amp blows fuses right when it turns on

[caseyarndt 10+ year member]

the amp is an Orion extreme 400 2 channel amp

its an older amp that I just picked up cheap

the amp calls for two 20amp fuses, I put in 30 amp fuses and they blew right when I turned it on.

then I tried 40 amp fuses, unhooked the speaker wires and when it turned on it got really hot in about 15 seconds(hu volume low), the fuses didn't blow but it started to stink.

what could be wrong?

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[snoopdan 5,000+ posts]

power supply section of the amp is fux0red. not worth the money to fix either.

 

[SplAffair 10+ year member]

did you double check your wiring? are the power and ground wires mixed up?

 

[quackhead 10+ year member]

the amp is an Orion extreme 400 2 channel ampits an older amp that I just picked up cheap

the amp calls for two 20amp fuses, I put in 30 amp fuses and they blew right when I turned it on.

then I tried 40 amp fuses, unhooked the speaker wires and when it turned on it got really hot in about 15 seconds(hu volume low), the fuses didn't blow but it started to stink.

what could be wrong?

...............nothing, nevermind

 

[caseyarndt 10+ year member]

yea I double checked all my wiring before I started upping the fuses or else I probably would have risked doing that

 

[SplAffair 10+ year member]

then its probably what snoop said

 

[caseyarndt 10+ year member]

dang I hate getting screwed over at least it was only $25 but thanks for all the responses.

is this worth anything blown?

 

[SplAffair 10+ year member]

power supply section of the amp is fux0red. not worth the money to fix either.

this

 

[goingdef 10+ year member]

dang I hate getting screwed over at least it was only $25 but thanks for all the responses.is this worth anything blown?

put it on ebay as not working for parts and charge shipping according to what flat rate it will fit in, it's worth something to someone...........just no one here!

 

[Spooney 10+ year member]

power supply section of the amp is fux0red. not worth the money to fix either.

More likely a failure in the output section. If the power supply were bad it would be blowing fuses without the amp even turning on. The fact that the amp blows fuses at turn on is almost a dead give away that there are one or more failed output transistors.

 

[snoopdan 5,000+ posts]

More likely a failure in the output section. If the power supply were bad it would be blowing fuses without the amp even turning on. The fact that the amp blows fuses at turn on is almost a dead give away that there are one or more failed output transistors.

I disagree, I don't know how many amps i've seen turn on just fine and have 20+ fets smoked.

 

[Spooney 10+ year member]

I disagree, I don't know how many amps i've seen turn on just fine and have 20+ fets smoked.

Does it happen ?......Absolutely. Some amps have different/better protection circuits built into them than others. Some turn on and just have no output and that can be an issue in the power supply or output section .I myself have seen that happen plenty of times . I've seen amps with totally blown power supplies power up enough to light up the power LED too and even have terribly weak and distorted output . Others will pop fuses at turn on when the outputs go south. With symptoms like he is describing its a very safe bet that he has blown output transistors. His amp is trying to turn on....Power supply is more than likely ramping up ok and sending the proper rail voltage to the output section but due to a shorted output transistor(s) the output section is trying to pull every last bit of juice the power supply can(or can't ) possibly produce and nuking the fuses in the process. In this case the fuses blowing is saving his power supply from failure(well maybe not at this point seeing as he kept putting in bigger fuses until something stunk). Hell if he sends it to me I will diagnose it for us all but like was said before its really not worth fixing unless he absolutely loves this amp. I'll do an estimate for free though man if you like and i'm not even accepting amps in anymore at this point