My amp and subs keep blowing what can cause this???

Question

i have a 1500 rockford amp wit 2 12" dual subs they pop at them same time i checked all power and grounds. Nothing is loose and everything is connected properly i'm confused? i've done my sounds in my past cars and never had this problem. And i need to bump please help

Answer 1

Dave, Their are several details left out to answer specifically. Exact model numbers of the amp and speakers would allow me to check specs. However, based on what you have provided, I'll try and cover all basis. Did you wire the speakers in series or parallel? If you wired it all in parallel and have dropped the impedance below the specs, this can cause the amp to overheat and possibly blow. Are you using the recommended fuse size for the amp? If the amp is wanting to blow the fuse but you have a larger size than recommended, it will blow. What size wire are you using for power and to the speakers? If you are only using an 8 or 10 GA for power, this is too small. You probably need a 4 ga. Also, remember that the ground wire MUST be the same size as the power. "What comes in, must go out". Speaker wires should be about a 12 ga for efficient current flow. How about the RCA's. Have you checked them for shorts? Have you checked the capacitor for a short? Remove the power wires and connect a voltmeter to it. The voltage should drop slowly. If it drops fast, you probably have what is called a "Leaky" cap, which can act like a short. What about your alternator? Is it factory, or did you upgrade it. Depending on you vehicle, most factory alt's only run between 45-100 amps. Not enough power to supply a 1500w amp. You need to upgrade to a high output. I'd recommend at least a 200A. A second battery after which would help give you more playing time with the engine off. If these answers dosn't solve your problem, give us some more info. I'll keep a watch and try and figure out other solutions based on the answers. Good luck.

Answer 2

The only sure way to tell if the amp is OK would be to hook a dummy load such as a large power resistor or even just 2 oil filled radiant heaters in parallel (roughly 5 ohms) across the amp output along with an oscilloscope to check for oscillations, clipping, or DC offset that could cause damage to the actual subs. This would require playing music as well as various test tones at varying levels to do a full check.

Answer 3

Do you have a capacitor in the wiring? If not put one in there or you will have more problems than just blown fuses in your amp. Those subs create huge magnetic fields when they are in mid bump and when you shut of the stereo that feild collapses and goes back through the wiring. this has been known to cause more than a couple automotive computers to be fried.

Answer 4

'Dual' subwoofers are Best Buys bottom of the barrel subs, so if you bump a lot, I wouldnt expect them to last long.



On the same note, I've seen amps go out and take out attached speakers at the same time. Have you maybe tried a different amp with different subs and seen if the problem still exists?

Answer 5

my best guess without seeing your setup personnaly is that you have only one voice coil on each sub being powered, this will cause your subs to averheat which will melt your voice coils which will in turn cause your amp to blow because the pathway from positive to negative is now joined by the melted coil(s)

Answer 6

Bad or wrong fuse, short in speaker wiring. Maybe you play it too loud?

Answer 7

I suspect that you are pushing your system beyond its capabilities, so I would suggest you either get better equipment or turn down your gains/volume.

Answer 8

The cause is your fingers......keep them off of the volume control.

Answer 9

pumping is not cool anymore turn it down then you'll have no more problems