dumb bridging question

[goodstuff 10+ year member]

Ok so I'm going to be bridging my 6 channel amp to feed my jl vr 6 1/2's 150 watts instead of 45, which is what they are getting now....they are rated for 60 rms...will this be ok? I know you can safely feed some subs twice the wattage they are rated for and they will be ok...never done it with smaller speakers though.

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[wesl56 10+ year member]

be very careful

 

[goodstuff 10+ year member]

yeah i'm obviously going to keep the gain all the way down and keep the volume in check...

 

[goodstuff 10+ year member]

Well I bridged my amp today...went from 45 to 150 watts rms per comp...it got sofaking hot I didn't want to leave my hand on top of it after I ran it for 25 minutes or so while driving home from jerkitcity, where I got a pair of y adapters to split the stereo signal from the h/u rcas into left and right signals for the amp rca inputs....anyways...I've never had an amp get this hot...is it normal? Is it getting hot because the comps are only rated for 60 watts and the amp is putting out way more than that? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/uhoh.gif.c07307dd22ee7e63e22fc8e9c614d1fd.gif

 

[kross 10+ year member]

How are the speakers wired to the amp? If you've wired more than one speaker in parallel on a channel, that would explain it. I'm not talking about a single component set with the passive crossover.

Many amps will not like a load of less than 4 ohms when bridged.

 

[danp129 10+ year member]

Yeah, that amp says 4 Ohm minimum when bridged.

Also, if the speaker level to RCA adapter has gain settings on it, turn them down low and then raise the gain on the amp to compensate. If the gains are too high on the adapter you're going to be sending a clipped signal to the amp. That's really more FYI for the future, I wouldn't continue to run a 2 Ohm load bridged.

 

[goodstuff 10+ year member]

Yeah, that amp says 4 Ohm minimum when bridged.
Also, if the speaker level to RCA adapter has gain settings on it, turn them down low and then raise the gain on the amp to compensate. If the gains are too high on the adapter you're going to be sending a clipped signal to the amp. That's really more FYI for the future, I wouldn't continue to run a 2 Ohm load bridged.

HUh? Who said anything about speaker level adapters? Or running at 2 Ohms? They are four ohm speakers...

 

[goodstuff 10+ year member]

How are the speakers wired to the amp? If you've wired more than one speaker in parallel on a channel, that would explain it. I'm not talking about a single component set with the passive crossover.
Many amps will not like a load of less than 4 ohms when bridged.

No, just one speaker to two channels. I did forgot to turn down the one of the gains because I was used to having to use one gain knob control two speakers so that might have something to do with it.

 

[Stel 10+ year member]

Are the 6.5's high passed? That will usually increase their power handling. Make sure the signal is clean. I would use a voltmeter and one of the methods in the amp settings tutorials to be sure your not clipping the amp.

 

[danp129 10+ year member]

HUh? Who said anything about speaker level adapters? Or running at 2 Ohms? They are four ohm speakers...

wow, I need to buy some glasses //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/blush.gif.99bc659ee2012b7d826165e26fb5eebe.gif

 

[kross 10+ year member]

How did you wire the y-adapters? From the HU, you have left and right, with y-adapters on each. The y-adapter from the left channel is attached to what? The left and right inputs on the amp (marked as channel 1 and 2 on your amp) ? Or does it go to both left inputs on the amp (channel 1 and 3 on the amp)?

 

[goodstuff 10+ year member]

How did you wire the y-adapters? From the HU, you have left and right, with y-adapters on each. The y-adapter from the left channel is attached to what? The left and right inputs on the amp (marked as channel 1 and 2 on your amp) ? Or does it go to both left inputs on the amp (channel 1 and 3 on the amp)?

The y-adapter from the left channel feeds channels 1&2 for the left speaker and the other y adapter feeds channels 3&4 for the right speaker. I still have to level match them since they are on seperate gains.

 

[kross 10+ year member]

I was asking because if they were wired the other way, that could cause the amp to overheat when bridged.

Are the crossovers mounted inside the door? Is it possible they got wet and are damaged, causing too much load on the amp? Can you test with another pair of speakers?

 

[vvblazers777 10+ year member]

That is most likely why your amp is over heating. Seems like it's to much laod on that amp.