# why are my amps getting hot



## playboi13 (Nov 4, 2010)

93 fleetwood, lifted. Kenwood excelon deck, 0 gauge to dist block, 4 gauge to amps, big three 0 guage. New stock alt and batt. Cadence daytona 4100; sundown 1200, 1 ohm load. Ground reads .02 on dmm, voltage reads 13.9 at amp when sundwn shuts off, both amps are hot to touch. After twenty min of play. Gains are set very conservative. 2 sa8s. 2 diamond d663s components. Can't figure out why amps are running so hot. Please. Help


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## Jeff Rohrer (Jul 9, 2010)

Did you verify the 1ohm load? Just sayin, we sometimes miss things.


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## playboi13 (Nov 4, 2010)

I'm getting a lil over two ohm from wires from each sub, then each is wired to channels on monoblock. So that's a one ohm load. And they're both getting hot, not just the subs amp.


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## 801jessejames (Mar 8, 2010)

1 ohm load is at a very low resistance meaning alot of power is flowing through the amp(s). More power leads to more heat. Older amps do not have an internal cooling fan so if there is not plenty of free air to help vent then they get hot.Series wiring and parallel can change an ohm load and lower power with more resistance but may keep the amp(s) from getting so hot.Your amp(s) along with the subs may not be able to handle that kind of power as well.I'm not familiar with those brands so I could be wrong.I spent alot of money with a similar problem and finally bought jl audio subs and a fosgate punch amp that claims 2200 watts but really puts out about 500.Ideas but it could be something else since it is electricty.Good luck.CarAudioHelp.com is a great place to get answers.


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## regal86limited (Jan 2, 2011)

might be the wire hooked to the amp is too thick


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## 74Olds98SLAB (Mar 21, 2004)

to big of wire is never an issue, and if your sundown amp is cutting off you have something wired wrong....also if you want to invest in SMD distortion detector and SMD crossover calibrator...it takes the headaches out of guessing gains and crossovers and they are easy to use and cheap

I run all sundown amps and I run my 2 1500's at .5ohms daily, full tilt as long as the car is running and no issues
[h=3][/h]


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## Jeff Rohrer (Jul 9, 2010)

Did you check it at the amp with your dmm?


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## playboi13 (Nov 4, 2010)

801jessejames said:


> 1 ohm load is at a very low resistance meaning alot of power is flowing through the amp(s). More power leads to more heat. Older amps do not have an internal cooling fan so if there is not plenty of free air to help vent then they get hot.Series wiring and parallel can change an ohm load and lower power with more resistance but may keep the amp(s) from getting so hot.Your amp(s) along with the subs may not be able to handle that kind of power as well.I'm not familiar with those brands so I could be wrong.I spent alot of money with a similar problem and finally bought jl audio subs and a fosgate punch amp that claims 2200 watts but really puts out about 500.Ideas but it could be something else since it is electricty.Good luck.CarAudioHelp.com is a great place to get answers.


I have three cooling fans on them, the amp is stable at one ohm.


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## playboi13 (Nov 4, 2010)

74Olds98SLAB said:


> to big of wire is never an issue, and if your sundown amp is cutting off you have something wired wrong....also if you want to invest in SMD distortion detector and SMD crossover calibrator...it takes the headaches out of guessing gains and crossovers and they are easy to use and cheap
> 
> I run all sundown amps and I run my 2 1500's at .5ohms daily, full tilt as long as the car is running and no issues
> [h=3][/h]


Each subs is wired sperately in parallel, then each is wired to amp to a one ohm load.


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## playboi13 (Nov 4, 2010)

Jeff Rohrer said:


> Did you check it at the amp with your dmm?


 Yes. Measured at amp before and after amp shut off and it read at lowest13.9 volts.


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## 74Olds98SLAB (Mar 21, 2004)

im just saying, go back and recheck every single wire, make sure everything is correct, check it all again...I have 4 sundown amps, 2 1500's a 125x2 and 100x4...I have 0 cooling fans on them...run the 1500's at .5ohms which creates alot of heat as stated above...I run them at my max set volume im in the car, add the hot louisiana heat. and they are about 6 years old...no issues

where are you grounding to, do you have a picture of how everything is ran

it aint pretty cuz i just threw it in there temporary after ripping the airtank and old setup out


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## playboi13 (Nov 4, 2010)

Ya, I've ha many systems before and had no problems with heat, that's why I'm stumped. They are grounded to. The floor board, sanded down to bare metal, star washer and all. I cheked ressistance with dmm on ground and it read around .02


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## Jeff Rohrer (Jul 9, 2010)

playboi13 said:


> Yes. Measured at amp before and after amp shut off and it read at lowest13.9 volts.


