Magic JL Audio 300/4v2 Amp Issue

[MagicMan]

The component speakers on my Magic have been cutting in and out. The issue surfaced after I hit some rough water, the sounds were on and started cutting in and out. Now, when I initially turn the sound system on seems to work great, however, after I get into planning speeds the component speakers start cutting out. They never recover after they start cutting out. I thought maybe a loose wire, I secured all grounds and tightened all other connections, still cutting out. Checked the safety indicator lights on the amp for signs of overheating or low power none are lit. The amp for the subwoofers does not have an issue. I have 2 brand new blue top batteries. I am considering purchasing a new amp for the components, anyone have this issue. If amp was replaced, what do you recommend. I'm not looking to upgrade the system at this time just want a quick fix maybe next year Ill look at upgrading.

My current set-up

Amp - JL Audio 250/1v2 Powering - 10' JL Audio Subs (2ea)
Amp - JL Audio 300/4v2 Powering JL Audio Component Speakers w/tweeters (4ea) 8

speakers total

 

[Steve-o]

I have a similar setup and had a similar problem. Speakers would crackle and or distort intermittently and then became consistent. I checked everything out and it all seemed to work. The stereo guy ended up finding my RCA cables went bad. Easy fix. He found it by swapping the RCA cables around. Idk maybe one more thing to check.

 

[Dylan]

If it turns out to be internal damage, JL has fixed-price repairs on all their amps. Go to any authorized JL dealer and they will send it in for you. I have unfortunately had to do that a few times.

 

[MagicMan]

I have a similar setup and had a similar problem. Speakers would crackle and or distort intermittently and then became consistent. I checked everything out and it all seemed to work. The stereo guy ended up finding my RCA cables went bad. Easy fix. He found it by swapping the RCA cables around. Idk maybe one more thing to check.

Thanks Steve-o I will try this next time I head out to the river, sometimes I wish I had my boat at home to fix these small issues. It sucks having to work on the boat when vacationing.

 

[MagicMan]

If it turns out to be internal damage, JL has fixed-price repairs on all their amps. Go to any authorized JL dealer and they will send it in for you. I have unfortunately had to do that a few times.

That is great information, my buddy was the original owner. I purchased this boat in April with 63 hours on it. Hard to believe the amp is bad with such little use. Do you recall what you paid and how long it took to have amp repaired when you sent in for service?

 

[02HoWaRd26]

Check next time it cuts out, if you can safely, if the amp is going into protection mode. Should be the yellow led on the bottom left of amp, then double check the fittings, those amps the wires are in a plug that is removable, pull it out, if it’s a sob to pull out good, if it comes out easy or seems to wobble check the pins on the amp or the inner crimp rings on the plug.

 

[Dylan]

That is great information, my buddy was the original owner. I purchased this boat in April with 63 hours on it. Hard to believe the amp is bad with such little use. Do you recall what you paid and how long it took to have amp repaired when you sent in for service?

I believe it was under $200. Good idea to swap the RCA cables. Also, don’t overlook something in the headunit. My limited experience with amps seems like they either work, or don’t all together.


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[MagicMan]

Check next time it cuts out, if you can safely, if the amp is going into protection mode. Should be the yellow led on the bottom left of amp, then double check the fittings, those amps the wires are in a plug that is removable, pull it out, if it’s a sob to pull out good, if it comes out easy or seems to wobble check the pins on the amp or the inner crimp rings on the plug.

Thanks great suggestions. I checked LEDs none but power light on; didn't realize the speaker wires have a pin connector gonna check that also.

 

[MagicMan]

I believe it was under $200. Good idea to swap the RCA cables. Also, don’t overlook something in the headunit. My limited experience with amps seems like they either work, or don’t all together.


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Thanks Dylan, I forgot to mention I replaced the sony head unit with a similar updated unit. Going to definitely check RCA cables. I'm also bringing out a 4 channel amp for testing as well. I will update this thread once issue resolved.

 

[02HoWaRd26]

If not look for a JL M800/8 would be ideal for your setup. Will keep at 4ohm and all will last longer and sound crisper.

 

[MagicMan]

If not look for a JL M800/8 would be ideal for your setup. Will keep at 4ohm and all will last longer and sound crisper.

Thanks I will look into this as well.

 

[MagicMan]

Troubleshooting Update.

I was in Laughlin last weekend and was able to troubleshoot the amp some more. At my buddys home, I installed new RCAs and viola the amp started working properly, sounded banging. I was excited to get on the water. Once on the water I turned the system on and everything still sounded great, no cutting out. Too bad the sound didn't last, as soon as I got on way in open waters it started cutting out again. What a bummer, I guess my next move is to run the amp on a separate battery to see if this changes anything. Some how getting feedback off the engine running.

