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Is it possible to blow an amp by pushing too much bass?
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Dr. Bogger
- Senior Member
- Posts: 130
- Joined: Sat Sep 09, 2006 5:36 pm
- Location: Ballston Spa, NY
-
Dr. Bogger
- Senior Member
- Posts: 130
- Joined: Sat Sep 09, 2006 5:36 pm
- Location: Ballston Spa, NY
-
Dr. Bogger
- Senior Member
- Posts: 130
- Joined: Sat Sep 09, 2006 5:36 pm
- Location: Ballston Spa, NY
"sub stopped working" isn't necessarily a sign of a dead amp...
...and even if it was dead, it isn't necessarly a sign of an amp defect.
In fact, more likely than not, it isn't.
You've just had a component go bad, and you don't know why!
Before you hook up ANY amp, you need to figure out what CAUSED that amp to go bad. And first, you need to figure out IF it is the amp that went bad.
What if your amp really was bad? OK.
Now, what if it went bad because one of your subs voice coils was damaged, and you didn't know (how would you, after all)?
If one of the voice coils was damaged, maybe your 4 ohm sub was now presenting less than a 1 ohm load. That happens.
Now, you have subs in a bandpass box - bandpass boxes contain the subs, and acoustically block high frequencies from exiting the box. So, they could be rattling, buzzing, and vibrating because of a damaged voice coil - but still working - and you wouldn't hear it. That's one of the downsides of a bandpass box. :help:
And... more importantly... if you were to hook up ANOTHER amp, it would go up in smoke faster than you can reach for the volume knob.
I'd do some troubleshooting from the subs back forward through the system - don't just "stick something back in there"
Subs:
check them with a multimeter. Check the impedence. Is it supposed to be 4 ohms? It should measure somewhere near 3.5 ohms... maybe a little higher. That's good. supposed to be 2 ohms? You will measure 1.5 ohms or so. I don't know what those subs are supposed to be - but you sure better, because one of the MOST important things is properly matching your amp to the impedence of your subs (or vice versa, depending on which you buy first).
(there are a lot of smileys on this forum, aren't there?)
Next, hit the subs with a 9v battery. Just touch it to the terminals of the sub box. If you have the + on the battery touching the + on the terminal, and the - on the battery on the - of the terminal, you'll see the cones move out and hold there, until you remove the battery. If you flip the battery the other way, you'll see the cones move in until you remove it. Take note if you see either sub either not moving, or moving less than the other one.
If the subs check out OK [electrically], then it is likely an amp failure.
Again though - WHY did it fail? If you don't root out the cause, any other amp will fail too.
Check your amp's lights. It should have one or two status lights. One light will light when the amp powers up (if it doesn't power up, it may be because of a dead sub). The other light is a status light - it will light when there is a problem. Make sure you know which is which - or follow this guide:
No lights lit - bad.
One of two lights lit - good.
Two lights lit - bad.
Check power connections - screws should be tight and secure on the amp, your main power wire should have a tight and secure connection at the distrubution block or whatever junction you have in the trunk. Your ground connection should be grounded with a short length of properly large gauge wire (matching what's coming into the amp for power), and properly secured. Those last two words can't be emphasized enough. By properly grounded, that means tight and secure (bolt tightened properly), and not having resistance... that's the ultimate goal. Remember, paint is an insulator, and that's also why you want to make your ground directly to chassis metal - not something that is bolted to chassis metal, and not hinged... not hijacking a seat bolt or something like that.
Check the voltage on your remote wire at the amp - it should measure the same as you read from the + power into the amp, with reference to ground (or the - terminal on the amp... they are the same thing, if you have that ground made correctly, right? ).
But that's just one end of the power wire - it's a circuit, so you should check your connections underhood too - you have this big fat power wire, and then all too often I've seen this rickety connection like a thin ring terminal clipped between a factory battery clamp screw... the connections at any point in the circuit have to be good and solid - a circuit is a chain - current must flow from the battery, through the power wire, through the amp, grounded to the chassis, and then back to the battery. The wire connecting the battery to the chassis is the final link. All those connections are important.
Tell you what - check these few things, and let's see what you find to START out with.
...and even if it was dead, it isn't necessarly a sign of an amp defect.
In fact, more likely than not, it isn't.
You've just had a component go bad, and you don't know why!
Before you hook up ANY amp, you need to figure out what CAUSED that amp to go bad. And first, you need to figure out IF it is the amp that went bad.
What if your amp really was bad? OK.
Now, what if it went bad because one of your subs voice coils was damaged, and you didn't know (how would you, after all)?
If one of the voice coils was damaged, maybe your 4 ohm sub was now presenting less than a 1 ohm load. That happens.
