Amp Smoking

[tj1320 10+ year member]

When I reconnected the negative wire to my battery, my amp started smoking. I have everything connected the way it should be (I think) so I have no idea why it is doing this. The remote, power, and ground wires are all in their appropriate places and the sub is connected correctly as well. The only thing I'm not 100% sure about is the RCA cables from the receiver to the amp. I'm scared that I'm going to set my car on fire so I have no idea what to do. I had to reduce the size of the power and ground connections in order to get them to fit in the terminals because they are 1 gauge wire. Is this what is causing the problem? Here are some pics.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...1320/DTV005.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...1320/DTV003.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...1320/DTV002.jpg

Oh yeah, and the smoke is coming from the power and ground "area" of the amp.

Also, the power and ground wires aren't connected with any terminal on the end of them. I simply stripped the wires down to where they would fit in the amp terminals and I pushed them in, wrapping any exposed wiring with electrical tape. I also shined a flash light into the amp (JBL GTO1201.1 II, has a clear top panel) and nothing looked blackened or otherwise fried. There are three 40 amp fuses on the amp and an in line 120 amp fuse on the power wire next to the battery and none of them are blown.

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[brtnboarder3241 5,000+ posts]

would be nice if links worked..

 

[Calikid 5,000+ posts]

pics are not working.......

 

[icpurplepplalot 5,000+ posts]

man this sounds like my problem with my bp 1200.1 I just had

 

[tj1320 10+ year member]

God ****it. Here, let me see if I can attach the pics. I swear I'm fixing to go postal.

 

[tj1320 10+ year member]

I didn't even get to play any music at all. The CD player turned on and then all of a sudden I smell smoke. I'm pretty new to this stuff but I read the instructions and carefully reviewed the wiring diagrams. Yet this is what happens.

 

[Grinder1989 5,000+ posts]

Well its either your wiring job or the amp. Some things don't work out of the box but its rare unless its a crappy company....check your wiring, make sure nothing is shorted and you have the right, and good connections.

Grinder

 

[blackbonnie 5,000+ posts]

can you get a close up pic of where your speaker wires connect to the amp, and what impedence (ohms) is your sub running at?

 

[Grinder1989 5,000+ posts]

x2 forgot to mention that....your subs are probably wired too low of an impediance for the amp.

 

[blackbonnie 5,000+ posts]

i believe the amp cannot run lower then 2 ohms

 

[tj1320 10+ year member]

I'm running one 4 ohm DVC 12" L7 and it is wired per RF's diagram (+ to + to amp, - to - to amp) into 2 ohms. I think I know where everything needs to connect, I just need to know HOW everything should be connected. One thing is for sure, the 1 gauge wire is WAY to large for the terminal openings on the amp. I probably did a "no no" but I twisted the wire up and pushed it into the terminals. Then I pulled it out and trimmed all the wires that wouldn't fit inside. Then I put it back inside, tightened it down, and covered any exposed wiring with electrical tape. I'll get some close-up pics of the connections tomorrow.

 

[blackbonnie 5,000+ posts]

yeah get some close up pics, and make sure your connections (positive, negative, and ground) are not touching

 

[dB-r 10+ year member]

If you are 100% sure you didn't put the positive in the negative hole then it's probably not the reverse polarity protection diode. Does this amp have internal fuses? If you hook it up backwards it may blow the fuse(s).

Get a distro block and run those big *** wires into the block, then some really short smaller ones to the amp, prefferably the correct size for your amps power terminals.

If the FETs are smoking, they should be near the power terminals of the amp, mounted down each side of the amp, then it's blown up.

 

[tj1320 10+ year member]

I think it is blown then. The smoke seemed to start from a long, slender piece on the side of the amp near the power and ground terminals. I only paid $250 for it so that doesn't hurt so bad but I'll definitely have to look into the distribution block. I like to think I'm pretty smart but I'm actually pretty dumb when it comes to this stuff. Thanks for the help and I'll still post up-close pics of the connections later today.

 

[tj1320 10+ year member]

I ordered another amp with a warranty this time LOL. Anyway, now I'm confused about distribution blocks. Do I need to get two of them, one for power and one for ground? This makes sense to me but I want to make sure. I live in a small town with no electronics stores and I'll be visiting a big city this weekend with Circuit City, Best Buy, etc. so do you think they would have distribution blocks? Thanks.