overheating amp

[draegonaudio 10+ year member]

got a small problem, i have a 1000w kenwood amp powering 2 jbl 12's that are 500w max, i have the subs connected on mono. now when i have the bass up for an extended period of time, the kenwood has a protection switch that will automatically turn off the power until the amp cools a bit, i want to know how to keep the amp at a descent temp so it doesn't shut off, it's very annoying at times. especally trying to show off driving by a group of girls on the street..haha

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[kj287]

You need to see how high your gain is turned up if it is past 3/4 turn it down to 3/4 or less if that doesn't work try putting a fan on it or mount it in a cooler place

 

[draegonaudio 10+ year member]

it already has a fan built into it, but it is a possiblitly that the gain is too high,

i'm drivin a '94 escort hatchback and i have it mounted on my back seat and i always got it folded down so i don't know anywhere else that's a cooler spot

 

[Drifter Hawaii]

All I can say is that your gain is probably too high.Just point the gain arrow at 10:00 and the hertz at between 70-80.If your a bass head then turn up the bass boost in the amp and I'm guessing this the excelon kac-x401m.

Take it easy and I hope I help you a little bit.

 

[HighSPLs 10+ year member]

IT sounds like you have a prolbem with the ohm load going to the amp. You said you had two subs wired in mono. If they are 4ohm subs that means you have a 2ohm load at the amp. If you have a 2ch amp bridged into mono then your amp would see half of 2ohms. That means you are down to 1ohm. I don't know any kenwood 2ch amp that is 1ohm stable. You need to wire your subs so that they are 8ohm when wired in mono. This would take care of your overheating prolbem.

 

[imral3 10+ year member]

if you still have a problem with the amp overheating after trying some of these other suggestions... one more thing you can do is raise the amp off of the mounting surface about 0.5 inches. this will allow air to circulate around the entire amp and aid in cooling. this can be done by putting spacers or legs between the amp and the mounting surface. short plastic tubes around the mounting screws work the best.

 

[draegonaudio 10+ year member]

how would i wire the subs into 8ohms?

 

[imral3 10+ year member]

are the subs single voice coil or double voice coil and what is the ohm rating of EACH voice coil? tell me that and i can give you a diagram to follow.

 

[draegonaudio 10+ year member]

ok the complete specs on the speakers:

make: JBL

model: LC-S1250w

power handling: 120rms, 480 peak

sensitivity (2.83v, 1m): 93dB

frequency responce: 38Hz-500Hz

theile and small parameters

nominal impedance: 4Ohms

revc: 3.45Ohms

Fs: 27.4Hz

Vas: 109 liters

Qms: 3.18

Qes: 0.37

Qts: 0.33

Mms: 109.23g

Levc: 2.23mH

whatever the relevance, i have the two 12"s in a type 4 bandpass enclosure with a plexiglass window and 3 ports on either side of the

subs, in the chamber of the box, the subs are positioned in the shape of a "V". and i believe they're only single voice coil, but as far as

how many Ohms "each" coil is, i'm not sure, i might only understand half of those specs but hopefully they help out

thanx for all the help so far, i appreciate it

 

[imral3 10+ year member]

as stated in a previous post, you need to wire the subs in series to create a 8ohm load and then by bridging your amp it will "see" only half of that, meaning 4ohms. for a diagram click on the link under my signature and look at page six for diagrams. you will need the 3rd diagram on the page- "wiring 2 single voice coil subs in series".

 

[draegonaudio 10+ year member]

thnx for the help, i'll do that

 

[draegonaudio 10+ year member]

ok, just an update , i did wire the subs in series and i had the frequencies at 80hz, and the gain at 10 o'clock, and the bass boost up all the way at 12db.........there was practically no bass at all, it sounded like a pair of 6x9's so i wired the subs back to the way i had them previously. are there any suggestions as to any other wireing configurations i can try to get the most bass out of my subs w/out overheating the amp?

 

[imral3 10+ year member]

what model amp do you have and what are its specs?

 

[draegonaudio 10+ year member]

the model is kenwood 1000w max kac-929, i'm at school right now so i couldn't give you the complete specs until i get home, i don't know them off the top of my head, so i'll let you know, unless you already know the specs on this amp

 

[imral3 10+ year member]

now that i know what amp and subs you have... here is the deal. you are reading too much into the 1000w badge on the front of the amp (that is not going to happen). the amp is rated as follows: (460x1@4ohm) or (230x2@2ohm) or (150x2@4ohm). since you have two 4ohm single VC subs rated at 120w RMS you should wire your subs in stereo which would give them 150w RMS each and give your amp a 4ohm load per channel. with this wiring scheme all should be well, good sound and a cooler amplifier temp which will prolong its playing time as well as its life expectancy.

 

[draegonaudio 10+ year member]

yea, that's the original way i had it and i got just a little less bass with the wiring configuration that i got now, so i think i'll switch them again, thnks for your help...........oh one more question....why would they advertise for 1000w if it doesn't put out that much?

 

[imral3 10+ year member]

its a MAXIMUM wattage obtained in a laboratory, probably for a millisecond just prior to the amp frying to ashes. all the lesser capable amp companies do that to make it look like they have a killer amp for less $. cya.

 

[A-hole]

that kenwood amp is 1000 watts max I would bridg it to one chanel then wire my subs to 8 ohms, or just hook up one sub at 4 ohms. If you dont know how to wire in series then : +to - to + to - : positive to positive one amp, negitive to negitive on amp. There should only be two wires going to amp. that will add the ohmic vaule together.