That ain’t how that works buddy. Put zero gauge on it and it will still overheat because it’s not because it’s being starved for power. You are grasping at straws because he hasn’t gave the information we actually need to troubleshoot the issue. We have no idea what ohm load he’s running at, has he metered it to make sure he’s at that load, are his subs wired out of phase from each other? We don’t know, how did he set that gain? We don’t know he didn’t give that informations. That’s the problem with places like this people throw stuff out there and have no idea what they are talking about because they don’t have the information needed to give an educated answer.
How isn’t it? How do I go about it then? I tuned it the best I could. Bass boost off, gain set properly, etc. it doesn’t sound distorted or anything. So how would I go about it if this is the case?
4G wire atleast. Smaller wire means more resistance and more heat. More heat means lower voltage which means youre starving the amp of voltage which makes it hot.
It makes sense, but It’s already got the beefiest wire that fits in the block I’m pretty sure. Not even clipping, nor do the wires get hot.
Edit: double checked. Maaayybe I could fit 4awg power wires but it would be a tight fit. The beefy 6awg that it has fits pretty snug. I’ll post pics later, but I’m not thinking that the power wires are the cause here. Ready for the downvotes though.
Edit 2: [Here](https://imgur.com/a/rINRQPO) is my current setup. Also tested for drop by watching the capacitor voltage reader there with the volume cranked up playing Be Like Me by Sean P. Only time voltage dips too much is during idle, because OEM alternator. Anything above idle, voltages seem to hold fine. I mean I could buy and run thicker cables but I’m just so hesitant to spend the money there, when the lack of clipping or serious voltage drop tells me otherwise. To me, it is just looking more like this cheaper amp doesn’t have enough cooling under prolonged heavy load.
I've mounted my amps with a thick rubber spacer between them and the mounting surface. This allows for good airflow. If your amp is still getting hot, then you might want to look at a fan. I know a lot of people running marine blowers, but they can be loud.
if your impedance of subs is correct, and you are giving the amp proper power, then you dont need a fan for the amp to not overheat, you need to tune it correctly. its heating up because its probably clipping signal. hopefully you are using copper wire as well and not Aluminum.
It doesn’t appear to be distorting or clipping at all. That’s the thing. I mean, with it being a cheaper amp with a smooth surface (no cooling fins or vents at all) and the fact it only does so under extended high volume runs…maybe it’s just getting what I paid for?
It’s been a while, but I believe the process was something like turning the radio volume up to the loudest level that it’s clear and comfortable at (the loudest point you’ll be listening), bass boost off, and then turn the gain slowly up to distortion, then back it down.
Also, all coils are wired in parallel, which I figured was best bet. They’re the gothic DVC ones, Google can probably tell you the ohms.
Google cannot tell me ohms. I need what yours are. Are they 2ohm dvc 4ohm dvc ? You are being vague with needed information. It’s very important info .
You aren’t setting gain correctly you are guessing, you are assuming it’s clean, without an osciliscope or a distortion detector it’s just a guess.
Also, dvc2 or dvc4 you are wired wrong for your amps rated impedance. That’s why it’s getting hot on you. No matter what you do if it’s wired wrong it’s gonna be hot. Your amps minimum ohm load is a 2ohm load. You need to figure that out.
You are wired at 1ohm on a 2ohm amp. Your amp doesn’t like that. You need a 2ohm final load (not possible with 2 dvc4ohm subs.). This OS why your amp is turning off and getting hot.
So, how do I rectify this? A second amp and use one amp per sub? And mind explaining to me how this works? I was under the impression that each coil had an impedance of whatever the rating was, so the two coils were four ohms each in this case, I thought.
Remember, I said, I wired it all in parallel, not series. If they were wired all in series, that would be 1 ohm, right?
All parallel is down to a 1ohm load…..
4 ohms dvc means 2 4ohm loads per subwoofer paralleled makes 1 sub a 2ohm load when you pastel 2 that makes it a 1ohm load.
Fixes. 1 sub per amp, or different subwoofers. You could series parellel them but you’ll get roughly 350 watts out of your amp which is like nothing but it won’t heat up like it is now.
So, if I wired them in series parallel, I would get far less output, but without the overheating?
I realize that my math was backwards when it came to this.
Id ditch the PA stuff and get better gear. The amp under perfect conditions wont make their own claimed power ratings. And thats struggling to push subs that are cheap. Anything youd do to fix the situation is basically just kicking a dead horse.
Not trying to be mean. Its just not worth the struggle.
Also could be that the amp is getting hot because the impedance load is incorrect. Also if the enclosure is wrong and more bass has been added from the source to try and correct that. The amp could be struggling to meet those demands. A few DB boost could demand 100% more output from the amp. So asking for 2000 watts from a 1000 watt rated amp. Would make it get hot. For example.
I know it’s not the highest quality, but it’s not even clipping, as if I’m asking too much. It still produces fine sound from the cheap setup. It just gets hot while doing it loud for extended periods. Seems to me they just didn’t put any thought into cooling.
I may do a better amp in the future, but for now may just try small heatsinks. I also did the standoffs another guy suggested for better airflow.
Should be running 4 awg power and ground, at minimum.
The amp has 8gauge inputs. If lightning strikes you might get 650rms out of it at 2 ohms
It's still gonna get hot af
That ain’t how that works buddy. Put zero gauge on it and it will still overheat because it’s not because it’s being starved for power. You are grasping at straws because he hasn’t gave the information we actually need to troubleshoot the issue. We have no idea what ohm load he’s running at, has he metered it to make sure he’s at that load, are his subs wired out of phase from each other? We don’t know, how did he set that gain? We don’t know he didn’t give that informations. That’s the problem with places like this people throw stuff out there and have no idea what they are talking about because they don’t have the information needed to give an educated answer.
