in line.

For high-pass and low-pass filter settings, be sure the amp's bass boost is off, tone settings on the head unit are set to their middle settings (or EQ is flat), and loudness control is turned off. (Gains should have already been properly set under the same conditions.)

The high-pass filters for the front and rear speakers are used to eliminate frequencies from these speakers that are lower than they can effectively reproduce. This allows for cleaner sound in the ranges they *can* play, and helps to avoid damage from lower frequencies. To set these crossovers: Move the fader control all the way to the front or rear (depending on which set you're adjusting). Using the test tone CD and a sound-level meter (or an app on your phone), get a good baseline level reading at, several frequencies from, say, 100Hz to 500 Hz. Play lower and lower tones until the sound level begins to drop off noticeably. For reference, a 3dB drop sounds about half as loud. This is approximately where you'll want the crossover setting to be set. Keep in mind that the electronic crossover will likely be 12dB or better, so don't go too much higher if at all. You can play that "lowest tone," and bring the crossover frequency up until it just begins to affect the volume level. (I suggest this, as the numbers on the "dials" can often be off from the actual values.)

For the amplifier's low pass filter setting, there's no real "scientific" solution that I've found. It's a "sound" thing. It will, though, probably end up close to the value of the high-pass filter setting(s). To set this: With the front and rear outputs disconnected (or the gains turned all the way down), play an audio file (or two or three) representative of the type(s) of music you normally enjoy. Adjust the low-pass pot down until the "highs" are no longer evident. If using the frequency markings on the amp (though again, maybe not accurate), I'd start around 100-150hz or so. You can go lower to get closer to the high-pass settings you chose for the front and rear. Too much overlap will cause the bass to sound "boomy." Go too low, and you'll create a "hole."

Subsonic filter: The purpose of the subsonic filter is just as it sounds... to eliminate frequencies lower than what the subwoofer can effectively reproduce. Trying to play these "inaudible" frequencies robs power, and can cause damage to the driver as it "unloads." I would adjust this using the test CD tones. I'd suggest playing lower and lower tones until the level begins to drops off significantly (like you did for the front/rear high-pass adjustments). I'd then play that lowest audible tone, and, starting at 10 Hz, slowly bring the filter adjustment up until it just begins to affect the volume level.

One final note: You may end up turning the subwoofer gain down a bit if it's overpowering the mains. Just don't turn it up if it's too quiet, because you'll begin to clip.


Hope this is helpful.

P.S. Wear earplugs when setting the gains. You're welcome.

.

Kommander

I read the gain adjustments article from Crutchfield. I did not know I could use my Fosgate disc to tune it that way. It worked great for my Fosgate amp. Going to try it with the alpine since I think I want to keep it and sell the Fosgate. My LC6i was already tuned and I had marked the gain locations so it should just be the amp that needs adjusting.