amp help

atlbravesfalcs7 · Post by **atlbravesfalcs7** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 8:31 pm

i just recently had my girlfriend's brother install my new sub and his old amp into my car. unfortunately, the amp continues to overheat every time i roll my windows down or play my music loud for about fifteen minutes. i have been searching around and receiving help as i realized that the amplifier i have runs on 4 ohms when one subwoofer is bridged. the problem is that my subwoofer delivers 2 ohms, which doesnt match. i guess the amplifier is creating too much power that the amp is not receiving so the amp overheats? does anyone have any idea on how i can make this connection work without spending another hundred dollars?
help would be greatly appreciated!!

cargodz · Post by **cargodz** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 11:57 pm

We would be able to guide you better if you gave us the specifics

What amp (name and model number)?
What sub (name and model number)?

jonnyb · Post by **jonnyb** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 6:52 am

is it a dual 4ohm sub?
because instead of wiring it at 2ohms, you could wire it at 8ohms, to play it safely.

pretty much, give us some more information, is the sub DVC, and whats the configuration. what size power wire do you have, how high are the gains, what is your source unit. etc..

the more info the better the help.

atlbravesfalcs7 · Post by **atlbravesfalcs7** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 7:21 am

alright let me go to my car hold on

atlbravesfalcs7 · Post by **atlbravesfalcs7** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 7:26 am

ok the amp i have is a power acoustik st980-2 and the sub i have is the alpine sws-1223d. the connection from the sub to the amp is bridged.

cargodz · Post by **cargodz** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 2:39 am

atlbravesfalcs7 wrote:ok the amp i have is a power acoustik st980-2 and the sub i have is the alpine sws-1223d. the connection from the sub to the amp is bridged.

Ok here's the problem... You are not giving the amp a 2 ohm signal (as your sub is a Dual 2 ohm) instead if it is wired in parallel (which It sounds like it is), you are sending your amp a 1 ohm signal... And your amp is only stable to 2 ohms (Yes I did say it can handle 2, but don't get caught up on that as it's not the answer).
Here's the answer: Since you have a dual 2 ohm voice coil sub, it needs to be wired in series to present a 4 ohm signal... This is now perfect for your amp. The amp will now produce up to 440watts rms bridged and will run much cooler... Not perfectly cool as these amps still get pretty warm, but you won't run the risk of burning it up

atlbravesfalcs7 · Post by **atlbravesfalcs7** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 12:11 pm

[quote="cargodz"]Ok here's the problem... You are not giving the amp a 2 ohm signal (as your sub is a Dual 2 ohm) instead if it is wired in parallel (which It sounds like it is), you are sending your amp a 1 ohm signal... And your amp is only stable to 2 ohms (Yes I did say it can handle 2, but don't get caught up on that as it's not the answer).
Here's the answer: Since you have a dual 2 ohm voice coil sub, it needs to be wired in series to present a 4 ohm signal... This is now perfect for your amp. The amp will now produce up to 440watts rms bridged and will run much cooler... Not perfectly cool as these amps still get pretty warm, but you won't run the risk of burning it up ]

but the problem is that i dont kno how to wire it up and give it a four ohms signal without losing a lot of bass

atlbravesfalcs7 · Post by **atlbravesfalcs7** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 12:27 pm

basically how do u wire it in series mode?

atlbravesfalcs7 · Post by **atlbravesfalcs7** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 12:44 pm

all these online diagrams dont make any sense to me

cargodz · Post by **cargodz** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 2:54 am

atlbravesfalcs7 wrote:all these online diagrams dont make any sense to me

I'm not saying this to sound mean, so please don't take it that way, but if you can't figure out the wiring diagrams for simply hooking up subwoofers then you probably shouldn't be the one doing it... My suggestion would be to take it to a local shop and have them switch the wiring up or find somebody that has the knowhow to show you the differences first hand.