subwoofer/amp distortion? constant bass

I will try shorting the plugs today. From what I understand, all I have to do is take RCAs, cut 6 inches away from the plugs, strip the wires & tie them together and then plug it into the amp as usual. This is what I will do.

i am an idiot, I tried what they show on the website. I re-grounded my head unit to a good source (cuz it used to be grounded to the ground wire from the car), then I took 18 gauge wire, hooked it up to the same ground source and touched the other end on the metal part of the RCA outputs on the head unit. I tried them both one by one (you never specified which one I had to do) and neither of them made a difference.

I will try "shorting the plugs" today and report back.

Thanks a lot for all your guys' help. I really appreciate it!!!

Okay I shorted the plugs and the amp was quiet as ever.

Now, I plugged back in the RCAs from the head unit, and everything was working fine. So I was like that's weird... put the amp back in place and then turned the system on again, BANG the distortion is back!

So then I got the bright idea to jiggle the RCAs at the amp while it was on, and BOOM BOOM BANG the sub goes nuts, so yah, my question would be now... is it the RCAs that are damaged at the plugs (to the amp)?? I don't have any other RCAs to try right now.

Yah I learned my lesson, I will now bolt the amp down to something.

My amp is an MTX Thunder 302.

So you think it's the RCA inputs on the amp, not the RCA plugs?

If it is the same as the Thunder 342  I know it is the amp.

http://ampguts.realmofexcursion.com/MTX_Thunder_342/inside1.jpg   This type of RCA jacks are famous for having bad connections.      You will need 2 torx screwdrivers and a soldering iron and some resin core solder.  The 2 screws holding the MTX badge are T-10  Remove them, lift the badge and then remove the LED filter.  Just lift it straight up.  Then remove the 4 T-15 screws, one on each corner.  remove the cover so you can get to the back of the RCA jacks.   The outer part of the RCA connector is loose and will move when you try to move it.    You need to solder the round part of it to the frame that it is mounted to.  You will need to do both of them, left and right.  It will be tricky to get the bottom one but it is possible.   Put solder on as much of the circle that you can.  It is possible to get about 270 degrees on the top one.   I will look to see if I have a similar amp to modify and take pictures to post tomorrow.

Ok thanks A LOT for the info.

So I guess you're pretty sure it's the inputs and not the RCA cables??

I'm gonna go try the soldering now, scary!!

I'll post back with results.

Thanks again!!!!

Hey,

First of all, taking apart the amp was nothing like you mentioned, hehe, but I got it anyways (oh no I had to void the warranty), and the RCAs don't look like the ones in the pictures.

I am uploading a picture of mine that I took 2 minutes ago. The picture is crappy quality cuz I can only upload

30k pictures.

Please give your opinion!

Hey I think I may need some clarification.

I did what you said (pushing back on the top of the RCA jack) and I didn't see anything broken or moving. The solder joints on the board seem fine...

I know nothing about amps or electronics so yah... I know how to solder though.