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  #1  
Old 03-20-2002, 10:33 PM
Mopard Mopard is offline
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Question Over Heating Amps!??

The amps in my car get realy hot to the touch. Hot enough to burn your hands after playing them loud. Is this normal? They are 2 Jensen xa series. They did not come with a cooling fan.
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  #2  
Old 03-21-2002, 05:00 AM
volare360 volare360 is offline
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for starters

1-how are they hooked up-if you are running them at a lower ohm than they will take,ect
usually they will just sound like crap

2-your wiring-if you are using piddly 10 gauge wiring to and from it,speaker wiring,ect
usually they will not give the performance,but they may run that hot

3-how do you have them mounted-if they have no room for air around them,mounted near something that might be blowing hot air on them,are they in direct sunlight,ect

4-what about your settings on the amps-if you have the gains set as high as they will go so you can use a smaller amp to run subs they dont have the power to run,and you listen to them REAL LOUD they may run hotter than they should


do they have overload protection,heat protection ect-I dont know them amps off hand,and I cant remember Jensons web site

they may just like to run that hot-I had a cassette player that ran real hot(alpine)after being on for a while it was too hot to hold on to(detach face)
dont think that would be the case-"burn your hands"-now that is HOT

I would start with your mounting-shouldnt be the case but would looking into
then check out wiring,make sure your grounds are good,proper wiring(bigger is better)
make sure the settings are correct for what you are trying to do
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  #3  
Old 03-24-2002, 01:25 AM
sinitro sinitro is offline
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U have a major problem...
1. The amps may get warm but should not be hot, hot
2. A fan can help but...

Most likely U are either playing the amps too hard, and/or the Ohms (Impedance) of the subwoofers are too low and the amps are not capable to drive these continually.

The Fix..
1. Turn it down
2. Upgrade the amps

If U continue to push the amps beyond their limit, soon they will self destruct. And if they clip badly the subs could be blown as well..
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  #4  
Old 03-24-2002, 07:31 PM
Mopard Mopard is offline
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Thanks for the info. As far as the amps gain settings they are less than half. The volume is turned up though. One amp has been replaced and is brand new. Before I replaced it, it didn't get that hot. Now since I replaced it with a new one of the same brand it gets hot. It only pushes 2 subs. Now, on the other hand, the other amp which is about a year old always got hot to the touch. Both amps have a overload or overheat protection that shuts it down but it has never happened. You would think that if it gets that hot it would shut down. I have checked all conections to make sure they are right. As far as being pushed "beyond their limit," maybe the older amp not definately not the new one that pushes the subs.
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  #5  
Old 03-30-2002, 03:27 AM
KrAzYBNCiCeRo KrAzYBNCiCeRo is offline
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Default HEy

I had a problem like that I want my subs to hit deeper, So I ran them into a 2ohm form, hell yeah it sounded good but guess what after about 5 mins that amp was so hot i had to let it cool down and put it back to 4ohm. I had to bridge them so it looked something like this.

_____________
I I
I I
I I
I this is I
I the Amp I
_____________
P G R - + - + this +
this _ ^ ^ ____________ +
____________ + the 2 + went to the right +
____________-_
_____________ - these 2 - went to the left - on the othere one now there bridged.

Really dont that unless u no it can handle that they say it can but mine couldnt.

MIne friend did the same thing we got the same system he just has a class lower subs then mine he hadthe old ones well this is what happened. We driving all around in Chicago he was infront of me and I was behind him, well he pulls over hes like u smell something im like i did about 1 block ago and he opens his truck, and his subwoofer was on fire he amp started to smoke and everything. we got his box out and threw it in the back of my truck cuz we didnt haven anything to put it out but it started to rain it took the fire out and then amp stoped to smoke. So watch out for them 2ohm;s setups. I dont trust them anymore. Just thought some people liek to no that.

Thanks,

Brandon
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  #6  
Old 03-30-2002, 03:02 PM
volare360 volare360 is offline
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if the amp says its 2 ohm stable it may be
I have an AURA 5 channel amp-sub channel says its 150X1 at 4 ohm,and 300X1 at 2 ohm
hooked it up to 2 subs-2 ohm load-no sound-checked the wiring-all good
unhooked one sub-got bass
hooked other up solo-got bass
hooked both back up-no bass
so I ran 1 sub

my soundstream 5 channel is 1/2 ohm stable on the sub side
runs my 2 10" no problem-2 ohm load

the "cheaper" the amp the less accurate the specs are
a real cheap amp may say its 2 ohm stable,and may not handle it
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  #7  
Old 03-31-2002, 07:42 PM
Mopard Mopard is offline
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I think the first thing I will do is put bigger power and ground wires.
What do you think of adding a 1-fared cap to my system? As of now I do not have a cap at all, but my lights do dim a little. Oh I just found out yesterday that my alt. is going south, bit the dust,or starting to bite the dust. I am not sure as to how long it has been going bad. I do know that it has been a slow process.
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  #8  
Old 04-02-2002, 04:19 AM
volare360 volare360 is offline
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a cap is a good idea-may not be needed,but it looks kewl
when you replace your alt get a better one
if battery is needed,get the biggest you can fit in

a cap will prob not help your heating problem
once you replace your alt
go to a wall,turn everything on,high beams,heater,rear defrost ect
if you get anything that might be a flickering head light-put in a cap-or put one in just for the heck on it

bigger cables is good,may not help but is worth it
what size are you running now
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