overheating amp

[Treefrog]

and it cuts off to cool down. Prolly means I need a bigger amp? I have 12inch sub in a subthump box and bought that Quartz amp from his site.. Think maybe 300w.. That bitch gets hawwwt! though.. hehe I don't really rattle the car going down the road but I do like my music.. hehe

What do you guys think?

[Tecca]

Could be a couple things, first thing I would check is the ohm rating on the sub and the amp. Maybe someone with more knowledge can help but that is my first guess.

[guyjusthere]

Tape your wires... often times the amps shut off because two wires touch. make sure they are completely taped and arent jumping a spark from remote to grnd...

[Racer-X]

how long before it get too hot and shuts down?

if it plays at all it is not the power wiring. but it does sound like you have it wired at a resistance that is too low for the amp to run stable.

[Sour DeeZ]

I would check the ohm rating on the sub. As also check where you have your amp located, if it can "breathe".

[mrray13]

Originally Posted by IAS

how long before it get too hot and shuts down?

if it plays at all it is not the power wiring. but it does sound like you have it wired at a resistance that is too low for the amp to run stable.

OP, post the specs on the sub and the amp. We need to know coil impedence as well as the amp's ratings.


If sub/amp are impendence matched, make sure you have enough wire. What gauge did you use to wire up the amp? Where is your ground located?

I, too, think it's an impedence problem. But we will cover all the bases, just in case, lol.

[Treefrog]

thx guys for the replies..

I think this is my amp
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAu...rt_DSC280.aspx

and my speaker
http://subthump.com/product_info.php...roducts_id=123

it did fine thru the winter but with hotter temps it will play for about 20mins.. It does get pretty hot as I've felt it.. I have the gain turned up maybe 2/3-3/4 but have a remote volume that rarely will be turned up past halfway.

oh yea..I have the speaker bridged on the amp.. One channel pos and other chan neg..

Can't recall how I hooked up the speaker.. but a 4ohm sub is a 4ohm sub, right? If it had 2 sets of connects, could I have hooked it up to 2ohms? It hits pretty hard for a single.. I think its just the quality of the box..

[Tecca]

What size wire gauge do you have, and where is ground located.

[Treefrog]

Originally Posted by Teccboxx

What size wire gauge do you have, and where is ground located.

16 gauge for the speakers and maybe 4gauge for the power.. I think hooked the ground to the battery.. But Im not certain.. I'll have to ck that.. I might have hooked it in the trunk somewhere..

[mrray13]

Originally Posted by Treefrog

thx guys for the replies..

I think this is my amp
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAu...rt_DSC280.aspx

and my speaker
http://subthump.com/product_info.php...roducts_id=123

it did fine thru the winter but with hotter temps it will play for about 20mins.. It does get pretty hot as I've felt it.. I have the gain turned up maybe 2/3-3/4 but have a remote volume that rarely will be turned up past halfway.

oh yea..I have the speaker bridged on the amp.. One channel pos and other chan neg..

Can't recall how I hooked up the speaker.. but a 4ohm sub is a 4ohm sub, right? If it had 2 sets of connects, could I have hooked it up to 2ohms? It hits pretty hard for a single.. I think its just the quality of the box..

Wrong sub. Dual 4 ohm, wired parallel with be 2ohms. So if that's what you have, and that's how it's wired, that's the problem. You are overdrivng the amp. You need a single 4ohm or a dual 2ohm sub wired is series, and you'll be fine.

[CWI]

Not trying to sell the product, but i've got 2 Alpine PDX amps in my Colorado and 1 that will be going in the Camaro. They never get hot and the power rating is TRUE rms. Actually they come with the bench test cert in the box. The PDX 1000.1 sub amp actually tested 1147 amps rms. It's pushing two Pioneer 10" subs and never gets hot plus they take up half the space of other OVERRATED amps. They cost more but they do deliver.

[skuttduck]

Originally Posted by mrray13

Wrong sub. Dual 4 ohm, wired parallel with be 2ohms. So if that's what you have, and that's how it's wired, that's the problem. You are overdrivng the amp. You need a single 4ohm or a dual 2ohm sub wired is series, and you'll be fine.

Looks like the amp is only 320watt and the Sub is 400watt.

In theory even 10 gauge wire would be enough to power 320watt. Specially if it is wired real close to the battery in the trunk.

Anyhow, I agree with your assessment.

[mrray13]

Originally Posted by CWIweldace

Not trying to sell the product, but i've got 2 Alpine PDX amps in my Colorado and 1 that will be going in the Camaro. They never get hot and the power rating is TRUE rms. Actually they come with the bench test cert in the box. The PDX 1000.1 sub amp actually tested 1147 amps rms. It's pushing two Pioneer 10" subs and never gets hot plus they take up half the space of other OVERRATED amps. They cost more but they do deliver.

