Why Does My Subwoofer Keep Cutting In And Out?

Let’s look at several solutions Why Does My Subwoofer Keep Cutting In And Out? So you may resume enjoying your favorite TV shows, movies, and music. Your home theater system is set up, the power is precisely balanced, and you’re ready to view the newest movies on Dolby Atmos. Unfortunately, the subwoofer frequently cuts off when the movie is playing, and the explosions sound hollow.

I’ve encountered this issue multiple times for various reasons. There are many causes for your subwoofer to stop working. The amplifier is typically the main suspect. However, the issue might also arise because of shoddy wiring, electrical issues, a distance issue, WiFi, or a potential issue with the subwoofer unit itself.

Why Does My Subwoofer Keep Cutting In And Out?

If there is no signal after a specific time, the subwoofer may include an energy-saving mode that turns the amplifier off. To prevent the subwoofer from shutting off on its own in this situation, put the Power Save switch in the OFF position.

Check the cables or speaker wires for a correct connection between the subwoofer and the central unit. If using an active subwoofer, make sure it is plugged into an operational AC outlet. Avoid connecting the subwoofer to an extension cord or power strip to lower the risk of an electrical short.

Blown Subwoofer

Your subwoofer is probably blown if you’ve checked for every one of the issues above. The subwoofer wouldn’t create any sound if it were destroyed. The subwoofer would sound dry, lack a lot of force, and be unable to provide a controlled bass answer if it were substantially broken. The subwoofer’s coils may have damaged components, which drives the amp to act strangely until it loses power.

Fix – A multimeter can be used to determine whether your subwoofer is damaged. Attach it to the terminals on the rear of your subwoofer after adjusting the reading setting from Volts to Ohms. If it reads less than 1 Ohm, your subwoofer is impaired, and you should contact customer service or have it repaired by a professional.

Interference And Overcrowding

Additionally, interference and crowding are problems when using a wireless subwoofer. In addition to gaming consoles, PCs, smart refrigerators, and cellphones, I also have several other Wi-Fi-enabled devices in my home.

Bluetooth can be used for a wide variety of purposes. If the subwoofer signal overlaps with that of one of these devices, it could be disrupted. You may also get network overload and related problems if you have one WiFi router and many WiFi devices.

Fix – Congestion can be achieved by turning off as many unused connections as possible. Make sure the wireless and Bluetooth capabilities of all of your useless devices are disabled. In addition, you can connect your subwoofer to your router’s 5.0 GHz band if you convert it to a mesh WiFi network to reduce congestion. When there is less noise and traffic on the network, your subwoofer won’t repeatedly turn off.

The Subwoofer Is Too Far Away

A wireless subwoofer will have all the issues that come with wireless technology. A wireless subwoofer would suffer from being too close to ordinary speakers, which can be placed wherever you like as long as you connect them with sturdy speaker cords. The subwoofer will stop working if the WiFi signal is weak enough to cause frequent drops.

Fix – Check to see if your wireless subwoofer is too far from your router to be the fix. Check if the issue exists after relocating the subwoofer closer to the router. Installing a wireless repeater close to the subwoofer will also address this problem.

Wiring Thickness Problem

Wires are crucial to any speaker setup unless you have a wireless home entertainment system. To convey enough power to drive your speakers optimally, wires must be thick. When the base is very boomy and thumpy, the subwoofer can demand a lot of power, making it a challenging driver.

If the speaker wires have a lot of resistance, the amplifier will attempt to pull more power. This may generate a fuse to blow or the amplifier to enter protection mode. The subwoofers would be turned off in such a case.

Fix – Fortunately, there is a simple fix. The wires connecting your subwoofer to the speaker must have the proper thickness. American Wire Gauge (AWG) measurements are used to determine wire thickness. A thinner wire results from a higher AWG. A wire with a lower AWG is thicker. To reduce current flow resistance, the subwoofer requires a relatively thick wire.

Going with the less expensive 16 gauge wire is advisable if your subwoofer is placed up to 50 feet from the amp and has an impedance of 8 Ohm. However, if your subwoofer is farther away and has a low impedance of 4 or 6 Ohms, you should spend a little extra on a thicker 12 gauge cable.

