how to test amp! please help

[karl210]

Hi, ive just installed my system and im having problems with 1 amp. my system is:

headunit: kenwood kdc w7044u

Components: Lanzar opti-drive

Amp for comps: orion cobalt 600.4

Amp for sub: phoenix gold 15.0:1r

sub: RE8

Everything is running fine except the phoenix gold amp, when i plug the remote wire into the amp, it clicks on, makes a high pitch screetch noise and everything shuts off, comes back on again and keeps repeating these steps.

Im using 4awg power cable and the battery is in the boot so the wire is really short, earth seems fine.

So does this amp sound nackered to you? should i test it and how? cheers

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[CarAudioNewbie9 10+ year member]

Grounds?

 

[gunz4me2 10+ year member]

Earth is the UK term for ground!

The amp is probably messed up. I had a Memphis 1.5kD making a high pitched screech through my sub and several FETs had broken legs due to it being damaged in transit.

 

[karl210]

yeah eath/ground are the same thing, The grounds are absoloutly fine, the ground wire runs directly to the battery anyway and the battery is earthed well with 0awg cable. The high pitched noise it makes isnt through the sub as it doesnt have a sub connected. Nothing i can test with a multimeter? cheers

 

[gunz4me2 10+ year member]

If I had to guess, I'd say that squeal you are hearing is the transformer in the power supply. It may have shorted or have some other sort of problem such as some bad windings. Regardless, unless you really know what you are doing, DO NOT mess with the toroidal transformer in the amplifier.

Also, some amplifiers do weird things when there is no load connected to them. I don't know if your amp is one of those oddballs that reacts weird in a no load situation.

 

[karl210]

i had a quick peak inside and the round thing with the wire wrapped round it was quite hot, couldnt smell burnt electronics though and everything looked ok is that the transformer?

i tried it with a sub wired to 8 ohms aswell as no load, so i doubt thats the problem.

 

[gunz4me2 10+ year member]

Yep the donut looking thing with the wires wrapped around it is your toroidal transformer. Sometimes they lose their epoxy coating and the windings short out. Other times, something else went wrong, like a shorted FET in the power supply, and that causes problems. You have any friends who do electronics repair?

 

[karl210]

unfortunately no i dont, is there anyway i can test these components myself with a multimeter? might take it to the audio shop sometime this week and see if they can give me a quote, but it was only a cheapish amp so i wont pay much. could i fix it? Im handy enough with a soldering iron.