Help with blowing Amps! :)

[Dal33tdude12 10+ year member]

I was not sure whether to post this in the amp section or electrical section i apologize if i posted it in the wrong section.

Some of the questions i am going to ask may be stupid but please bare with me.

I have installed a few systems by trial and error and have gotten most of it correct with no issues. But my current system im having a really bad problem with blowing my amp. To begin with i have a 2000 ford f150, (with a i think i was told a 130 amp alternator and i was also told thats the biggest i could get by a local auto parts store) the truck is airbagged, i have 4 compressors that draw a MAX of 92 amps, when they are running, which isnt all the time. I installed a 2nd battery just to be safe, and make sure i wouldent have any power issues. Which i have not had any. I worried about installing a system and how it may be affected because my truck already uses soo much power. I decided to install it and see if i would have issues. First i installed 4 gauge power wire BUT theres a problem, im not sure IF it could cause the amp to blow, but I had 2 pieces of 4 gauge wire and could not afford to buy a solid piece so i fount a power block, if you will for 4 gauge wire, its made of aluminum, i put the wire in it and taped it up really good with electrical take so it could not be grounded out or get wet, then finished running it. Also i did not install a fuse from the battery, i wasnt sure what size fuse to get or how important it is to have. I have a ANL style fuse laying around from a previous install, but its 150 amps and i thought that would have been too much i wasn't sure. Now i installed 2 15 inch subs there power acoustik's 1000rms each 2000 peak each. dual 4 ohms ( just in case you need to know the model# there power acoustik fx-15) They are in seperate chamber ported boxes that are a little over 3.50 cu. ft. The subs are recommended for 3.50 but i checked and the manufacturer said it was fine. I at first bought a boss amp that is now discontinued. It was the Boss IQ3KD.1 Class D Monoblock Amp, it said it pushed 2100 RMS and 3000 Peak at 1 ohm. IT had 3 X 30 Amp fuses built in. I figured its a little lower than what the subs can take, but i didnt want to blow the subs if anything. I wired the subs parallel to acheive the 1 ohm. I did not install a capacitor. Ground wire was also 4 gauge straight to the body. Ok so i hooked everything up, and the system worked great for about 3 days, (of course i was still breaking it all in) all of a sudden out of no where it all cut out and quit working. I thought maybe i had blown the subs but after testing fount out the amp blew. Now like i said the amp does have fuses, but none of them ever blew, I thought MAYBE a defective amp? Well it did have a warranty. I sent it back but they did not have any more in stock it was the last one so i decided to get another amp. This time i got a Lanzar Vibe3100D amp it says it will do 1800 rms in a 1 ohm load and 3000 peak. It has 5 X 30 amp fuses. A little bit lower rms but i wanted another amp to get my system working. Installed it all and got the subs broken in everything worked great for about a week! Same problem, amp blew i had just started my truck and left my house a block down the road the amp quit working and all i heard was a low thump out of my subs, and none of the fuses blew. Now i know its NOT the amps ive had its my setup. Now my questions are:

Could it be the 2 pieces of 4 gauge wire that i pieced together using an aluminum power block? Maybe not enough power getting to the amp?

Could it be the fact that i DIDNT install a fuse from the battery between the line? and if so will the 150 ANL fuse i have work? If not what size?

Could it be that my truck is just using too much power and therefore the amp is getting under-powered and causing it to blow? And if that is the problem do you think a LARGE capacitor would fix the problem?

OR will i haft to install a 2nd alternator, or a 3rd battery?

OR could it be all of these problems and i am just screwed and haft to forget about and sell the system

because my truck is just drawing too much power?

I have a warranty on this amp too and am waiting to get it back, but im not going to install it until i figure out whats wrong with my system.

ANY help or guidance would be GREATLY appreciated. Im lost and ready to do away with it, but i thought i would give it a shot and see if i could figure out whats wrong and see if i could fix it without putting a ton more money into it before i sold it. Sorry if my questions seem stupid or naive but im trying to learn. If you need any more info please feel free to let me know.

Thank you all! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

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[Blunt 10+ year member]

for that kinda power use 1/0 power wire and ground. even if it's just to a dist block in the back and then 4ga from there. The boss amp was junk. A cap will not fix the problem. what did you have the h/u volume at and the gain set at? bass boost? clipping from the head unit can blow an amp.

 

[Dal33tdude12 10+ year member]

The head unit wasnt turned up all that loud, i mean it was probably close to half is all i ever pushed it, like i said it was just getting broken in. the bass boost? you mean the remote knob the amp comes with? I didnt have it up at all. Clipping?? Not sure what that is. If you wouldent mind explain that to me? The gain on the amp not all the way probably like 85%, because it distorted too bad any higher, but in the headunit i had the sub only up maybe half at most. I cant remember what head unit i have at the moment its a sony cdx, model i can go look tomorrow. The amp instructions say only to use 4 gauge. Thats the only reason why i used it.