AMP Overheating And Clipping

My subwoofer would occasionally go off after playing music for a few hours. This problem baffled me for a long time before I realized that my overheated amp was to blame. Clipping, poor ground, an improper impedance match, blown speakers, and other factors can cause amplifiers to overheat.

Another significant issue strongly related to thermal stress is amp clipping distortion results when an amp pushes the signal beyond what it can handle. Excessive clipping can cause your amplifier to overheat more quickly and frequently enter protect mode. The speakers and subwoofer lose power as a result.

Fix – Changing the gain setting is a quick fix for this problem. If clipping occurs, reduce the gain setting or volume right away. Additionally, this should eliminate overheating problems and permit uninterrupted music enjoyment.

Ensure that your amplifier’s RMS output does not exceed your subwoofer’s maximum RMS rating. Additionally, confirm that the speakers’ impedances are correctly balanced. Now that amp issues are resolved, let’s look at potential issues that could cause the subwoofer to stop working.

Low Voltage

The majority of the time, this problem affects car stereos. There are a lot of electrical currents used by your amplifier. Your house has all it needs to supply current.

Additionally, your home receives consistent electrical power transferred to the amp via an adapter and converted to DC. With automobiles, it’s a different matter. Your subwoofer may stop working if the voltage drops too much and the alternator cannot generate enough electrical current.

Everything relies on how many speakers, connectors, and other electrical gadgets your automobile has. Your car’s electrical system becomes increasingly susceptible to voltage drop with each connection. The same thing can happen if your 9.1.4 Dolby Atmos system at home is highly power-hungry, and the amplifier needs to receive more power.

Fix – Verify if a weak electrical system brings on the issue in your car. A multimeter can be used to check the amplifier’s voltage. Upgrade your amplifier if it falls below 12 volts to keep the subwoofer from going out.

AMP Goes To Protect Mode

Amplifiers move to the protective mode to carry out the instructions. To safeguard both itself and subsequent chain links, it turns off. The power LED will become red or another scary hue when the amps are in protect mode, or the display may flash “protect mode on”.

Numerous factors can cause amplifiers to enter protect mode. Inappropriate gain settings, loose connections, or faulty installation. All speakers, including the subwoofer, lose power when the amplifier enters protect mode. Finding the cause of the amp’s protection mode is the only way to resolve this issue, therefore, do it now.

Fix – It’s advisable to have an amp checked by a professional because an amp may enter protect mode as a result of anything from overheating problems to blown-out drivers or fuses. Even if you turn off the protected mode and only replace the amp’s fuses, a deeper underlying problem could still cause the power to go out in your house.

Grounding Problems

After experimenting with various home theater and stereo setups for years, I’ve usually encountered serious ground problems with amplifiers. Grounding issues can short your speakers, damage your expensive amplifier, increase noise, and cause many other issues. When the subwoofer starts cutting off, you should check for faulty ground.

The electrical circuit is completed by grounding, and if there is a problem, the power-hungry subwoofer might continually go out or not even get any power. Additionally, it may harm the system’s speakers, subwoofer, amplifier, and other parts. Additionally, people need to approach this issue correctly. Using a multimeter to test for continuity could be ineffective.

Fix – Make sure there are no connectivity issues before fixing the poor ground. Look for loose connections and see whether the connectors have any signs of corrosion. Try switching out the cables to see if the ground problem is fixed.

The subwoofer will shut off at a high gain when you have grounding problems. However, there would be a humming noise at low gain. This noise can help you pinpoint the issue. Turn the gain knob starting with the amplifier. The amplifier needs to be fixed if the humming noise varies.

If the amp is the problem, try the speakers next and connect them to a different amp. In this manner, keep removing components until you can identify the problematic component. The defective gadget needs to be checked out and fixed after that.

Conclusion

Even though I wouldn’t say I like distortion in music, I wouldn’t say I like it when the subwoofer is turned off while listening to a beautiful Pavarotti recording. It abruptly loses a lot of subtleties. Over the years, I’ve learned how to locate and isolate the issue to resolve it. To appreciate rich music with all the intricacies intact in the low frequencies, I hope this post will assist you in learning Why Does My Subwoofer Keep Cutting In And Out?

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