Now, you have subs in a bandpass box - bandpass boxes contain the subs, and acoustically block high frequencies from exiting the box. So, they could be rattling, buzzing, and vibrating because of a damaged voice coil - but still working - and you wouldn't hear it. That's one of the downsides of a bandpass box. :help:
And... more importantly... if you were to hook up ANOTHER amp, it would go up in smoke faster than you can reach for the volume knob.
I'd do some troubleshooting from the subs back forward through the system - don't just "stick something back in there"
Subs:
check them with a multimeter. Check the impedence. Is it supposed to be 4 ohms? It should measure somewhere near 3.5 ohms... maybe a little higher. That's good. supposed to be 2 ohms? You will measure 1.5 ohms or so. I don't know what those subs are supposed to be - but you sure better, because one of the MOST important things is properly matching your amp to the impedence of your subs (or vice versa, depending on which you buy first).
(there are a lot of smileys on this forum, aren't there?)
Next, hit the subs with a 9v battery. Just touch it to the terminals of the sub box. If you have the + on the battery touching the + on the terminal, and the - on the battery on the - of the terminal, you'll see the cones move out and hold there, until you remove the battery. If you flip the battery the other way, you'll see the cones move in until you remove it. Take note if you see either sub either not moving, or moving less than the other one.
If the subs check out OK [electrically], then it is likely an amp failure.
Again though - WHY did it fail? If you don't root out the cause, any other amp will fail too.
Check your amp's lights. It should have one or two status lights. One light will light when the amp powers up (if it doesn't power up, it may be because of a dead sub). The other light is a status light - it will light when there is a problem. Make sure you know which is which - or follow this guide:
No lights lit - bad.
One of two lights lit - good.
Two lights lit - bad.
Check power connections - screws should be tight and secure on the amp, your main power wire should have a tight and secure connection at the distrubution block or whatever junction you have in the trunk. Your ground connection should be grounded with a short length of properly large gauge wire (matching what's coming into the amp for power), and properly secured. Those last two words can't be emphasized enough. By properly grounded, that means tight and secure (bolt tightened properly), and not having resistance... that's the ultimate goal. Remember, paint is an insulator, and that's also why you want to make your ground directly to chassis metal - not something that is bolted to chassis metal, and not hinged... not hijacking a seat bolt or something like that.
Check the voltage on your remote wire at the amp - it should measure the same as you read from the + power into the amp, with reference to ground (or the - terminal on the amp... they are the same thing, if you have that ground made correctly, right?
).But that's just one end of the power wire - it's a circuit, so you should check your connections underhood too - you have this big fat power wire, and then all too often I've seen this rickety connection like a thin ring terminal clipped between a factory battery clamp screw... the connections at any point in the circuit have to be good and solid - a circuit is a chain - current must flow from the battery, through the power wire, through the amp, grounded to the chassis, and then back to the battery. The wire connecting the battery to the chassis is the final link. All those connections are important.
Tell you what - check these few things, and let's see what you find to START out with.
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Dr. Bogger
- Senior Member
- Posts: 130
- Joined: Sat Sep 09, 2006 5:36 pm
- Location: Ballston Spa, NY
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Justin from Detroit1
- Junior Member
- Posts: 0
- Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 6:00 pm
- Location: Detroit
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Dr. Bogger
- Senior Member
- Posts: 130
- Joined: Sat Sep 09, 2006 5:36 pm
- Location: Ballston Spa, NY
omg... well my amp has 3 fuses... two 20 amp fuses, and one 2 amp fuse... so i need a 42 amp fuse at the power line? omg... i dont know is my car could even handle that power XD
Keep in mind, my car is running the stock alt., and it is probabley quite old as well. (my car is a 1995, and it probabley has never been changed, but i could be wrong.)
I only have a 20 amp fuse on the battery, and the wire is 8 gauge, i know, i probabley should upgrade it.
Keep in mind, my car is running the stock alt., and it is probabley quite old as well. (my car is a 1995, and it probabley has never been changed, but i could be wrong.)
I only have a 20 amp fuse on the battery, and the wire is 8 gauge, i know, i probabley should upgrade it.
yeah you should definitely up the fuse size, otherwise its probably going to happen again.
as far as power draw... you probably won't have a problem. i think i ran a few 80 amp fuses in my system (when i had all of it in) and never had a problem with any thing.. i think th e80 amp fuse might of even been too small.
as far as power draw... you probably won't have a problem. i think i ran a few 80 amp fuses in my system (when i had all of it in) and never had a problem with any thing.. i think th e80 amp fuse might of even been too small.
- Keith
Read what I wrote.Dr. Bogger wrote: Now, anyone know what would cause the fuse to blow?
Troubleshooting.
You need to find the root cause of the problem.
Same thing applies... a low impedence due to sub damage would cause the amp to try to flow more current than it was capable of, and therefore draw more current than it was designed to, and pop a fuse. Inherently so. Of course, that's just one possibility.
You need to find the root cause of the problem.
The only way to do that is by troubleshooting.
Read what I wrote.