The amps power rating will have nothing to do with this. If your sub and amp are wired up with the correct, matching impedance, then the amp won't overheat. Well, it shoudln't, unless you are clipping the hell out of it trying to be the loudest guy on the block. Or youhave it shoved in a hole with no air.

Originally Posted by skuttduck

Looks like the amp is only 320watt and the Sub is 400watt.

In theory even 10 gauge wire would be enough to power 320watt. Specially if it is wired real close to the battery in the trunk.

Anyhow, I agree with your assessment.

I would never use 10g, even if it is supposed to handle it, lol. That's speaker wire! 8 gauge minimum, and in this case with the battery in the trunk, I wouldn't be afraid to run it.


The subs power rating won't matter in this case either. It's voice coil configuration will. A power rating is a good estimate for what it can handle thermally, and even then, only look at the RMS rating. Peak is bs.

[Treefrog]

Lets say I did hook up the sub for a 2ohm configuration.. I can just hook up one of the 4ohm channels to have a 4ohm configuration, right? Even if its a dual voice coil? That just gives you the option of 2 or 4ohm connects, right?

[The 2010 Sin]

if you only hook up one voice coil you will fry your subwoofer. both coils must be used at all times.

[The 2010 Sin]

Here you go bud.. wire it like this:

[The 2010 Sin]

This will save you some sad burn up of a good COMP sub. or a 2 channel amp.

[skuttduck]

Originally Posted by mrray13

The amps power rating will have nothing to do with this. If your sub and amp are wired up with the correct, matching impedance, then the amp won't overheat. Well, it shoudln't, unless you are clipping the hell out of it trying to be the loudest guy on the block. Or youhave it shoved in a hole with no air.





I would never use 10g, even if it is supposed to handle it, lol. That's speaker wire! 8 gauge minimum, and in this case with the battery in the trunk, I wouldn't be afraid to run it.


The subs power rating won't matter in this case either. It's voice coil configuration will. A power rating is a good estimate for what it can handle thermally, and even then, only look at the RMS rating. Peak is bs.

I was saying that if he used something as small as 10 gauge wire he could still run it.

By the way, 10 gauge wire = 30 amp, and it runs my home central air conditioner. So that should give you an idea of what it is capable of.

I have my 2 old PPI art series amps run off of a single 8 gauge wire in my camry. Been like that for 10 years now, and never blown the 30 amp fuse.

[The 2010 Sin]

I have double 0 gauge in my camaro to a 4 gauge distribution block. A 10 gauge wire in a house with direct current is different than the delivery from a battery/alternator def. takes a larger cable in a vehicle.

[The 2010 Sin]

TREEFROG. Make sure you have a really good ground as well. I would try to use 8ga. at least.

[skuttduck]

Originally Posted by The 2010 Sin

I have double 0 gauge in my camaro to a 4 gauge distribution block. A 10 gauge wire in a house with direct current is different than the delivery from a battery/alternator def. takes a larger cable in a vehicle.

True, I did speak to the electricians about this. 12 volts looses its power over a short distance which is why you need larger wire.

I was saying since the battery is in the trunk, the sub and amp are probably about 3 feet away, you could get away with running 10 gauge wire. So running too small a power wire is probably not the issue. I don't recommend using 10 gauge wire anyhow.

That's all.

[The 2010 Sin]

:-) treefrog i hope you get this worked out..

[Treefrog]

Thx for the info! Really appreciate it.. Plan on getting this fixed upped as soon as I can 8)

[mrray13]

Originally Posted by Treefrog

Lets say I did hook up the sub for a 2ohm configuration.. I can just hook up one of the 4ohm channels to have a 4ohm configuration, right? Even if its a dual voice coil? That just gives you the option of 2 or 4ohm connects, right?

Never run a dual coil sub on a single coil. Bad things can happen!!!!

Originally Posted by skuttduck

I was saying that if he used something as small as 10 gauge wire he could still run it.

By the way, 10 gauge wire = 30 amp, and it runs my home central air conditioner. So that should give you an idea of what it is capable of.

I have my 2 old PPI art series amps run off of a single 8 gauge wire in my camry. Been like that for 10 years now, and never blown the 30 amp fuse.

Oh, I agree, 10 gauge would handle it, lol. I just wouldn't run it. Never, ever did an install using 10g, hated using 8g. That's typically due to the fact that there always had to be some lengthy run, and we wanted as much safety, as little resistance as possible, and the ability to upgrade without rewiring later, lol.

It's more of a personal preference I do it that way. All based upon personal experience, nothing more, nothing less, lol.

[faceman]

Try using a 10 gauge speaker wire that 16 gauge is just too small. I think the amp is trying too hard to push the signal thru the wire, therefore over heating. Just my .02