 

[Decipha 10+ year member]

i'm thinking the subs are dropping ohms... get a .5 ohm stable amp and i'd bet

that wouldn't happen any more

...odd none the less

 

[Dal33tdude12 10+ year member]

Decipha can you explain what that means? Im lost about subs dropping ohms? Sorry. I think i know what your talkin about, and the new amp i got says its stable at 1.5 ohms so maybe i do need something that can drop to a lower ohm?

 

[TypeRBass 10+ year member]

i'm thinking the subs are dropping ohms... get a .5 ohm stable amp and i'd betthat wouldn't happen any more

...odd none the less

what are you talking about, his subs are dual 4...wired to 1 ohm. even if the amp is only stable @ 1.5 ohms it will run fine. even if the subs are wired @ 1 ohm. wtf are you talking about 'dropping ohms' enlighten me.

 

[Dal33tdude12 10+ year member]

yes if you wouldent mind elaborate because im lost as well. lol. Can anybody else help me?

 

[TypeRBass 10+ year member]

i dont think HE knows what he's talking about...subs dont 'drop' ohms...wtf is this world coming to.

 

[Dal33tdude12 10+ year member]

well can you help me with my problem? Please?

 

[Dal33tdude12 10+ year member]

Bump, Anybody want to help me, please? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

 

[grizzly 10+ year member]

you should put a anl fuse on the power wires both of them, also the amp is 150ampere max current based on teh 5x30fuse's. so your only getting around 1200watt tops. but to help you i would suggest a better amp those cheap amps that claims 3000watt max are a joke and theres a reason there only 150dollars. look into something a little nicer or if you tight on money Hifonics is a good replacement. you should also check your voltage with your bags pullin 92ampere and a stereo around 150 thats alot of current. also what size batteries do you have and are they the same kind and size?

 

[grizzly 10+ year member]

also do you have the same size ground wire as you do power, if not that would help. that dual 4awg is plenty of wire for the power your running, as long as its not getting hot then its more than enough.

 

[AcidicDreams 10+ year member]

ok well it wouldn't hurt to have 0/1 to start with.... secondly your lanzar vibe has the same internals as the boss/pyramid etc amps and is in the same boat as the BOSS as far as quality goes (lanzar opti's are much higher quality, at least the old ones were). Also you say the ground runs to the body. Do you mean the sheet metal? if so you should ground to the frame, making sure to grind it to bare metal then attach the ground.

Peak power means NOTHING so there is no reason to post it

Could it be the fact that i DIDNT install a fuse from the battery between the line? and if so will the 150 ANL fuse i have work? If not what size?

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif No but if your power wire grounds out you'll burn your truck to the ground....//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif 150 is fine

Could it be that my truck is just using too much power and therefore the amp is getting under-powered and causing it to blow? And if that is the problem do you think a LARGE capacitor would fix the problem?

No.... and no

OR could it be all of these problems and i am just screwed and haft to forget about and sell the system

because my truck is just drawing too much power?

no....

I'm not sure why your amp blew but it's probably a combo of a poor quality amp and/or a poor insallation (can't tell from your post). Also I beleive your 4 guage would likely manage with the BOSS amp alright and wasn't the cause for it's meltdown....

 

[Dal33tdude12 10+ year member]

I took a self tapper and took it straight to the trucks body. You know the lanzar amp wasnt cheap i spent 300 plus got an extended 2 year warranty. so over all i spent like 350. Well the new one is coming in thursday i will just ebay it with the warranty as new, and look for a new amp. Yes the ground and the power are both 4 guage. The batteries are 2 different sizes, the one under the hood is the biggest motorcraft i could find. the spare was the one that was under the hood but its a smaller battery.

 

[AcidicDreams 10+ year member]

I took a self tapper and took it straight to the trucks body. You know the lanzar amp wasnt cheap i spent 300 plus got an extended 2 year warranty. so over all i spent like 350. Well the new one is coming in thursday i will just ebay it with the warranty as new, and look for a new amp. Yes the ground and the power are both 4 guage. The batteries are 2 different sizes, the one under the hood is the biggest motorcraft i could find. the spare was the one that was under the hood but its a smaller battery.

the alt is fine.... but you need to drill a hole in the sheet metal and ground to the frame.... grounding to your sheet metal isn't good enough at that power level... and regaurdless of how much you paid lanzar vibes aren't good amps, it'll work, but who knows for how long. For 350 you could find a higher quality budget amp.... and I'd try to return the amp... I doubt you'll get retail for it via ebay