Car Stereos: Subwoofer Problems, alpine amp, rca output

Question
I have power going to my amp[blue indicator light is on] however i cannot get any sound to come from my subwoofer. I have triple checked all connections and wiring, it is all ok.I am currently running a Pioneer 12" 1200 watt sub off a 500 watt Alpine amp. My head unit is a Pioneer P5200-HD.

Answer
Hi Brian,

The only way to find your issue will be through extensive trial and error.

First, check and make sure you have 12V of power running to the amp.  Some amps turn on their power light with power from the remote wire, so make sure there's 12V across the positive and negative, and that the amp is turning on and off correctly with the stereo so you know the remote wire is doing its job.

Then, get a test speaker.  Any old piece of crap will do.  Hook it up to a terminal, and see if it behaves, so you can rule out the subwoofer.

Then, make sure based on the brand of amp and how many channels and at what impedance it supports, ensure that your sub isn't lower than what it's expecting.  If it is, it will turn off its output to protect itself.

Make sure your deck is configured to output sound on the RCAs.  Unfortunately testing these is a little more difficult unless you can bring a household amplifier out into your garage to test or something.

Basically, just go step by step by replacing a component with something else and see if it reacts.

(You could also try bringing out your laptop, getting a 1/8" -> RCA output, and plugging that into the amp to test the RCAs.)

Justin