Subs running hot with new amp. Advice?

[gramser57 10+ year member]

Easiest way is to add a second battery in your trunk, converting to an external regulator sounds retarted since you have a stock alt.

 

[gamehawk55 10+ year member]

Easiest way is to add a second battery in your trunk, converting to an external regulator sounds retarted since you have a stock alt.

Getting a second battery isn't going to matter if the charging voltage isn't high enough to begin with. My voltage doesn't drop that badly as it is now but if I were able to get 14.4v+ to begin with it would be even better for the system. Plus I'm going to be upgrading the alternator eventually anyways but would be best to get the proper voltage going first and foremost before dropping a new alt in.

But that didn't really answer the question about whether its relatively safe or not to do so.

 

[gramser57 10+ year member]

Even if you can get 14.4v on your stock alt your still missing about 200amps, your T2500 requires a 300amp fuse.

 

[gamehawk55 10+ year member]

Even if you can get 14.4v on your stock alt your still missing about 200amps, your T2500 requires a 300amp fuse.

Just because the amp requires a 300A fuse doesn't mean its drawing 300A at all times. Running at 1/3 power its probably not even pulling 100A. If it was I would be getting WAY worse voltage drop than 13.8 down to 12.5. And if it was putting out 14.4v+ it would only drop to like 13.2v or higher. And stronger voltage is going to help make my equipment run cooler and more efficient.

 

[gamehawk55 10+ year member]

Even if you can get 14.4v on your stock alt your still missing about 200amps, your T2500 requires a 300amp fuse.

Just because the amp requires a 300A fuse doesn't mean its drawing 300A at all times. Running at 1/3 power its probably not even pulling 100A. If it was I would be getting WAY worse voltage drop than 13.8 down to 12.5. And if it was putting out 14.4v+ it would only drop to like 13.2v or higher. And stronger voltage is going to help make my equipment run cooler and more efficient.

 

[gramser57 10+ year member]

Well it looks like you got it figured out, keep us updated.

 

[gamehawk55 10+ year member]

Well it looks like you got it figured out, keep us updated.

No need to patronise me dude. Also that STILL doesn't answer the question about whether its SAFE to change to an externally regulated system and bypass the ECM. I understand the concepts and the benefits but I need to know if its safe to do.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

i ask mechman alts about their AVBM which is an external regulator and they said it should be fine if you keep it under 14.7 volts, any more than you'll ruin your stock alt.

 

[NIHL8ION]

JUST Higher voltage it's self won't help you as you are taking more amps of current than your electrical can support, so it will never STAY higher or be consistent until you have the amperage output you are demanding... even @ a 100 amp draw... it's too much for a stock electrical system, Get a HO alt, adding batt(s) will help you, but you will need to charge them periodically //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[bgowdy 5,000+ posts]

Yeah well the other night I had em tuned to get about 1600W and the cones were nearly too hot to touch after a 40 minute run. Still no smells, but STILL. Should dust caps EVER get that hot?

could be the problem

 

[jar1zx 10+ year member]

Mine don't get hot running on kx2500.1 (I'm running 4 sa8v2'a) I didn't choke back the amp either.

I have 14.8 volts when engine is hot. DC 270 and factory alt hooked up to dual bracket.

 

[gamehawk55 10+ year member]

Mine don't get hot running on kx2500.1 (I'm running 4 sa8v2'a) I didn't choke back the amp either.I have 14.8 volts when engine is hot. DC 270 and factory alt hooked up to dual bracket.

Well yeah running 4 of them off of a 2500W amp is only going to give them 625W each MAX. And guaranteed with impedance rise they're probably only seeing like 400W each or maybe less. So of coarse they wont get hot running BELOW rated power. When mine got hot they were seeing 800wRMS EACH or possibly more in some instances.

I might pick up 2 more eventually. Will be tough to fit 4 in the trunk of a G6 though . But it would definitely be LOUD and would sound good if the enclosure was built right. I like the sound of the 8's as they are but 2 of them just isn't enough to really feel the bass. I hear them WAYY more than I feel them. So I may end up having to switch to a couple 12's. But....can you get decent SQ out of higher powered subs? Or when you start crossing over into the 1000-1500wRMS region (per sub) where they are 99% geared towards straight SPL? I've never had a sub that was rated for more than 500W before so I don't know what the 1000-1500W subs sound like.

