Amp Heat
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From: Chicagoland
Amp Heat
How hot exactly is an Amplifier supposed to get? I have an admitedly cheap 300w Concord amp running two 10" subs bridged, and is gets so hot that I can't touch it for more than a second. The subs are pieces of crap (Pyle pounder is the name on them, no Ohms or Wattage ratings on them at all). Would getting new subs help? (I'm sure it won't hurt
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From: Chicagoland
One channel doesn;t work anymore. work for awhile, but suddenly quit. Do amps have a built-in thermal overload switch? Oh, the subs are wired parallel. The amp was just as hot when it was two channel.
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Almost all amps have a built in temperature protecting shutoff... usually noted by a red light titled "Thermal" or "Protect" usually an amplifier will shut off to protect itself from frying, and will not turn on again until you cut its power, hence, restarting your vehicle. The more expensive amps like my JL will simply reduce power until the solution is resolved, and resume normal volume. If your amp is getting hot even when it is not bridged, something might be wrong, OR, the amp just plainly sucks. Solution? get a bigger one. You want cheap, but good for your money, get Lightning Audio, you want quality? Get Zapco, JL, Kicker, RF, Phoenix Gold, MMATS, or there are others. Sounds like you just need to get new gear. Good amps do not hardly get warm at all, my JL is colder than a witches tit in january and i often times run it full blast
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From: Chicagoland
I guess that's just what you get for $30 on ebay, huh? I'll just run it as it is 'till I blow it, then use that as a excuse with my wife to go out and buy a new one. There isn't an overload light on the amp, so i'm gonna rewire it back to two channel in the morning and see if it works. If so, cool. If not, oh, well. Thanks for your help guys. FTE ROCKS!!!!!!!!!
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From: New Canaan, CT
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From: Chicagoland
the amp is currently attached to the back of my box, in the trunk. I haven't thought of a better place to put it yet. There is ductwork underneath both front seats, so I didn't think it was a good idea to put it there. I don't seem to be getting any moss of power from the amp. It hits pretty nicely, even with the crap speakers. The one thing I did spend money on was the wiring. I used 8ga. RF power and ground wires, and 12ga. RF speaker wire. cost me as much as the amp did!!!! I ran the power through the power cable openings in the firewall, so there isn' t a knick in the wire anywhere, I checked.
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From: Chicagoland
Ive just heard that the vibration from the box itself was bad for the amp. On the other hand, the car itself bounces around alot so the amp should be able to take at least SOME wibration, right.
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amplifiers a solid circuitry, its going to take a lot of pouding to do damage to them. I've had my amp mounted on my box for 2 years now with no problems whatsoever. I think comparitively, the box is better than mounting it somewhere else in the car, because.... at least in mine... i get more vibration away from the box. The box itself is usually very thick walled, and sturdy compared to other places. Carpeted areas work good, cuz they absorb vibration, but solid places in a car are usually thin walled and pick up tons of vibration. At least, this is my case, yours could be different. Considering the size of your amp, and what its pushing, if vibration was an issue, i doubt you would have enough to bother it anyway.
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From: New Canaan, CT
Did the amp get hot when new? The is a circiut in amps (bias circuit I think) that regulates the output of the mosfets. If that is bad the amp will run hot. I have a temp gun and have seen amps get to 200 degrees with low volume. If it's that it is an easy and inexspensive fix but would you want to spend money on that amp.
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I bought the amp off of ebay for $30, so I won't be terribly upset if I fry it. All I know about it is that it is a Concord 150wx2 amp. I have the gain **** on the amp set at about 4, and it pushes the set of ten's pretty stinking hard. I could probably turn up the gain on the amp, and turn down the equalizer on the head unit, if that would help the amp? I would say the case is getting to about 130-140 degrees at least when it is running. I know the proper way to fix it is to buy a new, good amp to replace it, but that would be expensive, and not any fun . Also, I have heard that you want to keep the ground wire as small as possible, under 16 in. preferrably. Mine is about 24" long, is that really that bad? I used 8ga. RF ground wire. It has a really good strand count, so I didn't think that the extra 6" would matter any. I mounted it to an existing ground post for the Lights in the trunk. it is a large post, and a clean mounting place, so I thought that it would be alright.
. Also, I have heard that you want to keep the ground wire as small as possible, under 16 in. preferrably. Mine is about 24" long, is that really that bad? I used 8ga. RF ground wire. It has a really good strand count, so I didn't think that the extra 6" would matter any. I mounted it to an existing ground post for the Lights in the trunk. it is a large post, and a clean mounting place, so I thought that it would be alright.
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From: New Canaan, CT
The ground is a bit long but if thats the only place you found so be it. Did you clean the spot to bear metal? You need to scrape it with a screw driver or sand paper and get it to the metal. Do u have 8ga power wire also?U have ur gain at 4, is that 4 out 10? Most gains only need to be from 0 a 1/4 to 1/2 turn up depending on the radio. R u using rca's from the radio?
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From: Chicagoland
The power is 8ga. also. I used an existing ground post, it is a post welded onto the frame, with a nut on it. It is not painted. It also is the ground for the rear lights. the gain is 4 out of 11 (Guitar player's dream), so it is about a third of the way up. I am using RCA's from the head unit, an AIWA (don't get me started on the head unit).