okay so i bought the hifonics brutus BXI1606D to power my two kicker 12" L5's. i wired the subs in parrallel just like the kicker manual says and i hooked them up to the amp and theres nothing.. the amp is powered up just fine with 14 volts reading on my capp.. could there be power issues or are my speaker terminals on the amp dead? if anyone has had some kind of issue like this please let me know...

 

... so how do you know the amp is powered up?
how did you hook the speakers to the amp (details please)

you have not given anywhere near enough info... I am assuming you dont know car audio (and thats fine we have all been stumped before) but like a doctor we need to know all the symptoms

Brutus is pretty nice, is it new or used?

 

bought it off ebay said it was brand new so yeah. i know the amp is powered up because everything is glowing bright blue so im assuming that means it is.. as for how the subs are hooked up, exactly how the diagram for parallel wiring shows in the manual. (i dont want to descscribe it because i will just describe it wrong) then from each terminal in the back to the amp. ive tripple checked to make sure all + and - are proper and that my RCA's are hooked up right...

 

can heh measure dc voltage across the outut terminals? if he has zero volts.. would he then have a dead amp output stage?

 

are all your settings set correctly?

 

Is there a head unit on/off setting for the sub channel?

 

check to make sure the rcas are plugged into the proper inputs. some amps have inputs and outputs for chaining amplifiers together. If you have the rcas plugged into the outputs, you would get nothing. Also double check that the rcas are properly plugged in behind your deck to the sub out if your deck has them, and that they are "turned on" on your deck if it has that option. My pioneer headunit enables you to turn off the sub output...

 

first thing I'd do is to make sure it's not a signal issue. Plug in an ipod or some portable player via rca (with an adaptor if necessary) to the amp's inputs. If you have sound, then it's a signal issue...either a setting or problem in the deck or along the path. If you still have nothing, then you can start looking at the amp end of the chain. It's the fastest way to eliminate a lot of guessing.

 

Checklist

-multimeter to speaker wire going to amp. Whats the load? (ohms) Should be around 1 assuming you have DVC 4 ohms in parallel as you suggested.
-secure power and ground connections to battery and amp. Some amps (kenwood) can turn on with a faulty ground because they ground through the RCA's a little)
-check signal from head unit (multimeter) or use an alternate source like veeman suggested. If no signal from deck, troubleshoot head unit.
-input signal to correct RCA terminals on amp (input)
-master/slave on amp set correctly (If necessary)
-gain and dials on amp turned up at least a little. half way for trouble shooting
-Crossover set to LPF (or open for testing)
-remote to amp providing a strong signal and tight connection (bridge to power cable for testing purposes)
-check "protect" LED On amp

If all that fails, last resort is to swap it into someone else's working setup and see if it works there. If it does, re-do checklist and read manual for something you may have missed.

g'luck