QuestionI have a 1996 Eddie Bauer Explorer w/ a factory deck, a kenwood Kac-x811D, I am running a 12" Kicker cvr12 that the guy at circuit city bridged to become a 1ohm sub and the lights on my car keep flashing, which is expected, but I heard that a cap won't fix anything and that i would have to get a new alternator/battery for the car. Also sometimes the speaker makes a sound like its about to blow then it might not hit a note for a few seconds then its back to normal. So my question to you is A) do I need a new alternator/battery and B) was the guy at CC full of crap when he said the speaker cuts out because it's getting to much power? Also so I run it at 2ohms instead of 1?
Answer A) Yes, you need an upgraded alternator if the lights are dimming (but read on).
*The vehicle elecrical load is supplied entirely by the alternator when the engine is running.
B) Possibly, since no technician should setup a speaker so that it gets 'too much power'. I believe the CVR12 is an 800 watt RMS speaker.
C) The amp claims to be stable at 1 ohm.
The amplifier is not very high quality (signal to noise ratio is a puny 74Db).
The speaker they sold you is not very high quality (as far as Kicker products go) either. In any case, the only way to derive a 1 ohm load with one of those, would be to use the dual 2 ohm voice coil model. Wiring it the other way, you will have a 4 ohm load on the amp (which indeed may help all of the problems you are experiencing by reducing the load on the alternator AND the amp, AND the speaker itself).
IMHO, while Class D amps can deliver loads of wattage, they have never been about high end audio quality.
Best of luck.
Sincerely,
Jerry Mael
