Overheating amp
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Elder User
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From: Charlotte, NC
Overheating amp
I have a Pioneer GM-X862, pushes 125 watts x 2 x 4ohms. My subs are pioneer TS-W33C, handles 150 watts rms each. I noticed that once I got both subs firing right, the amp is really getting hot, after a few minutes of listening, it smelt like something was burning, I looked back, subs were fine, touched the amp, and it was hotter than anything. Why is it doing this, when I was running one sub, it had very few problems, it got a little hot after about an hour or so, but thats it, I notice it cuts out when it gets hot, I assume this is some protective feature in the amp. The red light stays on on it, signifying that it is on, no blinking. Could it be something with my wiring, or is it something inside the amp? I am having all kinds of problems with this system, i'm about to say forget it and run one sub, but even then, it got hot yesterday, not nearly as hot as today though, or nearly as fast.
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From: Charlotte, NC
I have an extended cab, it is set up partially under the box, but there is plenty of air flow, when I tested today, I had both seats pulled forward, both doors open, and tested, and it got hotter than before when i had only one sub hooked up.
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From: Charlotte, NC
I built basically a stand for the box itself, it sits about 6 inches above the floor, and the amp sets extended out from under it about 4-5 inches, the amp is about 2.5 inches tall, and 10.5 inches long, so it's basically half out, and has about 3-4 inches below the box. The part sticking out from under the box is the part that is getting hot, it's only about half of the amp that is getting hot
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From: Charlotte, NC
it's mounted rightside up, backwards, with the back of the amp facing the front of the truck, it's placement is stated above, under the box partially, but the side that is exposed is the side that is getting hot.
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Hmmmm, Well If You Have The Correct Size Power And Ground Wires, Amd The Gain Is Not Turned Up To High On The Amp, I Am Not Sure What The Problem Could Be.. If You Have A Ohm Meter You Could Check The Impendence Of The Subs To Make Sure That One Or The Other Is Not Too Low Which Would Make The Amp Put Out More Current And Would Result In Over Heating The Amp...if You Can Not Find Anything Wrong , I Would Suggest A Small 12 Volt Fan To Help Cool The Amp..
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From: Charlotte, NC
I was thinking about getting something there to mount over the amp to assist in cooling it after it got warm yesterday, but today, it just got insanely hot, I am also thinking that I am going to drop one sub and just run one sub off of the amp, since it took a lot longer to get warm, with just one of the two subs in there, I'll get a smaller box, and the amp should be free of anything that could limit its cooling abilities, thanks jerry's
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From: Indiana
If it gets too hot the thermaloverload should kick in, but that may not be working. like Jerrys PSD said make sure you have the proper size ground wire and that its not too long, its good to have a little slack but if its too long itll create unwanted resistance. Also make sure that you have the correct size speaker wires and that they too are not too long. Try cleaning all the contact points and see if that makes any difference. Unfortunately it sounds like something inside the amp is getting too hot (old, worn out, or the boogy man). If you dont still have the warranty then take the cover off and look at the board. If any part has unusual darkness in the board around its most likely the problem. If your lucky you might be able to replace it, but its hard to tell what those pieces are. Just hope that it doesnt come to that.
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Ok, i'm starting to wonder if there is something wrong with the second channel on this thing, I was playing for maybe a minute, it got warm, about 3 minutes and it was hot. I'm about tempted to go ahead, pull it out and check out the inside of this thing. It's an older model, it was used when i bought it, and it still works great when running on one channel, but since adding a sub to the second channel, it is just acting up.
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I got to messing with it today, I think it is the sub hooked up to it, when I bridged that sub alone, it got really hot, when I put the other on by itself, it stayed cool. I assume I'm not getting the correct resistance from the sub maybe? And there is more power feeding back into the amp, causing more heat?