I'm guessing I just blew my amp output

[Lowjacker 10+ year member]

I have a Kenwood PS200....I was running it at 4 Ohm but then bridged it to 2 Ohm just by flipping the switch it has right on the side that says....(2 Ohm bridged)

After running it this way for about 3 days with two 4 Ohm subs running off it the subs stopped firing. The power indicator on the amp is still lighting so I'm guessing it couldn't handle the 2 Ohm output it has plainly marked on it.

Is this a reasonable assumption or am I missing something?

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[phyphoestilic 5,000+ posts]

SVC or DVC 4 ohms? if its DVC 4 ohms than ur subs would've been only able to wire either 1 or 4 ohms and not 2 ohms. Otherwise maybe something is cliping, have u tried switching it back? Also when u bridge subs usualy ur only using 1 + and 1 - output not both, so I dont think just flipping the switch was a good idea.

 

[Lowjacker 10+ year member]

Well, I had the subs hooked up in the bridged configuration. One positive and one negative connection. I meant that I didn't change any of the other amp settings....such as the cutoff or the low pass filter or anything else.

 

[Lowjacker 10+ year member]

anybody else?

 

[Neostar63 10+ year member]

Just because the amp can be switched to run at two ohms doesnt me you should. It doesnt sound like you had the proper load, or that it was wired up right. Try switching it back over to the way it was before.

 

[Lowjacker 10+ year member]

Can I check this simply by cracking open the amp and looking for scorched or melted parts or is it going to be impossible to determine where the damage (if any) has occured?

 

[Neostar63 10+ year member]

well have you checked to if it works after flipping the switch to the original position? Check the subs with a DMM to measure their impedance, and then go ahead and crack the amp open to see if it gave up the ghost.

 

[joshpoints 10+ year member]

Can I check this simply by cracking open the amp and looking for scorched or melted parts or is it going to be impossible to determine where the damage (if any) has occured?

Not necessarily. My amp got wrecked from being starved of electric. My alternator couldn't put out enough power for it. It was a great amp. I opened it up and build quality looked great but this is coming from someone that knows nothing about the internals, lol. Anyway mine had no burnt marks anywhere and nothing melted. The green power light even comes on no protect mode light is lit.

Make sure you didn't fry the tinsel leads on your subs as this is possible from trying to get too much out of your amp and getting a clipped signal. Did you check amp with other speakers?

 

[Lowjacker 10+ year member]

haven't had a chance to check it with a dmm or other speakers yet....or even in stereo mode yet.....hopefully tomorrow i'll be able to get some time do do these things.....one last tidbit of info....i have it mounted directly to the sub box.....it's my only option.....i'm using rubber bushings to cushion it.......could the vibrations have done anything to it?

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

Not necessarily. My amp got wrecked from being starved of electric. My alternator couldn't put out enough power for it. It was a great amp. I opened it up and build quality looked great but this is coming from someone that knows nothing about the internals, lol. Anyway mine had no burnt marks anywhere and nothing melted. The green power light even comes on no protect mode light is lit.
Make sure you didn't fry the tinsel leads on your subs as this is possible from trying to get too much out of your amp and getting a clipped signal. Did you check amp with other speakers?

The Kenwood Performance Standard KAC-PS200 2ch (early eXcelon....I have its little brother the KAC-PS150) the OP is speaking of isn't a big wattage unit and the average stock electrical should be able to supply it juice just fine so I would wager that isn't his problem.

My bet is internal damage to the amp, unfortunately. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif (Sad to me as I am more than a bit of a fan of the early eXcelon gear) I think Lowjacker is going to be due for a repair or replacement. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

The problem (I believe) is that he gave the amp a 2 Ohm load when in bridged configuration which, as most of us know, is generally not a great idea for your average amplifier.

 

[Lowjacker 10+ year member]

Thanx Prowler. Apparently if I wanna run 2 Ohm I need to do it 2 channel....I got my eye on an Orion on eBay that's 2x200 @ 4 Ohm......hopefully nobody snipes me

This should do just what I want it to.......I hope. My subs are SVC 4 Ohm....so if I can get this amp I'll just run it stereo and go with it..........

Thanx for the advice all............

 

[Lowjacker 10+ year member]

I finally had a chance to run my DMM on my amp. It's still getting 13.38V from the batt....I'm not sure how to check to see if anything is coming out the speaker outs....the red power light comes on but that's it. Should I pull my subs to see if they're damaged in any way or is it simply the fact that i ran it at 2 Ohm bridged and am stupid for doing that?

 

[luvinthebass 5,000+ posts]

you ****ed that amp over by doin that