i have a problem with my amp after about 20 minutes of use while im drivin around it over heats and then cuts out and then itwill turn back on, is there sumthin wrong with the amp, i dont think ne thing is i think its just overheating and if i move it then it wont be as hot and it wont always becuttin out on me.

Thanx
Don

 

Is the impedance load on the amp correct. for example, if your amp is stable to 2 ohms and you have 2-2 ohm subs connected in parrallel it sees a 1 ohm load and will overheat.

 

Usually if an amp is rated at 2 ohms it will have a protective mode where it won't go down to 1 ohm, and usually it won't even turn on. And if this is the problem your amp shouldn't work again, it would fry. Check out all your connections to start, such as ground and make sure everything is connected correctly. Did this problem start all of a sudden, or when you first hooked up the amp?

 

thats not true, i force my 4 ohm amp to run at 2 ohms, it just overheats in about an hour. any amp will run under incorrect loads it just wont react right... try getting a multi meter and testing your subs on the wires that are hooked up to the amp... there are instructions on how to measure subs here... and read your amp to tell what you need to run the subs at...

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=398953

Matt

 

I have run many amps below their recomended impedence. To me, it sounds like an impedence problem or the heat sinks/cooling fan are obstructed.



I agree Matt,

1976 F250 ground up resto with a 428, best motor on the planet
Why not a 5.0 Ranger

 

yea, this could be too, if they are installed with little air flow any amp might overheat... thats why amps in trunks get hot suring the summer, mine gets to ride in the seat during drives because under the seat it gets no air, so she gets to sit up front, with an air vent blowing to her and of course the seatbelt on... lol, cops love this one

Matt

 

A lot of amps have the thermal protection mode where it won't allow the amp to go below what it was designed for, and if it overheats from obstructed airflow they shut off as well. I didn't mean to sound like all of them do, but there's quite a few out there that do.

 

I agree it sounds to me that the amp is overheating and shutting itself of for protection. Mine was doing this about a month ago i had it under the seat. so i just a piece of mdf i had laying around and mounted the amp to it and then mounted the wood up on the back of the seat so the amp is up off the floor and stuff. so try to move the amp around and see if that helps. but like others have said make sure your impedance is not too low for the amp. in the old days before circuit protection i burned up a couple of linear power amps (under warranty) by running it too low!!

jason

 

The importance of amplifier cooling is overlooked by MOST users. Keep in mind that MOST users don't use a forum such as this to gain any knowledge. There are millions of users with virtually no knowledge of how any of their car audio gear is designed to be used. They do not know that any heat in the output devices of their amp makes it become less stable in its performance. Well before any protection takes place. They do not know that because of the thermal characteristics of an amp's output devices, the hotter they get the more current they flow, and they get hotter still. So proper cooling is a must. And then you have people who KNOWINGLY connect gear incorrectly, and admit doing so, for whatever good that does. I've said it many times to many people. Don't get the idea that there is some kind of magic to all this ohms, watts, connecting, cooling, etc., because there isn't. If you think connecting an amp in a certain way will magically make it do something above and beyond what it is designed for, forget it. You can never make any amplifier do something beyond its design limitations. You can TRY. But an amp is either capable of something, or it isn't. You may be able to get something to work for a while beyond its limitations, but at what cost? Failure or damage, possibly to multiple devices in your system. Buy whatever the heck you need to make your system do what it is you want it to do.


As far as what is making the amp mentioned here overheat....well, what kind of amp are we discussing here? Are the speakers wired correctly to the amp? Is the amp in a suitable location? If everything is correctly done, there are cooling fans available for less than $10 that can be connected to your remote turn on that can save you a lot of worries.

This site has a world of helpful tips and facts. Read the section on fuses while you're at it. Everyone should.


http://www.bcae1.com

 

ive moved the amp and it dosent over-heat nearly as much, could i get one of those fans at circut city or radio shack or do i have to go to a car audio store, its under the seat now and has lots of air to move around and i keep the vents goin just to circulate some kind of air but i think one of those fans would really help, thanks for all the imput

Don

 

If you've had issues already with that amp overheating, I would not hesitate to install a fan. I just saw a fan shroud type of thing on ebay made by Pyramid. It straddles the amp and the fan blows down on the sink. It would have to help. There are more exotic methods of building an amp rack and including fans to strategically circulate air. That bcae1 site has a page about amp racks. Check it out. If you want some cheap fans, check out these sites. The Parts Express site has a link to the lower right for buyouts. One is solely for fans. Cheap, too. The xpcgear site has a link on the left. Any computer fan that is 12 volts DC will work.

http://www.partsexpress.com

http://www.xpcgear.com

 

i built some hard drive cooling fans into my last amp rack, not only did it look pretty cool, it worked awesome