 

[Marios Metalworks]

Do you have a common ground for both the AMPs and the head unit? If not, I would run the ground on the HU wiring harness all the way to the AMPs which should eliminate engine feedback.

How many speakers are you running off the 300/4v2?

Can you send more detailed photos?

 

[MagicMan]

Do you have a common ground for both the AMPs and the head unit? If not, I would run the ground on the HU wiring harness all the way to the AMPs which should eliminate engine feedback.

How many speakers are you running off the 300/4v2?

Can you send more detailed photos?

I'm Powering JL Audio Component Speakers w/tweeters (4ea) total speakers 8, I will check on the ground from the head unit. I may have misspoken regarding the engine feed back, not getting a high pitched noise. Rather the speakers start cutting out. Ill be back at the river next week to troubleshoot some more. Ill be on the water for a week hopefully I can resolve then.

 

[Marios Metalworks]

Ahh ok then dont worry about the common grounds if you're not getting the high pitched noise.

Does the entire speaker system cutout or is it isolated to one or more speakers?

 

[MagicMan]

So I took an amp with me to test last week and found my amp was the culprit, also found that the RCA cables were indeed deteriorating. I replaced the bad amp with my test amp and the RCAs; the sounds were bumping pretty good. The whole week we were doing great until my Subs stopped working on the other amp. I think I blew the sub amp, funny thing was the bass was overpowering the music the whole time. I tried changing pre-programmed EQ settings (RAP, Rock, Soul, Jazz) but the subs were still too strong. Never heard the amp go out, until we started back up one day; the subs just didn't work. Maybe I needed to turn down the gain on the amp. I'm thinking Ill send back to JL Audio to repair $170 each amp.

 

[Marios Metalworks]

Good to hear you isolated the issue to the amps and have a way to fix them.

You'll either want to tune with the AMPs or with the head unit but never both. Sounds like a gain issue but could also be the HPF/LPF settings.

 

[MagicMan]

Good to hear you isolated the issue to the amps and have a way to fix them.

You'll either want to tune with the AMPs or with the head unit but never both. Sounds like a gain issue but could also be the HPF/LPF settings.

I never messed with the original Sub Amp settings didn't want to mess anything up. My new head amp was a sony replacement updated version. I couldn't figure out how to dial it in. Back in the day head units were more simple, you could adjust treble and bass. This new unit has 10 band Equalizer, Custom, or Preset settings. I'm not familiar with setting the HF and LF custom settings. Do you know how to do this, or have some settings to try.

Thanks

 

[Marios Metalworks]

Sure. Take some pics of the AMP where the settings are and I can do my best to give suggestions.

 

[MagicMan]

If it turns out to be internal damage, JL has fixed-price repairs on all their amps. Go to any authorized JL dealer and they will send it in for you. I have unfortunately had to do that a few times.

Thanks Dylan for the amp repair recommendation by JL Audio. I sent both amps in $15 shipping on 7/29/19 received them back on 8/16/19 just in time for Labor Day. The cost to repair each amp was $170 included return shipping. I think this was the most cost effective route vs buying new amps. I get to re-install next week for Labor Day. Im still apprehensive about the tuning did a bunch of research online, hopefully I dont mess anything up. I decided to not use any head unit settings and tune from the amps alone.

 

[MagicMan]

 

[MagicMan]

I contacted JL Audio for amp setting advice. The tech on the phone was very helpful answering my questions. He provided in-depth knowledge of how my amps should be configured based on my speaker setup. I Installed the amps to the recommended settings. Everything seemed to be tuned in nice afterwards. Glad to have my music back on. I will definitely look at purchasing JL audio equipment in the future.

 

[02HoWaRd26]

I contacted JL Audio for amp setting advice. The tech on the phone was very helpful answering my questions. He provided in-depth knowledge of how my amps should be configured based on my speaker setup. I Installed the amps to the recommended settings. Everything seemed to be tuned in nice afterwards. Glad to have my music back on. I will definitely look at purchasing JL audio equipment in the future.

The entire system in my boat speakers amps and head unit are all JL and i wouldn’t change it for anything. Their customer service is just as good as the actual product which is why in my opinion they are on the top echelon of audio equipment

 

[shane-o]

did you send your amps directly to JL?

 

[MagicMan]

did you send your amps directly to JL?

Yes, I e-mailed JL Audio Requesting amp repair services. They asked me for amp serial numbers, after sending #s they sent an RMA number, shipping and payment instructions. Straight forward process.

 

[shane-o]

Yes, I e-mailed JL Audio Requesting amp repair services. They asked me for amp serial numbers, after sending #s they sent an RMA number, shipping and payment instructions. Straight forward process.

Awesome thanks!!! I appreciate the response!!!

 

[socalrzr]

I need to pull my 500/1 as the subs havent been working. Great to know that I can just mail it in without having to find a shop. Thanks