Hi all,

I just got done overhauling my car with the DynaMat extreme and Sound Skins Pro sound deadening almost everywhere that's bare metal (everywhere except for behind dash). What a project! I'll try and attach some pics so all the Installer guys can flame me hehe >

Now, my goal: To install the AudioControl LC7i (six-channel line output converter) and SKAR RP-600.5 (700 Watt 5-Channel Car Amplifier) into the car and make the sound way better than the 15-year old paper speakers.

Context: Between tons of work tearing apart the car and putting it back together over the course of a few months I have installed x4 Rockford Fosgate 6.5's in the front/rear doors, replacing the factory sub with a Rockford Fosgate R2SD2 10" subwoofer in the factory spot, and hooking up the SKAR AMP to the RF 10" Sub only so far. I completely removed the stock sub and spliced the wires that go into its oconnector and re-routed it into the LC7i so it's signal can be "cleaned up" and then routed into the SKAR amp, then the amp's signal goes into the RF Sub. Pretty run-of-the mill for an audio install. The RF 6.5" door speaker's and all the factory tweeters/center channels are still hooked up to the Factory Pioneer Amp through the stock wiring.

My issue: I never touched/spliced the door speaker signals (I did a really great job of checking all the wiring and signals when I did the doors speakers a few months ago) but now when I drive my car the whole L channel sometimes cuts out and comes back when i floor it/go over a bump/sometimes just randomly and without pattern. The R channel always works though. I checked all of the connections and don't know where the issue could arise from. I called Crutchfield as well and gave them the same rundown as this post, I even asked them if my grounds for my LC&i and my SKAR amp were good, and the rep Cezar told me "No looks like your ground is good, the amp or LC7i wouldn't even turn on if you had a bad ground". I am stumped at what to do and the sound cutting in and out gets kind of annoying after all this work I have put in. Sometimes the sound is crackly and muffed from the L channels, and then suddenly it comes back full volume, clear as day, only to cut out completely after 10-15 minutes.

My Possible Solutions(please critique this if you know better):
1) Maybe after I splice into the door signals and route the speaker-level signal through the LC7i, and used the cleaned up signals to my SKAR amp, then run new wires from the SKAR amp the RF door speaker, this issue would go away? I just don't want to proceed any further if the same issue will happen after I run new wiring obviously

2) Buy a new Factory Pioneer Amp. I have had unconfirmed suspicions that this amp could be going bad, I used to get THUMPING levels music at volume 24 back a few months ago, even after I installed the RF 6.5's and they did a great job. Now, it takes volume 32 to achieve like 80% of that thump, and I am hesitant to turn it up past that for fear of blowing up a factory tweeter or something. I would prefer not to go this route if I eventually do Solution 1, bt I do understand how important the factory amp in this setup to get the factory signals from the HU.

Does anyone have any guidance or ideas on what I can do to start with?


RR Door untreated. With Pink Factory Moisture Guard. Was hanging off and unsealed in 3 different spots, negating its original purpose after 15 years lol.

RR Door, after I removed factory moisture guard, sealed off using the SSPro, and installed new RF 6.5's. Looks pretty solid imho. The 2 rear doors look identical.

This is the rear deck after I did the DynaMat. Now the only thing that really rattles is the rear sunshade (thinking bout removing as I have 5% in the rear anyways)

Rear pass-through and rear seats Sound Deadened, pretty solid difference in picking up vibrations and keeping rear cabin a bit more stable.

Added CLFoam after Dynamat, maybe in prep for a layer of MLV next who knows? :P

Trunk/Spare Tire Area untouched

Trunk/Spare Tire Area Mostly treated, I added more foam and DynaMat after this pic too.

 

First off, great job on the sound deadening. I need to do the same. Did you check the speaker wire connection to the LC7i? I would run a separate outside wire to the LC7i to see if the problem continues. If you didn't have that problem before installing the LC7, then I doubt the factory amp is the culprit. I went a different but similar route when I installed my system which consists of the Audio Control DM-608, LC 4.800, LC 1.800, and a single Massive Audio HippoXL 12. I installed Memphis Audio XIV series coaxial 6.5s in the doors and Memphis PR tweeters in the dash. I spliced into the speaker wires right at the amp. I used the front left and right and the subwoofer speaker wire output from the factory amp to the DM-608 inputs. I summed the channels together because the front channels has little bass going to them. You can do the same with the LC7i via the jumpers inside if you haven't. Just check to make sure that your connection to the LC7 is solid. I actually made a mistake of not stripping the wires far back enough when connecting the sub channel to the DM608 and thought there was a problem but after double checking, I fixed it.

 

Thanks for your input man!! Looks like this was your very first post ever on CL, I hope you keep posting! I will go back and double check the connection to the LC7i but that is not where my issue lies. Why is that? Because the LC7i is not hooked up to any channel other than the Sub's L&R (dual voice coil). The factory speakers in the doors and tweeters, the same ones that cut out randomly, are all hooked up though the factory amp still, of which I haven't even started to splice into yet. As far as I'm concerned, the door speakers and tweeters haven't been "upgraded" yet, think of it like that to keep things simple.

What I've done:
-Cut off the factory connector where the factory sub plugs into (located on the rear decklid)
-Rerouted that cut end into the LC7i
-Powered the LC7i and the SKAR amp to the car's 12V Battery
-Connected the RF Sub to the SKAR amp

The factory speakers are not touched yet in this equation. I am thinking I might have cut something I didn't mean to in the process of rerouting the sub line before I connected it into the LC7i. All of the head unit wires go thru there and go to the back of the amp (I think......). I will have ot rip apart he car and try everythig out again. If you have any other suggestions based off the new info I gave, do give me a shout!