Amp is burning fuses like no tomorrow

[AgEnT 10+ year member]

My MTX thunder series 502 amplifier was bridged at first and blew a fuseholder because it was 2 ohm, and the amp is 4 ohm stable. So today, I unbridged the subs and have 1 sub on each channel of the amp. With it unbridged, the subs were not getting much power and i was so suprised that even unbridged the amp blew another fuse, probably the fuseholder but i havent checked yet. Any idea why this would blow the fuse? I was told that unbridging would stop making my amp so hot but it still was hot and must have been hot enough to blow a fuse. I am definitely thinking about getting rid of this amp because it has been nothing but problems..

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[azimuth 5,000+ posts]

My MTX thunder series 502 amplifier was bridged at first and blew a fuseholder because it was 2 ohm, and the amp is 4 ohm stable. So today, I unbridged the subs and have 1 sub on each channel of the amp. With it unbridged, the subs were not getting much power and i was so suprised that even unbridged the amp blew another fuse, probably the fuseholder but i havent checked yet. Any idea why this would blow the fuse? I was told that unbridging would stop making my amp so hot but it still was hot and must have been hot enough to blow a fuse. I am definitely thinking about getting rid of this amp because it has been nothing but problems..

you need to check all the wiring. amps will get hot. my xtant gets very hot.

 

[AgEnT 10+ year member]

well im getting sick of replacing fuseholders, 2 in 2 days, come on, what a joke.

 

[matrxx dude 5,000+ posts]

the amp being hot has nothing to do why its blowing fuses,its blowing fuses because its trying to draw to much power.

 

[AgEnT 10+ year member]

how is it trying to draw too much power, well drawing too much power = getting too hot right? anyway its only pushing 90x2 @ 4 ohm because the amp is only 4 ohm stable and i dont see how that is drawing too much power. even turned up all the way its only taking 90x2. i can understand why the first time it blew, but this time is a total surprise. it wasnt even very loud and it still blew wtf.

 

[azimuth 5,000+ posts]

how is it trying to draw too much power, well drawing too much power = getting too hot right? anyway its only pushing 90x2 @ 4 ohm because the amp is only 4 ohm stable and i dont see how that is drawing too much power. even turned up all the way its only taking 90x2. i can understand why the first time it blew, but this time is a total surprise. it wasnt even very loud and it still blew wtf.

what size are the power and ground wires? the heat means that the amp isn't real efficient, but it doesn't mean anything is wrong.

 

[AgEnT 10+ year member]

i have 8 gauge lightning audio 700 watt/350 rms wiring, im not sure what every specific wire is but i can find out if u need.

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

sounds like a bad relay or a short to ground inside the amp

 

[AgEnT 10+ year member]

any ideas on how to fix it or is the amp bad?

 

[fbi90909 5,000+ posts]

now you say fuse holder. are you talking about the fuses ON the amp? or the fuses in the line TO the amp.

how long have you had this amp?

also what fuse ratings are placed ON the amp and in the INLINE fusefuse holder?

 

[AgEnT 10+ year member]

LoL ive had this amp installed since saturday. im talknig about the fusehlder on the power cable, sorry. its 40 amp inline fuseholder from lightning audio, well they WERE 40 amp inline fuseholders. both are burned now. the fuses on the amp are fine. its the fuse close to the battery. well i havent taken it off yet because it blew today and i dont feel like it because i dont have another one, but im pretty sure its same thing :-/

 

[headless 10+ year member]

http://www.bcae1.com

know it

Likely, you have a short somewhere in your power wire, especially if you actually melted a fuse holder. That's serious current. What rating are the fuse(s) on the amp itself? and how many are on it?

 

[seg_representin 10+ year member]

Your prolly gonna need more then a 40 amp fuse. That might be your problem.

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

that's a distinct possibility as well

melted wires, tho? something's not right

 

[fbi90909 5,000+ posts]

LoL ive had this amp installed since saturday. im talknig about the fusehlder on the power cable, sorry. its 40 amp inline fuseholder from lightning audio, well they WERE 40 amp inline fuseholders. both are burned now. the fuses on the amp are fine. its the fuse close to the battery. well i havent taken it off yet because it blew today and i dont feel like it because i dont have another one, but im pretty sure its same thing :-/

now that clears up some confiusion here. you said you were running the amp bridged at 2 ohms no? and the amp pushes about 125 watts RMS x 2 at 4 ohms 250 watts RMS x 2 at 2 ohms 500 watts RMS x 1 bridged output at 4 ohms..

now you say you had a 40amp fuse in the inline fuse holder which i think is underrated for the amperage pull that the AMP is pulling which is causing the fuse to blow. you might need a higher rated fuse, maybe 60A.

when you run the stereo how long did it last till the fuse blew? was it at high volumes? does your power wire get warm? what's the length of your ground and is it grounded properly? did you sand down the paint off the location of the gound?

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Edit: i type slow LOL