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Mach sub amp problems

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Old Sep 9, 2006 | 09:18 PM
  #1  
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Mach sub amp problems

How's it going everybody? My first thread, so wish me luck. Anyway, on to the problem.

I have a 01 Eddie Bauer Expedition that I've owned for about 2 months now. Since the day I bought it, there was no sound coming from any of the speakers. I replaced the stock HU with a Pioneer deck, and the appropriate harness from Crutchfield (Here's the link to the harness), and got sound from the door speakers, but not the sub.

I then decided to pull the sub amp out and take a look at the circuit board. Once I opened it up, I noticed that one of the voltage regulators (the black square looking things with 3 legs on a circuit board for those of you that don't know) was cracked in half. I soldered in a new one, then reconnected the amp. Still now sound, but now the amp starts warming up and I'm lost at this point.

I want to keep the factory setup, but I'm not looking at the aftermarket enclosures as an option right now nor do I want to fork out a boat load of money to the stealership for a replacement if the amp isn't the problem. So any of you guys have any suggestions?
 
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Old Sep 9, 2006 | 10:24 PM
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An amp is an amp and you sound handy with electronics. Swap the stock one for another amp. Alternatively, you might be able to find an amp in a junk yard donar.
 
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Old Sep 10, 2006 | 09:33 AM
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That isnt a voltage regulator. It is a transistor. If you did not replace it with the correct transistor you arent going to get any sound from the amp. Just buy a new cheapie amp with high level inputs and hook her up.
 
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Old Sep 10, 2006 | 01:34 PM
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Originally Posted by CBFryman
That isnt a voltage regulator. It is a transistor. If you did not replace it with the correct transistor you arent going to get any sound from the amp.
Transistor, voltage regulator, whatever. The package of the one I bought at Radio Shack said voltage regulator and that's what I typed. Anyway, I'm trying to keep factory components as I said in my original post, so I really don't want to buy a cheapie amp and hook it up especially due to the fact that its going to be extremely time consuming to find a "cheapie" amp with the same dimensions, and same mounting location.

Regardless, when the guy at Radio Shack tried to cross reference the numbers on the broken transistor (BTW, there's 2 of the same one right next to each other), he couldn't get anything to match to the one I was replacing, so I grabbed a few different ones and rolled the dice. If the transistor I soldered in is the wrong one, I guess I'm just going to have to keep guessing until I get it right, or someone that knows can lead me in the right direction.
 
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Old Sep 10, 2006 | 08:51 PM
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Anyone? Maybe someone with a working factory amp they want to get rid of? Someone throw me a bone here.
 
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Old Sep 10, 2006 | 09:38 PM
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Originally Posted by CBFryman
That isnt a voltage regulator. It is a transistor. If you did not replace it with the correct transistor you arent going to get any sound from the amp. Just buy a new cheapie amp with high level inputs and hook her up.
It very well could be a voltage regulator... a 7805 or something to drive the logic. Just because it's got three legs doesn't mean it's a transistor.
 
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Old Sep 11, 2006 | 08:12 AM
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Welcome to FTE crackerteg. Im glad you chose the best site on the net for Ford-Trucks. See you around the boards!

Matt
 
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Old Sep 11, 2006 | 08:20 AM
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Originally Posted by tvsjr
It very well could be a voltage regulator... a 7805 or something to drive the logic. Just because it's got three legs doesn't mean it's a transistor.
Are you sure about that number? Because if that's the case, I can go to a different electronics store (I live in the Keys so I'm limited with my resources) and try that.

BTW, transistor/ voltage regulator, would be the same deal. I googled transistor and got this definition for it. The one I replaced looks identical to the one in the picture that's all the way to the left.
 
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Old Sep 25, 2006 | 12:33 PM
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From: Only the govt. knows
Still no luck with this damn thing. Anyone have a working stock amp they're getting rid of? Preferably 99 or newer.
 
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Old Sep 25, 2006 | 04:13 PM
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Originally Posted by tvsjr
It very well could be a voltage regulator... a 7805 or something to drive the logic. Just because it's got three legs doesn't mean it's a transistor.
Are you aware of how amplifiers work?

I'm not being an ***, I'm asking.

Most amps (especailly OEM ones) dont need any sort of voltage regulation. The amplifier part is built in reletivele high tollerance and the power supply is generally just a step up transformer working at extremely high switching speeds (50,000Hz +). Amps do, however, use transistors to form a wave in pairs. Transistors can also be used as a form of voltage regulation so perhaps that is where the radio shack guy went wrong.

As far as a "Cheapie" amp. What are the dimentions? Im sure I can find one for ~$50 of equal or greater quality to fit your needs.
 
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