No not that, take the speaker wires of the amp and check the ohms with your dmm just to be sure.


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## 74Olds98SLAB (Mar 21, 2004)

i have 2 extra batteries in the trunk, i ground the amps driectly to them and the batteries get grounded to the frame not sheet metal.

i dont know cuz sundown has been hella good to me with no issues so far


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## Jeff Rohrer (Jul 9, 2010)

Amps heating up 90% of the time is because there's to much current traveling through it due to low of resistance, the other 10% is too small of wire for power ground ect... That's why I suggest taking the speaker wires off of the amp and checking the load there. If it's showing 1ohm then your good and the problem is elsewhere.


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## playboi13 (Nov 4, 2010)

Idk, I tried to measure the resistance on the speaker wires and first it was jumpin around all over the place, then it said 8 ohms. I visually verified they are wired each sub in parallel then together in paraalel to the amp. They are dual 4 ohm and are wired in parallel.


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## REYXTC (Mar 13, 2007)

Get a wiring diagram for the subs and check


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## Brahma Brian (Nov 17, 2004)




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## Jeff Rohrer (Jul 9, 2010)

playboi13 said:


> Idk, I tried to measure the resistance on the speaker wires and first it was jumpin around all over the place, then it said 8 ohms. I visually verified they are wired each sub in parallel then together in paraalel to the amp. They are dual 4 ohm and are wired in parallel.


I understand you have them wired correctly. The only reason I say to dmm the final load before the amp is sometimes coils are off. Not always that far off but it could be or one of the voice-coils is blown but not exhibiting any noise to indicate that its blown.


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## playboi13 (Nov 4, 2010)

The dmm I have doesn't have multi options for ohms to get an accurate reading. Should I ohm test each voice coil.


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## Jeff Rohrer (Jul 9, 2010)

playboi13 said:


> The dmm I have doesn't have multi options for ohms to get an accurate reading. Should I ohm test each voice coil.


 You dont need multi options, you should have one set of wires going to your amp. When you place your probes on them you should get a reading.


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## REYXTC (Mar 13, 2007)

LOL


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## REYXTC (Mar 13, 2007)

The diagram has been posted test where it says 1 ohm


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## playboi13 (Nov 4, 2010)

So I tested it it read 1.5 .. the leads themselves when touched together read .5 so minus that equals 1 ohm. I only mentioned the multi ohm settings cuz I've read u get a more accuarate reading with say a 200 ohms setting.


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## playboi13 (Nov 4, 2010)

I also went thru starting from battery and cheked all connections for correct wiring and secure connections. The main fuse by batter was alil loose everything else checked out fine.


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## orientalmontecarlo (Sep 17, 2007)

:facepalm:


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## playboi13 (Nov 4, 2010)

U gone help a player out oriental


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## orientalmontecarlo (Sep 17, 2007)

it has to be an ohm issue bro....everyone stated what i would recommend,i bet your overlooking something very small..it happens to everybody


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## L.Daco1 (Jun 16, 2010)

You should really set your gains with an oscope or at least the SMD DD1, if you have neither then use a DMM. It sounds like the impedance is fine. Try backing off your gains and see if that helps in the meantime. Sounds to me like you may be clipping the shit outta your amps. 

This is a link to one of the best gain setting tutorials I have seen. http://forum.realmofexcursion.com/amplifiers/69112-gain-setting-tutorial-2010-a.html

And if you're using any kind of bass boost turn that shit off.


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## shystie69 (Feb 9, 2009)

:drama:


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## DanielDucati (Jan 11, 2007)

Had the same problems with a 1500 watt amp........I ended up taking my amp apart and installed an internal fan(not external) that blows air directly on the board and I even drilled heat exhaust holes ......amp never overheated after the fan install.........saudered fan power wire to remote connection inside of amp and fan ground to ground inside of amp..........


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## MR.SKAMS (Jan 21, 2004)




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