Hot Amplifier.. please help!!!!!

[sas_world]

Hi, i'm using a rockford fosgate amp to generate a 10' sub..

the problem is, when i play music for 5 minutes, the amp gets so hot.. i mean, when i tried to touch using my palm on it, i can only hold for 2 seconds.. it gets very hot!!

is this very common for rockford fosgate amp?? has this ever happened to u guys?? i'm just afraid the hot temperature could lead some damages to my car...

cheers!

 

[Indecided]

Hi, i'm using a rockford fosgate amp to generate a 10' sub..

You're using a rockford fosgate amp to power a 10' sub.

the problem is, when i play music for 5 minutes, the amp gets so hot.. i mean, when i tried to touch using my palm on it, i can only hold for 2 seconds.. it gets very hot!!

So 5 minutes of playtime = 2 seconds of extreme heat. NO, i'm kidding.

is this very common for rockford fosgate amp?? has this ever happened to u guys?? i'm just afraid the hot temperature could lead some damages to my car...

Firstly, all amplifiers dissipate heat, that's why they have a heatsink, which incidentally is hot. From past experiences with RF, their amps run hot normally (tell me what amplifier does not?) The hot tempreature would damage your amplifier, not your car.. although it might ignite the fuel tank if it's in the wrong location. BTW, how hot is hot? Grab a thermometer and place it's mecury bead on the amplifer surface for about 30-40 seconds, and come back with a reading.

Anyways, you provided us with too little information. What AMP model, what brand & model sub, how many ohms/sub configuration (SVC/DVC), your GAIN (!) settings, head unit and various configuration.

As a general rule of thumb, the gain setting should not exceed 1/2 the total range, preferably about 1/3. You might be forcing your amp to 'perform' and the signals could be clipping and will lead to imminient damage of your sub.

But hey, i'm just speculating. Provide more details and we'd be able to help you more.

 

[mnkh0027]

Heatsinks are meant to be hot, so don't get too worried, keep your amplifier well ventilated and you'll be fine.

 

[appleyard]

must be a class A/B amp. Try to install external fan on the amp or try to place the amp where there is good air ventilation. I had one kenwood amp who getts very hot until the plastic in my car melt

 

[Concept]

Maybe you can buy those 12cm computer fan and blow the amp. I'm sure it will help the heatsink dissipate the heat faster thus make it cooler and prolong the life of mosfets.

 

[evo5755]

which kind of RF amp?with my experience with various kidn of RF amp, it has different kidn of heatsink n dissipation technolgy, and so far i have used to drive many 2DVC subs, at 2ohm wif mono amp, very little heat is present in the amp. i guess, there must be wrong somewhere, with ur setup.

 

[QuickShift]

Check your subs, magnet or coil could be having contact. Borrow somebody's and try it on your set before replacing other components. Can try.

 

[g88]

DIY and PC fan and power it from your "remote" power...meant when the HU/amp is running then only the fan will run....

 

[fizzy15]

DIY and PC fan and power it from your "remote" power...meant when the HU/amp is running then only the fan will run....

im curious, how to attach the external fan to the amp?

pc fan has 2 wire, black and red.
so how to connect them??

 

[kyheng]

You can try to connect to the remote(+) and ground(-) to power the fan, then the fan will be on, if not then put on power and ground. Anyway if your amp is placed on boot and is a 2 channel amp not monoblock amp, it will be very hot, I using Lightning Audio amp also like that, but no need to scare as the amp will cut off when too high temperature and short circuit. But add a fan will not help much if your car is always parked in hot sunny place. The best is place your amp beside your sub's enclosure, so it will get more ventilation.