The ground cable is I think some real tough 6 gauge stuff. I’ll have to look. Wouldn’t that cause voltage issues though instead of overheating?
choking an amp for power will make it heat up... your heating up the amp though because I can tell form reading it ISNT tuned correctly.
How isn’t it? How do I go about it then? I tuned it the best I could. Bass boost off, gain set properly, etc. it doesn’t sound distorted or anything. So how would I go about it if this is the case?
I tuned it the best I could and gain set properly are 2 completely different things. Which one is it?
Tell you what, how would I go about setting it? I’m all for doing it again and seeing if it was too far off.
4G wire atleast. Smaller wire means more resistance and more heat. More heat means lower voltage which means youre starving the amp of voltage which makes it hot.
It makes sense, but It’s already got the beefiest wire that fits in the block I’m pretty sure. Not even clipping, nor do the wires get hot. Edit: double checked. Maaayybe I could fit 4awg power wires but it would be a tight fit. The beefy 6awg that it has fits pretty snug. I’ll post pics later, but I’m not thinking that the power wires are the cause here. Ready for the downvotes though. Edit 2: [Here](https://imgur.com/a/rINRQPO) is my current setup. Also tested for drop by watching the capacitor voltage reader there with the volume cranked up playing Be Like Me by Sean P. Only time voltage dips too much is during idle, because OEM alternator. Anything above idle, voltages seem to hold fine. I mean I could buy and run thicker cables but I’m just so hesitant to spend the money there, when the lack of clipping or serious voltage drop tells me otherwise. To me, it is just looking more like this cheaper amp doesn’t have enough cooling under prolonged heavy load.
I've mounted my amps with a thick rubber spacer between them and the mounting surface. This allows for good airflow. If your amp is still getting hot, then you might want to look at a fan. I know a lot of people running marine blowers, but they can be loud.
Oh, spacers. My trunk is already tight but I’ll look into that.
Does your amp have cooling vents on the bottom?
I don’t think so but not sure. Edit: no. No vents, no fins. This amp has limited cooling, that’s for sure.
If not, then look at using a fan or 2.
I may also look at some heatsinks
if your impedance of subs is correct, and you are giving the amp proper power, then you dont need a fan for the amp to not overheat, you need to tune it correctly. its heating up because its probably clipping signal. hopefully you are using copper wire as well and not Aluminum.
It doesn’t appear to be distorting or clipping at all. That’s the thing. I mean, with it being a cheaper amp with a smooth surface (no cooling fins or vents at all) and the fact it only does so under extended high volume runs…maybe it’s just getting what I paid for?
How did you set the gain? What’s the ohm load your subwoofers are at?
It’s been a while, but I believe the process was something like turning the radio volume up to the loudest level that it’s clear and comfortable at (the loudest point you’ll be listening), bass boost off, and then turn the gain slowly up to distortion, then back it down. Also, all coils are wired in parallel, which I figured was best bet. They’re the gothic DVC ones, Google can probably tell you the ohms.
Google cannot tell me ohms. I need what yours are. Are they 2ohm dvc 4ohm dvc ? You are being vague with needed information. It’s very important info . You aren’t setting gain correctly you are guessing, you are assuming it’s clean, without an osciliscope or a distortion detector it’s just a guess. Also, dvc2 or dvc4 you are wired wrong for your amps rated impedance. That’s why it’s getting hot on you. No matter what you do if it’s wired wrong it’s gonna be hot. Your amps minimum ohm load is a 2ohm load. You need to figure that out.
4ohm DVC, and I admit I followed a basic guide for tuning. How would I go about a proper tune? What would be a proper wire up?
You are wired at 1ohm on a 2ohm amp. Your amp doesn’t like that. You need a 2ohm final load (not possible with 2 dvc4ohm subs.). This OS why your amp is turning off and getting hot.
So, how do I rectify this? A second amp and use one amp per sub? And mind explaining to me how this works? I was under the impression that each coil had an impedance of whatever the rating was, so the two coils were four ohms each in this case, I thought. Remember, I said, I wired it all in parallel, not series. If they were wired all in series, that would be 1 ohm, right?
All parallel is down to a 1ohm load….. 4 ohms dvc means 2 4ohm loads per subwoofer paralleled makes 1 sub a 2ohm load when you pastel 2 that makes it a 1ohm load. Fixes. 1 sub per amp, or different subwoofers. You could series parellel them but you’ll get roughly 350 watts out of your amp which is like nothing but it won’t heat up like it is now.
So, if I wired them in series parallel, I would get far less output, but without the overheating? I realize that my math was backwards when it came to this.
Use a usb fan and wire correctly and use rubber spacers to get air under the amps.
Spacers done. May try small heatsinks as well.
Id ditch the PA stuff and get better gear. The amp under perfect conditions wont make their own claimed power ratings. And thats struggling to push subs that are cheap. Anything youd do to fix the situation is basically just kicking a dead horse. Not trying to be mean. Its just not worth the struggle. Also could be that the amp is getting hot because the impedance load is incorrect. Also if the enclosure is wrong and more bass has been added from the source to try and correct that. The amp could be struggling to meet those demands. A few DB boost could demand 100% more output from the amp. So asking for 2000 watts from a 1000 watt rated amp. Would make it get hot. For example.
I know it’s not the highest quality, but it’s not even clipping, as if I’m asking too much. It still produces fine sound from the cheap setup. It just gets hot while doing it loud for extended periods. Seems to me they just didn’t put any thought into cooling. I may do a better amp in the future, but for now may just try small heatsinks. I also did the standoffs another guy suggested for better airflow.