rca cables

Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=116671
Printed Date: April 18, 2024 at 8:01 PM

Topic: rca cables

Posted By: blackcivichatch
Subject: rca cables
Date Posted: October 02, 2009 at 8:49 PM

RCA cables are my very least favorite part of car audio installation. My newest problem is my worst problem. I have an amp whom shall remain anonymous and an old school Cerwin Vega woofer, Alpine IDA-x200 HU.
Problem: It all started when i noticed the amp clipping on rare occasions. When i would put pressure on the RCA terminal at the amp the clipping stopped. Well, its progressively gotten worse. Finally the tip to one of the RCA cables broke off. Ive tried soldering it back on with no success.
Can i hard wire the RCA wires inside the amp?
If not what are some options i have.... Other than buying new cables
Thanks posted_image

-------------
UNLABELED Custom Car Club President

Replies:

Posted By: fiberglasslvr
Date Posted: October 02, 2009 at 9:29 PM

i know it sucks, but get new cables some good quality ones will make a nice difference, stinger HPM3 are the ones i use ,good luck

-------------
in process of changing everything

Posted By: i am an idiot
Date Posted: October 02, 2009 at 9:54 PM

Radio Shack sells solder on RCA ends. They even have some with screw terminals, but you are better off soldering those on also.

Posted By: blackcivichatch
Date Posted: October 02, 2009 at 11:31 PM

Not exactly what i wanted to hear.. But thank you. Im Gonna need a new amp kit for my next amp... so i guess its time anyways.. lol

-------------
UNLABELED Custom Car Club President

Posted By: i am an idiot
Date Posted: October 03, 2009 at 3:46 AM

What kind of options were you wanting to hear?

Posted By: blackcivichatch
Date Posted: October 03, 2009 at 10:35 AM

Well, i was kinda considering pullin the amp apart, cutting off the ends of the RCA cables and soldering them to the circuit board... or any thing else that doesnt cost any money. Haha

-------------
UNLABELED Custom Car Club President

Posted By: i am an idiot
Date Posted: October 03, 2009 at 10:01 PM

if you want to do that, you can.

Posted By: blackcivichatch
Date Posted: October 05, 2009 at 11:42 AM

i Was just wanting to make sure there wasnt a trick to it.. I dont want to loose any of the little sound quality that i have,

-------------
UNLABELED Custom Car Club President

Posted By: i am an idiot
Date Posted: October 05, 2009 at 5:47 PM

No trick, just use a meter to determine which connection on the bottom of the jack is left right and shield.

Posted By: blackcivichatch
Date Posted: October 05, 2009 at 6:07 PM

Ok HUGE PROBLEM!!
I thought i had things hooked up right... sparked when i turned it on, now it sounds like one side is louder than the other. including the front speakers which aren't on an amp.
PLEASE tell me i didn't jus fry my Alpine!

-------------
UNLABELED Custom Car Club President

Posted By: blackcivichatch
Date Posted: October 05, 2009 at 7:07 PM

The RCA cables im using are some off brand, inside, they have a wire inside black insulation, and a bare wire.
I also have some scrap Monster RCA cables, Inside of them is a red insulated wirem a white insulated wire, and a bare wire....? posted_image

-------------
UNLABELED Custom Car Club President

Posted By: i am an idiot
Date Posted: October 05, 2009 at 7:24 PM

The bare wire is known as the shield. It is to be connected to the connection on the board that is connected to the outer part of the RCA Jack. Is there a red and white in one cable? Or is there a red wire in one cable and a white wire in the other cable?

Posted By: blackcivichatch
Date Posted: October 05, 2009 at 9:13 PM

this is wut im workin with..

-------------
UNLABELED Custom Car Club President

Posted By: blackcivichatch
Date Posted: October 05, 2009 at 9:23 PM

picture wont work... but all it is is clear insulation, bare wire, black insulated wire

-------------
UNLABELED Custom Car Club President

Posted By: blackcivichatch
Date Posted: October 05, 2009 at 9:41 PM

And thats how i had connected it.. i soldered the center conductors to the backside of the RCA receivers. and soldered one wire for the shields on the bottom side of the amp where its soldered to the circuit board.

-------------
UNLABELED Custom Car Club President

Posted By: i am an idiot
Date Posted: October 05, 2009 at 9:41 PM

The black insulated wire is the center conductor and the bare wire is the shield.
posted_image

Your picture did not work because it was wider than 640 pixels. I had to crop it so it would post.

Posted By: blackcivichatch
Date Posted: October 05, 2009 at 11:30 PM

Ok... So, It works... Well, Half of it works. When i connect the right channel, the sub starts clippin hella bad and the amp goes into protect mode.. the left channel works fine. Im not wasting anymore time tryin to fix a $95 amp. posted_image

Thank you for all your help with this.
And if anyone is sellin a 1000 to 2000 watt amp... im lookin posted_image

-------------
UNLABELED Custom Car Club President

Posted By: haemphyst
Date Posted: October 07, 2009 at 9:32 AM

I have to wonder why this was "easier" or "smarter" than spending the 99 cents at The Shack for a pair of ends, soldering those into place on the end of the RCAs, and not risking the amp's health and functionality. Now, the crystal ball forsees a new amp (which you have already mentioned you will now be after) or long expensive repair. 100 dollar amp that was working fine and is now a doorstop, or 1 dollar repair, requiring soldering (which was required the other way, too...) and NOT disassembling the amplifier. 100 to 1 ratio is NOT smart, dude!

You said you wanted to do it without spending ANY money, now you are spending several hundred more than you EVER wanted to, throwing away what WAS a working piece of gear, and then paying for a replacement piece of gear. Consider this situation the next time you think about "not spending any money", and jump into some territory you are not familiar with.

-------------
It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

Posted By: blackcivichatch
Date Posted: October 07, 2009 at 9:53 AM

i understand what your sayin, but after disassembling the amp i found another problem, Where the RCA receiver was soldered to the bored, the pads had been broken..
So i had the tip of the RCA cable broken off inside the amp
Broken RCA cable
RCA cable receiver not even electrically connected to the circuit board

So simply getting a new end Wouldnt have solved my ptoblem

-------------
UNLABELED Custom Car Club President

Posted By: doc t
Date Posted: October 09, 2009 at 7:19 AM

ive run into this a couple of times in the past, the first time the RCA connectors on the circuit board in the amp came loose(cheap solder job) the second time (diffrent amp) a couple of the transistors burned out and caused a short, hence when i hooked up the power to the amp it arced and sparked. the first case was an easy fix....the second was a little more pricey. not sure if this story helps you but if you havent checked them it is a place to look.

-------------

All Bleeding stops.....eventually!