Amplifier question need some help

[keithr0005005]

i have a 650 watt planet audio amp. when its up pretty loud (like 40 out of 62 on the head unit) it cuts out and goes into safe mode. i take it this is because it is over heating but why? its in a very well ventilated area so i know thats not my problem. any suggestions???

[junior3382]

How do you have it wired? And amp that size first should be running at least 8 gauge lead wire or stronger with a matching ground. What are you powering? on the side of the amp is the gain controls, it does not matter what the box says, do not turn above 50% usually. Also, if you are bridging the power to one speaker, make sure the speaker wire is better then 10 gauge. And remember, by doing this, you are demanding a load of 2 OHM's or lower, so that generates heat. Each amp is equiped with an on board cooling fan, make sure it is free of debris and rotating freely. Also, set the bass settings on the amp itself, not the stereo. Leave the bass at nuetral on the stereo, and if the deck has an onboard amp, tone that down. Sending too much signal or too low of a range could affect that too. I know this is a lot to consider, but any one of these could be an issue not knowing for sure. You do not want to push it that hard to many times, or you will lose it.

[03chevy]

junior is right! on the gain control have it only a 1/4 turned up. thats about as high you will need it. and make sure all your conections tight. one more thing do you have your remote on the amp jumped over to the pos. on the amp. or is it ran up to the head unit? that might be part of your problem

[junior3382]

Here is another tip, both for you, and everyone else who reads this and is looking to upgrade their stereo system. When you run the patch cables from the deck to the amp, run them on the opposite side of the vehicle then the power cable from the batt. Most vehicle still put the batt under the hood, so if you run them parrallel, your signal cables will pick up engine noise and that could also potentially do some long term damage to your speakers. also where the low feed hum come from. That single little 22 gauge wire for your remote turn on, needs to also be seperate. There is not a lot of insulation in those wires and can also interfere with signal. To get clean sound, these tips are very useful.

[keithr0005005]

thanks alot for your input...im running the recomended guage wire for the amp but my gain is definately turned up to high. ill open the amp and make sure that the fan is clean of debris and give it a shot. ill post how it works when im finished...thanks guys im new to the whole system thing. oh ya im powering to ten inch jbls that are 450 watts each.

[MI0706]

KeithR: Lets get a few things clarified...

The responses to your post are pretty good... However, some are no longer valid...

1. If you have bought good quality RCA cables, there is no need to separate them from the power run. Nor do you need to separate them from the remote turn on (the current draw on the remote turn on is not significant enough to cause interference). 10 years ago, I would've agreed to have them separte (because it was hard to find RCA cables that had quality shielding at an affordable price). Today, they can be had for relatively cheap.

2. This whole "turn your amp gain up to a maximum of 50%, don't go past 25%, etc." is not really valid in today's systems. Granted, there are some very cheap amps out there that these rules apply to. If you buy a quality amp, these rules will not apply to you. For example, I'm running a Hifonics Brutus 2006D (2000 watt amp just for my subs), this is by no means a top of the line amp. It is a mid grade amp. I can turn my amp gain up to about 90% before I see any signs of distortion and/or clipping (as verified by an o-scope). Basically, what I'm getting at is every amp is going to be different.

3. Your head unit will also have a clipping and/or distortion point on its volume setting. For me, on my JVC KD-AR860, that is at 46 out of 50. Meaning, I can take my volume up to 45 (90% of maximum) without sending a clipped and/or distorted signal (once again verified by an o-scope) to my amps. Keep in mind, sending a clipped and/or distorted signal from your head unit to your amp(s) will result in a clipped and/or distorted signal going from your amp(s) to your speakers.

So, the proper way to set the gains on your amp would be the following basic procedure...

1. Make a test tone cd
2. Find the clipping point on your head unit
3. Just below the head unit's clipping point, measure the voltage on the RCA cables.
4. Match the gain setting on the amp to the voltage on the RCA cables (usually, your gain knob will be marked in increments of voltage).

This is a very cut and dry method. You can find detailed procedures at Realm of Excursion, Sound Domain, Car Audio, etc. Go to the forums and do a search on something like "amp gain setting", "amp tuning", etc. These procedures will require you to have a multi meter, some knowledge of your system, and will step you through (in detail) of how to get your amp pretty close to what it should be.

I, on the other hand, have access to an o-scope and only use that to tune my systems (it is the most accurate way that I know of). Been doing this as a hobby since I was 15 years old (and that was almost 20 years ago ).

You're going to find out that there is a whole different world out there concerning high powered sound systems .

Hope this helps.

[gmctrucks]

A buddy of mine had his Amps in this box he built in the center of both seats so what he did is buy a DC fan from Radio Shack and hook it up so that air could be sucked out of the box he also had a hole on the other end that fixed his problem with being to hot.

[junior3382]

MI0706

It is always a good idea to seperate them, even if he is using the new technology. Keeps things neat and protected. Regardless of what people rate their products at, it is always better to stay on the side of caution. I understand that there is always new products and new ways, but better to be safe then sorry. Besides, he may not know if what he has will work both ways.

And as far as the gain goes, true some amps "can" run at 100% but his issue was overheating, and 9 times out of 10 the gain is the factor. It is like your car. Even though the speedometer says it can run 165MPH, does not mean it is healthy for it to run there constantly, perhaps a spike may not hurt it, but a constant run at 100% is never good, regardless of how you look at it. Even with todays amps, the sound quality and the performance is still affected by 100% draw. So not turning an amp above 50% is always a good idea. I would go 100% for a competition and thats about it, leave it low, again, PROTECT the investment.

And from I can tell, you seem to be more familiar with the high output systems and the ones that attract attention, he is dealing with a very mild amp here, and probably uses it for recreational use.

I am not saying you are wrong, I just never trust manufacturers ratings, nor, in my opinion, is it ever wise to run any peice of equipment, electronic or mechanical, at its limit all the time, they will and do fail. So save the head ache and just prevent it now.

Like I mentioned before, I think his issue was the gain and the leads for the amp, and adjusting them will more then likely solve his particular problem.

[keithr0005005]

well here's the old scooper.....the amp which is a planet audio mosfet 600watt (32002)....does not have a cooling fan just small heatsinks in side and the case which i guess acts like a sink. so i removed the thin aluminum bottom and made a 3 inch round hole where i now have a twelve volt computer fan (3 inch moves a very highy volume of air) mounted to draw the heat out of the amp. hooked everything up...routed all wires neatly with no crossing or contacts and double checked all connections. set all settings to get minimum distortion with maximum performance....bass boost set about 90 percent......and let in run on a high setting 52 out of 60on a cd with very heavy bass for a long enough period of time. the outcome.....the amp barely even gets warm now and not a single problem. the fan is controlled by the remote wire so its only on when the stereo is on. problem solved to me lol thanks soooooo much for all of your help.

[junior3382]

Awesome Keith, glad to hear you got your tunes back.