 

[fizzy15]

i put my amp under the seat, 4ch below my driver seat and 2ch at the other seat. The alpine 2ch amp is OK eventhough running very hot but the chap ayam one 4ch, make problem when hot. I will try putting extra fan on the 4ch amp, and I post the result later.

but i have a question, if u connect to remote(+), does it effect HU or not

 

[kyheng]

i put my amp under the seat, 4ch below my driver seat and 2ch at the other seat. The alpine 2ch amp is OK eventhough running very hot but the chap ayam one 4ch, make problem when hot. I will try putting extra fan on the 4ch amp, and I post the result later.

but i have a question, if u connect to remote(+), does it effect HU or not

Normally amp for subwoofer should put in boot, first is for cooling and second there is less interruption from amp to woofer. When the amp gets hot, lower range one, it might affect your bass or worst case it cut off. If can try to use a thicker power cable to the amps, this will help.

If connect to remote (+) the fan only run when your player is on, if follow power it will run even player is not on. Got a friend on top answer your question already....

 

[fizzy15]

putting the amp for the sub in boot..
then need to use 4 meter rca cable i guess..

just curious, isn't under seat give good airflow plus aircond :D
if in boot, where got cool air..

 

[kyheng]

First of all what is the clearance between your seat and car base? Then what is your amp height? Normally after you put the amp below the seat the clearance will be less, say around 2cm. How good is the ventilation with 2cm? As all our sifus said, for woofer if can try to use monoblock, but if budget not enough, then use a 2 channel amp which will become very hot when hitting woofer. So try to get an US amp to power your woofer as its power ratting is more on rms, not like cap ayam only show max watt. If can all the amps put on the boot, then you will have 1 problem the speakers sound might not be so good and worst case your car will become airport.. It might be hot but still you got more air to cool it down after sometime... Hope this will help.

 

[Izso]

Um.. Dude, what's your sub woofer type? Double voice coil or Single voice coil? What's your monoblock's ratings? 2ohm = 400 watts? 4ohms = 400 watts?

The last time my amp got that hot was because it wasn't stable at 1ohm and I wired my sub at 1ohm.

The other time it got hot enough to cook an egg was because my sub wiring was touching which means it short circuited.

Amps generally don't get alarmingly hot unless you've got some extreme settings on your gain or something. Even the Orion HCCA amps which are famous for getting super hot aren't really that bad since I'm using one. It's hot yes, but not hot until cannot keep my hand there for more than 2 seconds.

Cheers mate.

 

[kyheng]

What Izso say is correct, if we are new in ICE the best is get a 4 ohm woofer, get a shop that can be trust one to install if can their boss to install for you, as his machai most of them is fei gei sau(airplane hand) that after install you will get some screws and nuts extra from your car. When 2 woofer bridged together it will become 2 ohm still on the save side. Most of the 2 channel amp now can support 2 ohm load but not 1 ohm. The best is we monitor them during the installation time, don't understand ask them.

 

[fizzy15]

First of all what is the clearance between your seat and car base? Then what is your amp height? Normally after you put the amp below the seat the clearance will be less, say around 2cm. How good is the ventilation with 2cm? As all our sifus said, for woofer if can try to use monoblock, but if budget not enough, then use a 2 channel amp which will become very hot when hitting woofer. So try to get an US amp to power your woofer as its power ratting is more on rms, not like cap ayam only show max watt. If can all the amps put on the boot, then you will have 1 problem the speakers sound might not be so good and worst case your car will become airport.. It might be hot but still you got more air to cool it down after sometime... Hope this will help.

i guess i need to redo my wiring :albertein :albertein

 

[mnkh0027]

If your amp requires a large draw from your battery, you have to check that you're using the correct guage/thickness of power cable.

Using a 10 gauge or 8 gauge power cable may not be sufficient for long runs from the battery way back to the boot and for many high-powered amplifiers these days. The amp does run hotter than normal if the power cables are insufficient.

 

[appleyard]

rule of thumb. Put the biggest cables your amp terminals can fit. Definitely wont be a problem anymore.

 

[kyheng]

The best get the wire from TNB, that 1 connect from the mainboard to our house. Haha, just joking, anyway you have to check what's your true power rating for your amp. If only 200watt rms, why you need a 500watt to 750watt cables(4awg)? Unless if you want to upgrade later if not don't waste the money..