Taramps Smart 3k it was a good rin

[IndySlim]

About 3 years ago I bought a Taramps Smart 3 for my sundown SA12's the 750w version and low and behold after 3 solid years of daily driver usage the amp has malfunctioned however it's not in the way one would think. The issue I have is that it won't turn off. It's constantly on when the key is off. My installer disconnected the remote wire and it was still running. My question for the forum is is this a fixable issue and is it worth fixing I paid about $239 and it's my first time ever having an amp issue. Are there america repair shops capable or will I have to learn Portuguese lol?

 

[Popwarhomie]

No you don't need to know Portuguese. I sent mine to Mark Cannaday 3 months ago for repair under warranty. Still have not heard anything back yet. I bought another amp because I knew it would be a while before I got it back from repair.

Taramps | REPAIR CENTERS

Confira agora de toda rede de assistências técnicas autorizadas do Grupo Taramps localizadas dentro e fora do país, assim como a assistência de fábrica.

www.taramps.com.br

 

[audiobaun]

Have you opened it up to see if the solder on the remote has melted and adhered to the supply connection? Or if the power solder section has melted with the remote section? May be a simple fix with a solder gun to separate the solder joints.? I had an amp do that in the past on me. It was a Coustic 380. Id run that joker HOTT!! You could keep warm on a cold day

 

[hispls]

If you can't see on the terminals or on the board something shorting from the +12 to REM terminals you'll probably need to send it out for diagnosis. Could be as simple as one tiny strand from your primary cable frayed and is touching the REM terminal or as someone else said something inside shorting those two paths.

 

[KicktheSDbasshead]

No you don't need to know Portuguese. I sent mine to Mark Cannaday 3 months ago for repair under warranty. Still have not heard anything back yet. I bought another amp because I knew it would be a while before I got it back from repair.

Taramps | REPAIR CENTERS

Confira agora de toda rede de assistências técnicas autorizadas do Grupo Taramps localizadas dentro e fora do país, assim como a assistência de fábrica.

www.taramps.com.br

Yeah mark Is pretty backed up but his work is official

 

[IndySlim]

No you don't need to know Portuguese. I sent mine to Mark Cannaday 3 months ago for repair under warranty. Still have not heard anything back yet. I bought another amp because I knew it would be a while before I got it back from repair.

Taramps | REPAIR CENTERS

Confira agora de toda rede de assistências técnicas autorizadas do Grupo Taramps localizadas dentro e fora do país, assim como a assistência de fábrica.

www.taramps.com.br

Thanks my guy. I'll definitely contact them asap in the meantime I purchased a Sundown SIA 2500

 

[IndySlim]

Have you opened it up to see if the solder on the remote has melted and adhered to the supply connection? Or if the power solder section has melted with the remote section? May be a simple fix with a solder gun to separate the solder joints.? I had an amp do that in the past on me. It was a Coustic 380. Id run that joker HOTT!! You could keep warm on a cold day

I haven't even removed it from the car yet just disconnected the power to it and disconnected the remote wire. I'm not that technically sound diagnose it but I'm sure if something is burned and obvious I'd notice it

 

[IndySlim]

Yeah mark Is pretty backed up but his work is official

Damn

 

[IndySlim]

If you can't see on the terminals or on the board something shorting from the +12 to REM terminals you'll probably need to send it out for diagnosis. Could be as simple as one tiny strand from your primary cable frayed and is touching the REM terminal or as someone else said something inside shorting those two paths.

Yea when my new amp arrives I'll removed it and have a look to see if something is blatantly obvious otherwise I've never popped an amp open for diagnosis

 

[IndySlim]

No you don't need to know Portuguese. I sent mine to Mark Cannaday 3 months ago for repair under warranty. Still have not heard anything back yet. I bought another amp because I knew it would be a while before I got it back from repair.

Taramps | REPAIR CENTERS

Confira agora de toda rede de assistências técnicas autorizadas do Grupo Taramps localizadas dentro e fora do país, assim como a assistência de fábrica.

www.taramps.com.br

@Popwarhomie how long is the warranty I never thought about that

 

[Popwarhomie]

@Popwarhomie how long is the warranty I never thought about that

1 year.

 

[1aespinoza]

Yea when my new amp arrives I'll removed it and have a look to see if something is blatantly obvious otherwise I've never popped an amp open for diagnosis

If nothing obvious pops up and repair is too expensive, I would wire in a relay in the power line.

 

[Bumpin' Yota]

Probably a shorted out sot23 SMD transistor somewhere in the remote turn on circuit.

 

[some dude]

I like that relay idea on power wire.

Could it be used on ground wire? Is one method preferred over the other?

 

[Deiimos]

I like that relay idea on power wire.

Could it be used on ground wire? Is one method preferred over the other?

Don’t do it on the ground wire. If you lift the amps main ground and the amp tries to ground through the RCA cable shield, you can damage the head unit / RCA cables. This may vary from amp to amp and or may not be an issue, but best to just not do it.

And if this is done, be certain to get a "high amp 12v contactor and or solenoid" instead of a regular relay on the + power wire. Use a smaller relay to turn on the high current contactor if needed. You would overheat a typical relay's contacts with a large amplifier pretty fast.

Hard to say with the Taramps, not sure how they do the remote turn on since the amp uses a microcontroller. Older amps would be easy to troubleshoot. I got a Massive Audio amp in for repair years ago that wouldn't turn on (opposite I know), and had an "open" transistor in the remote turn on circuit, was a simple fix. The Taramps might be similar in this regard, or uses the MCU to do it, which might make repair difficult to impossible without a new MCU. I have steered away from buying any Taramps as I doubt they will sell me an MCU if it needs to be replaced, or it will be priced insane making any repairs uneconomical. I'm still not a fan of amps that use a proprietary microcontroller.