I have an Eclipse head unit feeding a 6-channel JL Audio amp and a 2-channel Infinity sub amp in a 2004 Dodge Ram. The Infinity drives two JL 10" subs and the JL amp has channels 1/3 and 2/4 bridged for the front components and channels 5 & 6 for the rear speakers. All was fine for a few months (system is about 1 year old) but then the JL amp started going in to Protect mode when the volume was above about 55 on the volume scale (0-80 scale). 60-65 is about as loud as I ever play music. I found that the front right side is the problem as I can play as loud as I want if I fade back or balance to the left. I replaced the driver, tweeter and crossover at different times on the passenger front and yet the problem remains. I've switched the RCA feed from the head unit and the problem doesn't move with the RCA cable so it's not the head unit. I switched the speaker output wires so the right front channel which is where the problem is feeds the left side and the left side feeds the right. The problem remains on the passenger front because with the wiring change I have to balance right (which is really left because of the speaker output wire change) so it's not my amp. I've looked over the wiring in the door and can see nothing that could result in a short. If I back the volume off the amp almost immediately comes back on. I'm about out of ideas. Can speaker wire polarity cause this? I'm not sure which OEM harness wire is ground so maybe I need to make sure I don't have them backwards, but it hasn't changed and it worked flawlessly before. Any, ANY help here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Mike.

 

yes, but usally it cut out faster than that if they were switched. Are the OHMs correct for the the bridge?

 

Yes, they're 4 ohm speaker components so I'm within spec. This system worked fine for about 4 months before the problem began about 6 months ago. I've spent the last 6 months trying to fix it, but I don't have a lot of time to spend on it. I'm about to get it resolved though, since I've eliminated just about everything but the OEM wiring or I suppose it could be the speaker wire I installed. I'll replace it all with new and see if that does the trick. I'm just not certain I can replace the wire that goes through the door jamb and door bulkhead connector.

 

Okay, so I've fixed the problem and furthering the heavier gauge speaker wire to the components thereby eliminating the OEM wires wasn't the fix. I've spent hours trying to resolve this issue and could have fixed it in 15 minutes. The problem was loose terminal spade connectors on the woofer. I guess when the volume was loud enough to really make the drivers rumble the connections faltered. This was discovered by process of elimination, but a lesson was learned. I'm soldering all my connections from here on. Also, it appears that the OEM gauge wire is sufficient for at least 150w. Thanks for the help guys.