 

[gamehawk55 10+ year member]

JUST Higher voltage it's self won't help you as you are taking more amps of current than your electrical can support, so it will never STAY higher or be consistent until you have the amperage output you are demanding... even @ a 100 amp draw... it's too much for a stock electrical system, Get a HO alt, adding batt(s) will help you, but you will need to charge them periodically //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

Do you think replacing my distro block with an actual battery (either yellow top or D3100), will make a big difference? Even if I still have my stock alt for now?

Also do extra batts NEED to be charged via an external charger? Or can they be charged just by driving the car with little to no draw coming from the amps? Cuz with my job I drive quite a bit everyday. Average 1200Km per month (745 miles).

 

[T3mpest 10+ year member]

It's an 8inch sub with a 2inch coil. They are designed to take power better than most subs of that size, but realize one thing.. The coil is still the same size. The glue may be better, but ultimately it's going to heat up as fast as ANY other 2inch coiled speaker, the only difference is, the heat gets away from the coil better.. That's probably why your feeling such a warm dustcap, that and a 40min run at even 5-600 watts is going to heat up a coil regardless. Your just expecting too much from the drivers, IMHO. If they aren't failing however, don't worry about it. Just like amps that tend to get very hot, if they aren't going into thermal protection, then the heatsink is just doing it's job. Lots of small higher ouput amps are like that, high power, small footprint, heatsink that could cook eggs in a pinch. In this case you have no thermal protection circuit, but you should smell before they give out, the fact you haven't is a good sign.

People always say it takes power to make power, so saying things are getting too hot due to low voltage is a bit backwards. Really, a more correct statement would be he's running the amp hard enough to cause low voltage at the battery, due to the higher output of the amp. Again, not so much to do with clipping as it is the high voltage levels in the first place. IF that amp is drawing enough current to strain your electrical, it's also producing enough power to heat the subs up.

IMHO, upgrade your electrical, and add a 3rd or 4th sub if space allows.

 

[gamehawk55 10+ year member]

It's an 8inch sub with a 2inch coil. They are designed to take power better than most subs of that size, but realize one thing.. The coil is still the same size. The glue may be better, but ultimately it's going to heat up as fast as ANY other 2inch coiled speaker, the only difference is, the heat gets away from the coil better.. That's probably why your feeling such a warm dustcap, that and a 40min run at even 5-600 watts is going to heat up a coil regardless. Your just expecting too much from the drivers, IMHO. If they aren't failing however, don't worry about it. Just like amps that tend to get very hot, if they aren't going into thermal protection, then the heatsink is just doing it's job. Lots of small higher ouput amps are like that, high power, small footprint, heatsink that could cook eggs in a pinch. In this case you have no thermal protection circuit, but you should smell before they give out, the fact you haven't is a good sign.
People always say it takes power to make power, so saying things are getting too hot due to low voltage is a bit backwards. Really, a more correct statement would be he's running the amp hard enough to cause low voltage at the battery, due to the higher output of the amp. Again, not so much to do with clipping as it is the high voltage levels in the first place. IF that amp is drawing enough current to strain your electrical, it's also producing enough power to heat the subs up.

IMHO, upgrade your electrical, and add a 3rd or 4th sub if space allows.

The T2500-1BDCP has a thermal protection circuit in it. It's never went into thermal protection yet but I still find it odd that the amp is able to get THAT hot on 1/3 power. I would hate to see how hot it gets when it's actually putting out the full 3600W that it's rated for.

Also the voltage drop will DEFINITELY create more heat because the lower your voltage/amperage is that your amp is getting then the less CLEAN power it is able to actually produce. Meaning it will clip sooner. You may still be able to get rated power out of it but if your dropping to 10-12v on a 2500W amp then it's going to start clipping before that 2500W mark because it doesn't have enough clean power coming from your electrical system to put out a CLEAN 2500W signal.

And like I said in a previous post. I am now going to plan to run 3-4 of these subs. Either that or upgrade to 2 higher powered 12's. Adding 2 8's would definitely be the cheaper option. But what would be better? 4 500W 8's or 2 1250-1500W 12's? I'm sure the 8's would probably sound better though. But the 12's would be louder and have more force to them. Decisions Decisions