Subwoofer terminals melting

[DustinTime]

So i have two rockford fosgate P3D4s and man do they sound good!

they are being powered by a 1500 watt hifonics Brutus amplifier. I drive a 1998 crown victoria and in between the back seat and trunk is a sheet of metal that i have both the amplifier and my capacitor mounted to along with my grounds for both.

The PROBLEM: My speaker terminals keep melting due to the amount of electricity im assuming running through them. Im not to familiar with car audio but i do get around. I am unsure of why this continues to happen.

Attempted solutions: sanded down areas of grounded wires to bare metal, replaced speaker wire running from amp to subs, mounted wood on the metal to mount my amplifier to (heard from someone that it could cause some sort of issue having amplifier mounted to same grounding zone)

Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated! Out of options so I turn to you for help. Thanks, Dustin.

Sorry for no pictures, having trouble with the upload. hopefully i described it in enough detail.

Click to read more...

 

[Hertz Mafia]

It's melting due to poor connection. Poor connection creates heat and will melt stuff

 

[DustinTime]

so recheck my connection points? speaker wire, power cable, RCAs, etc? Could it possibly be a fuse issue? I know i didnt mention this but im running a 250v fuse with the recommendation of a 200v. Thanks

 

[wew lad 5,000+ posts]

so its the speaker wires going from the amp to sub melting, or the power wire from amp to the power source that are melting

 

[DustinTime]

Its the subwoofer terminals inside the box that is melting. This is just an example

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Absolute-USA-SST-300-3-Inch-Square-Gold-Twist-Banana-Jacks-Double-Binding-Post-Speaker-Box-Terminal-Cup/125011559?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=478&adid=22222222227040216528&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=60532942058&wl4=pla-99057222098&wl5=9011694&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=111830496&wl11=online&wl12=125011559&wl13=&veh=sem

The prongs on the inside

 

[mazdakid 5,000+ posts]

What size is your speaker wire?

 

[DustinTime]

12 maybe 14

 

[wew lad 5,000+ posts]

12 maybe 14

start by replacing the wire with OFC copper 10-12 gauge. NO cca wire. shorten the wire length as much as possible, and if you need to get rid of the speaker terminal on the box i would plug the hole and drill a hole just large enough to push the wire through and do it that way

dont let the wire get crushed or pinched around a tight bend, ive had some wire heat up before and nearly melt from it being pinched by a corner of the box where it laid on the carpet

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

No pics of said melting??

 

[BOOMINGRANDPA 5,000+ posts]

yeah that's weird.. i've been running my wires straight to sub too like wew said.. on side note if u.. saying fuse at amp supposed to be 200 and u have 250 i'd go lower better to blow fuse than amp, at batterys fuse by wire size but at amp i wouldn't go bigger, friends power wires started melting because of that..

 

[Hertz Mafia]

yeah that's weird.. i've been running my wires straight to sub too like wew said.. on side note if u.. saying fuse at amp supposed to be 200 and u have 250 i'd go lower better to blow fuse than amp, at batterys fuse by wire size but at amp i wouldn't go bigger, friends power wires started melting because of that..

You will not melt power wire beCause of to big of fuse, u will melt it if the fuse has a poor connection or your trying to run power more then rated example (8g power wire on a 3kamp) the wire will prly melt from trying to pull to much current through it. And fuses don't save your amp from blowing up.

 

[BOOMINGRANDPA 5,000+ posts]

You will not melt power wire beCause of to big of fuse, u will melt it if the fuse has a poor connection or your trying to run power more then rated example (8g power wire on a 3kamp) the wire will prly melt from trying to pull to much current through it. And fuses don't save your amp from blowing up.

huh? guy had 4 ga with 250 fuse and wires were melting is all i know coulda been ground, he has 0ga now.. if fuse don't stop amp from blowing y do we use them?

 

[shredder1 10+ year member]

huh? guy had 4 ga with 250 fuse and wires were melting is all i know coulda been ground, he has 0ga now.. if fuse don't stop amp from blowing y do we use them?

In case of any accident... to prevent a battery from shorting and causing a fire... LOL!

 

[BOOMINGRANDPA 5,000+ posts]

In case of any accident... to prevent a battery from shorting and causing a fire... LOL!

yeah but wouldn't lower amp fuse blow faster and help in that situation?

 

[shredder1 10+ year member]

It seems like you are trying to make it fit a scenario... I haven't owned an amp that had a fuse on it for 20 years... yes, you could fuse the amp individually but if it blows you probably have bigger problems... I always use sufficient wire gauge and good connections to avoid "melting"... I ONLY fuse near the batteries... some folks like to fuse the amps or even the alternator if the wire is long... the fusing distance from the battery is always stated as 18" or less... correct?... this is to keep the fuse close to the battery and minimize the risk of potential accidents... (pinched wire, insulation cut/melted... etc.).. in my experience two things are usually why amps "Blow"... the power wires either touch each other... (loose connections/user error)... or loading the amp with too low of an impedance or starving the amp for power constantly... or both!... You could install fuses everywhere... they may tell you where to start looking for trouble... as far as "Saving" an amp... IDK?.. Like I said I have not had a fuse on or at any of my amps for 20 years with no problems... just at the battery...