Why is my amp smoking????? | Page 2 | Ford Explorer Forums

  • Register Today It's free!

Why is my amp smoking?????

Very true 99explorer5.0. It just won't work very well wired like that. Not too sure if the fan should run constantly or when a predetermined temp is reached. Alot of times these things are wired through a thermostatic switch, much like the one for your A/C condensor fan.
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year or try it out for $5 a month.

Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





Actually i shouldnt have posted return that junk. Those amps are very good amps when you match them up with the right speakers. You however do not have a good matchup there. When you are buying car audio the numbers you are supposed to be comparing is not the price. It is the wattage and distortion rate and ohms ratings and frequency. If you go for the cheaper price most of the time it will bite you in the rear. I have been bitten plenty of times in the past. Good Luck.
 






Since the audiobahn warranty place is in Buena Park (only like 20 min away from me) i think im gonna roll down there tom. and see if they will replace it since it is so new. Hopefully they can get me another amp. If i get a new amp with the fan working and wire it to 4 ohms would it be ok? I dont really wanna try to sell this amp and buy a new one so if there is a way to make this work i would be willing to try.
 






i didnt bother to read through all the posts. but your problem is definitely the impedence. you now need a new amp. the amp is only stable to 4 ohms mono. you ran it at 2 ohms mono. it's not your fault though, the place that hooked everything up is as fault. anyway, there is no way to wire that single subwoofer @ 4 ohms mono. since you need a new amp, get a 4 channel amp. run one coil off the front channels bridged (4 ohms mono), then the other coil off the rear channels bridged (4 ohms mono). then you're set. or you could get an amp that is higher current and stable to 2 ohms mono, but they are more expensive. are you sure that amp is still under warranty? when did you buy it? the model is almost 3 years old.
 






I got the amp off thezeb.com new last friday. Im pretty sure that if i take to the warranty place with my moms (who can get pretty much any store to give her money back for anything) they will give me a new amp.
 






You had better unhook it before taking it back. If they see it is wired wrong all they're going to do is laugh. Really you shouldn't even take it back. It's not thier fault. It's who installed it. They are obviously morons. And once electronics smoke they are garbage.
 






All the above posters are correct. It is the INSTALLERS' fault. They should've researched it fully before wiring the amp to something it CANNOT handle.

I would contact The Zeb, if that's where it was purchased. I have had NOTHING BUT EXCELLENT luck with them and their warranty repair/replacement.

Good Luck!

Jordan23
 






Shouldn't the installer be at fault? Can't you just go back to them and have them replace the amp(if they have em) or get them to buy the amp from you for the price that you bought it?
 






Just to save your ass on this one. Most Manufactorors warrenties will not cover wrong installations. Especially if you admit that it was connected wrong. Do not go back to the installer because he had nothign to do with it. You told him what you wanted and he did it.

He went to the installer and said i have this amp and this sub so wire them up for me. The installer didnt care what he was hooking up as long as he got paid for it. The only thing that the installer is at fault is he should have known and told you about that amp not being 2 ohm stable bridged.

And for GODS SAKE MAN. RETURN THAT AMP. You do not want it fixed under warrenty. You want to return it flat out and get something completely differnt. That amp is not what you need for that sub and if you get a replacement the same thing will happen.
 






Ohms

I have to agree - ohms is the problem.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but there are two separate 2 ohm voice coils.

When hooked in series - positive to negative - the ohms add together. It works just like like a 9 volt battery, which is made up of 6 1.5 volt cells wired together in series.

If each voice coil is 2 ohms and they have been wired in parrallel, (positives together, negatives together) then the ohms is cut in half and your sub is actually running at 1 Ohm.

So the voice coils should be wired in series to create a 4 ohm load, and your problem should be taken care of.

Am I missing something? I don't think so.

Matt
 






Unless there are different model #s. I looked up the model number he had and it said they were Dual 4 ohm voice coils. Which means he can run that sub as a 2 ohm or an 8 ohm with that particular amp bridged. And if he ran it at 8 ohms with that amp that sub wouldnt even come close to having enough power.
 






Thats right. Wired in Parallel = 2 Ohm load. Wired in Series = 8 Ohm load.
 






Well i have pretty much decided to dump the whole project. I talked to the guy at fry's and he actually does know a lot about car audio he just didnt know that the amp wasnt stable at 2 ohms. So basically what im gonna do is send my amp back to zeb and there gonna send me the 2001 model. Then im gonna take that model and sell it. Then im gonna find someone to buy my sub. I figure i should come out about even. The guy at frys was really cool and unserstood that i was young and didnt have much money so he said that he would work with me outside of frys and help me with my system. He said that he had a couple or earthquake 12's and i havent heard that much about them but i know they bump. The guy said that he had a bunch of stuff at his house and would help me with whatever i needed (building a new box, bigger wiring, crossover, etc) and do it for really cheap. He said that with about $600-700 he could get me 2 earthquake 12's a PPI 4800 amp and a crossover and install it all with better wiring and box. I really like the way this guy has treated me and despite what you guys think he really does know alot about car audio. A lot of people on this board just assume because a guy works at frys or circuit city that they dont know anything but how to put a head unit in or replace stock speakers, but thats not true. This guy seems like he really wants to help me and understands the situation im in.
 






ohms

I stand corrected. They are 4 ohms each which makes me wrong. Sorry.
 






Or you could buy my BD1000.1 Rockford fosgate amp and my 15inch eclipse aluminum sub for about the same price and have a real system. I will even include the box if you want it but shipping costs might kill you.
 






99explorer5.0, why are you selling your sounds?
 






Actually i feel as though i am getting too old for music. Im 25 now and i hardly ever have the radio cranked up at all. Only sometimes when certain songs come on. The system i have is a little overboard. The amp is rated at 1000 watts RMS @2ohms and my sub is a 15 inch aluminum with dual 4 ohm coils so i run that sub in 2 ohms. I can pretty much shake all my panels in my truck loose and set off car alarms from a few feet away and i can permanatly damage your hearing if i crank it up with you in the truck.

Plus i am just finished school so i have to start paying back some loans. I also have a JL Audio 12w3 in a prowedge box for sale which is what i was using before i got the eclipse. That one has dual 2 ohm coils so you can run it at 1 ohm or 4 ohms. RIght now i have it set up to run at 4.

At the time that i bought that eclipse it retailed for $550 each. Now at my local audio store i think the price dropped to $500 and that amp retailed for $850. Those were the good ol days ... when i had money to spend.
 






I just looked at your profile ... you have a pretty nice setup in your explorer .... LOL and i looked at your age. I guess i shouldnt say i am too old for music. HaHa
 






LOL.....thanks:chug: , Nah....never too old!! I know what you mean about going overboard. I used to have two 15's years ago and that was way too much. I am perfectly happy with the setup I got now.....still needs a little work, but the sound is clean and clear and loud enough to cause permanent hearing damage!! I do not blast it all the time and am happy with clean sounds at a lower volume. My current subs are 12" dual 4 Ohm wired in Parallel hooked up to my Rockford Fosgate Power 500.2. I hooked up a 1 farad cap last week just to see what it would do (realizing that it will be an additional drain on my battery) and it really helped out alot. Think I'll keep on there for a little while longer.
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year or try it out for $5 a month.

Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





i don't have that kind of money :(. I just have 2 kenwood 12s and a 600watt kenwood amp. The box is heavy as crap. I'd rather get just a single 12 that can hit harder than 4 of my kenwood subs. A lot lighter, a lot louder, and simple. :) just don't have money!!! ARGH!
 






Back
Top