truemetalfan84

Fellow AZ'ers, I need your help!

::backstory::
Paid for professional install of 1 Soundstream Rubicon 1.1000D with a Sundown 12 2 ohm, dual voice coil. Amp would overheat after 30+ minutes, with the bass knobs barely turned up. Went and bought an amplifier cooling fan, positioned to shoot air through side heat sinks and unused ports on the knob side. The Thought what the hell, i'll eat the 165 i paid for that amp, and went out and bought a new one.

::current problem::
bought and professionally installed a factory refurbished Polk Audio PA 1200.1D with the same wiring, sub, and box (ported, 34hz, plenty big for the sub). After tuning and deadening the trunk, i had to leave. On the drive home, I noticed that the sub was "clipping" on heavy, loud notes. I turned down the iPod, and the radio, and still noticed clipping at lower levels. I lowered it several times, trying to find the sweet loud spot, only to the point that i turned off the system all together. When I got home, I immediately popped the trunk. I went to set my hand on top of the amp to check that the cables were secured (which they are) and the amp feels like a hot stove!!!! I was ASSURED of Polk's refurbished amps, and i dont think it's my amp! This is now the second amp that is overheating. MUST BE THE ELECTRICALS, HMMMMMMMM

As a sidenote, the + wire running from the battery to amp is a 2g with an inline 150A fuse. I also have a Cache LOC+Driver hooked into a remote turn on fuse slot (32 or 33 i believe). I have purchased some of the parts for the big 3 upgrade, just waiting on next check for yellow top optima...unfortunately, this wont happen until next month .

The ground is secured to a sanded down section in the trunk sidewall about a foot and a half from the amp. I'm out of ideas, and I need your guys' (and gals) help on this!!!!

truemetalfan84

Bump

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

2ohm dual voice coil bridged = heat

truemetalfan84

So what you're saying is that I need to go back and check the resistance load at the terminal and at the amp? From what I understand, I may be pushing the sub at 1 ohm, even though it's only rated for 2 ohm? And this may sound incredibly noobish, but I won't have to buy a single voice coil to get the 2ohm impedance, will I?

truemetalfan84

After doing a bit of research, I'm not sure if the "professional" knew that my sub was only rated for 2 ohm. I didn't watch him install it, so it's possible he could've wired it incorrectly to handle a 1ohm load.

truemetalfan84

lol thanks for guiding me in the most plausible direction... Now the question is, do I dare unscrew the sub from the box and check to see if it is in fact wired correctly?? My noobish hands are trembling....

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

depends on your comfort level with a screw driver and recognizing a series vs parallel wire configuration.

You could also just use an ohm meter to check the connection on the box... again not sure about your comfort level here.

truemetalfan84

I didn't open anything up, since I don't have the correct tools atm... Plus I was only going to look, maybe pull on the wires to make sure they were secured. That was a bust...
Any who, luckily I found the guy that did the original install and asked him if he remembers putting the 12 in the manual acura.. Thank god he did! He confirmed he did in fact wire the sub down to 1 ohm. With that being said, both the soundstream and the Polk are stable at 1ohm, however the sub is a 2ohm dual voice coil. I'm pretty sure this would be causing the overheating in both amps. Wouldn't you agree HEAVY?

truemetalfan84

Derp, I take that back. Disregard that last post. Guess I'll have my buddy help me pop it open, check the wires inside the box, and work on the grounds... After we eliminate (or fix) that, I'll post here with updates.

truemetalfan84

So what you're suggesting is to wire it to 4ohm, therefore taking it out of bidged mode?

BlitzBlackGSXR

You can still have it in bridged mode. Just the way the voice coils are wired up . Try wiring the sub in series for a 4 ohm load. The way you have it now , is in parrallel for a 1 ohm load .

Or you can get a new sub that has dual 4 ohm voice coils , wire it in parrallel for a 2 ohm load at the amp.

truemetalfan84

I wish i had the money lying around for one ATM..that is unless I sell the soundstream rubicon...hrmmmm......

Ill have my buddy pop it open sometime this week, check the bridge and wires, and trash the ground for the amp while we're at it. If it continues to heat up like a stove, i'll have him wire it in parallel to 4ohm. I'll keep the ground wire a 2 guage, but bring it closer and get a new wire....After that's all finished, I'll have the parts for an iSimple, and new battery terminal posts for the big 3 upgrade with 1/0 wiring. Oh and a yellow top optima

BlitzBlackGSXR

No, you need it to be wired in series to get a 4ohm load. You have a Dual 2 ohm voice coil sub , correct ?

If you wire the coils in "PARALLEL", you will get a 1 ohm load ( what you have now )

If you wire the coils in "SERIES' , you will get a 4 ohm load.

I bet either of your amps arent 1 ohm stable if they are getting THAT hot. You can try out either amp at 4 ohm load and see what happens. I bet either one is only stable down to 2 ohms mono.

I hate cars

Throw a multi-meter on it to confirm the load if you can't remove it from the box. 1-ohm is hard on the amp even if it's supposedly rated for it. Many specifications are a stretch of the truth.

truemetalfan84

Yes, my sub was a brand new Sundown Audio SA-12-2D (2ohm DVC)

Both ARE rated for 1 ohm stability. Check em out... Soundstream Rubicon 1.1000D was the first amp http://www.woofersetc.com/p-7767-rub...amplifier.aspx

and the new one is a Polk Audio PA 1200.1 http://www.polkaudio.com/products/pa1200_1

truemetalfan84

I will, as soon as my buddy can get a new one. Old one was stolen right before I went to his house

truemetalfan84

Update:
Took a multimeter to the amp and battery today. Sub is getting 1 ohm, and the battery is putting out 12.7A at startup. After about 20 minutes of continuous play, stereo up to 32, gain at 30% and bass boost around 4...BATTERY WAS PUTTING OUT LESS THAN 11!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess the last time the battery was replaced, they must have put some off-brand (or shitty re-charged) battery in my car! We didnt have time to do a swap to see if the battery was the only problem, but we're quite positive we found the culprit of the overheating....under-amperage!! I wont have the money to purchase a yellow top until the first, but when I do I'm gonna go ahead and do a big 3 upgrade since I'll have a brand new battery going in. Look for pics to be posted in the near future!

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

you will probably find that you need to feed that amp 14v at 1ohm.

You may need to start saving for a capacitor or a second battery now.

pohljm

Would not waste the money on the yellow top! Plenty of solid batteries for way less

truemetalfan84

Indeed HEAVY...tech @ Polk told me it draws 14.5v at 1ohm

Honestly, I'd rather spend the time learning and installing the Big 3 in this car then take a shortcut with a capacitor. In the future, I'm going to be gutting out the front and rear doors for an IB setup, with 2 mounted tweeters. When I do that, Im gonna have to custom fab a ninja setup in the trunk to fit the 12 and a 700.7 (ideally). The capacitor just seems like a temporary fix that Im going to face in the future anyway. My TL is only at 76k

As for the second battery, im sure if I invest in a GOOD battery now and install it when i upgrade the wiring under the hood, i'll have more than enough voltage to go around.

What do you recommend? Im open for ideas, I just haven't heard a single complaint from any YellowTop owners powering bigger toys then I have