[CinderBlock]

How do you guys keep your amps cool for your subwoofers? I had one in my 2001 that I'm looking to install in my 2005, but it always seemed to overheat after an hour or so of playing. Is that normal? And is there a way to combat the heat? I'm now in Arizona and I'm sure it'll be an even bigger issue than before.


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[TheWinnman]

Where's your amp installed? I have my amp under the driver's seat, and I turn on the feet air, on cold for 10 minutes or so every once in a while.. :icon_biggrin:

 

[CinderBlock]

I don't have it installed yet. Trying to see what my options are first. Do they make cooling fans for amps?


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[2soonjr]

Where was it installed in the 01?

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[NZ Forester]

Guess it depends on how much money / what brand you go with.

I'm pretty sure some Pioneer, Alpine, Sony, Fusion etc have small in-built fans, esp after you pass the 2000W mark.

The slim-line stuff is more based around passive cooling i'd imagine, so you'd need to place it somewhere with airflow over the heatsink fins, otherwise its gonna get hot, esp if you are drawing a lot of power.

Either get a bigger amp with its own fan, and place it under your seat, or get a slimline one mounted in the boot uncovered, or under the seat with airflow from the floor HVAC vents would be my thought.

I'm actually planning on putting a lil 1500W in the boot hatch, and cutting some small vents in the plastic, with a metal grill over it. Stick some computer case fans, (I've got 2 120mm CoolerMasters sitting on my desk) and its all taken care of

 

[USMCBuckWild]

Just snag 2 small box fans, I'm talkingthe little ones that come in computers. Now you put one at each end of the amp, one blowing towards the amp and the other on the opposite side blowing AWAY from the amp. Wire them both to the remote wire so they come on when the amp does. This typically requires you have the amp elevated slightly so airflow can get underneath.


Just what I have done in the past. I once put four 12" subs behind the seat in an old Toyota pickup with 2 US amps that were a pushing big power (at 1\2 ohm which results in ridiculous heat). I used the setup stated above and they never overheated.

 

[CinderBlock]

I had it mounted to the seat back on the rear seat. I'm sure my having it sit in the carpet did it no favors. But with it on the rear rubber mat didn't seem that much better.


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[RadcomTxx]

Personally imo, if your amp was overheating and shutting down, something was wrong with the setup. Possibly wiring was undersized, had bad connections, bad impedance matching (too low of an impedance for what it was rated for), system gain (or EQ or bass boost) turned up way to much, or possibly even the amplifier itself is faulty.

I have a sub amp that got hot enough that you could barely touch during hot summer days (in the trunk of car, not covered) and still in use to this day, never shutting down due to overheating.

 

[CinderBlock]

Personally imo, if your amp was overheating and shutting down, something was wrong with the setup. Possibly wiring was undersized, had bad connections, bad impedance matching (too low of an impedance for what it was rated for), system gain (or EQ or bass boost) turned up way to much, or possibly even the amplifier itself is faulty.

I have a sub amp that got hot enough that you could barely touch during hot summer days (in the trunk of car, not covered) and still in use to this day, never shutting down due to overheating.

Possibly the impedance didn't match. (No clue how to figure that out.) Also, just as likely, is too much bass. I love my bass.


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[bogeycentral]

What are the ohms of the speakers you have it running, and are they wired in parallel or series?

 

[CinderBlock]

I'll check tomorrow. And I only have 1 10".


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[CinderBlock]

My setup:

Lanzar HTG447 2,000-Watt 4-Channel Mosfet Amplifier:
- 4 x 250W RMS @ 4 OHMS - Bass Boost Circuit - Low Pass Filter Controls - S/N Ratio: >90dB - Subwoofer Remote Level Control
- 4 x 500W Max @ 4 OHMS - Bridgeable at 4 Ohms - High Pass Filter Controls - Channel Separation: >65dB - Fuse: 20A x 2
- 2 x 1000W Max @ 4 OHMS Bridged - 2 Ohm Stereo Stable - Power and Protection LED Indicators - Freq. Response: 10Hz-45KHz - Dimensions: 14.96''(L) x 2.24''(H) x 8.81''(W)
- 4 x 350W RMS @ 2 OHMS - Gold RCA Inputs - Soft Turn-on/Turn-off - HPF Freq. Response: 80KHz
- Electronic Crossover Network - Line Outs for Left and Right Channel - THD: <0.01%. - LPF Freq. Response: 50Hz-250Hz

Infinity Reference 1062w 10-Inch 1,100-Watt High-Performance Subwoofer (Dual Voice Coil):
- 10" subwoofer with dual 4-ohm voice coils
- frequency response: 25-400 Hz
- power range: 100-275 watts RMS (1,100 watts peak power)
- sensitivity: 91 dB

Is my setup incompatible? Or do I need to fiddle with the settings on the amp? Or do you think I'm just pumping the bass too much for too long?

 

[USMCBuckWild]

How do you have it hooked up?

 

[CinderBlock]

On my 2001 (had overheating problems, looking to avoid same mistake) I had 4awg run from battery terminal to amp. 4awg grounded to the strut tower. 12awg monster speaker wire from subwoofer to one subwoofer output. I did not bridge it. Cheap skinny remote wire to stereo from remote output. Did I cover everything?


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[RadcomTxx]

Strut tower may not have been a good ground.

How did you have the dual voice coils hooked up?

 

[CinderBlock]

What are the dual voice coils?

 

[Warpig]

Just guessing... but the DVC's are likely to be in parallel. If they were wired in series an 8 ohm load would draw half the current (power) as the 4 ohm rating in the specs. This would not be enough load to overheat the amp unless it had SERIOUS problems. Wiring DVC's in parallel would put him at a 2 Ohm load, with the provided 2 Ohm spec's of the amp and if there is something wrong, like allot of clipping (gain too high, not tuned right) could easily cause enough heat to put that amp into protect.

Nick

 

[CinderBlock]

So how could I wire em to get the desired 4 ohm range?

 

[Blue Fox]

How much power are you running to overheat an amp? Holy hell. I've been running the same amp since high school (and old Alpine Flex 5 4-channel amp with a subwoofer output), and have been abusing this thing since high school. Never had it overheat at all, and has always been under my seat, even without A/C during NM summers.

 

[Loscaldazar]

Mount the amp up on wooden blocks first of all. Second, get some computer fans and find an acceptable way to mount them (ie, not duck tape). If you are careful, you can screw the fans to the amp, but you MUST know what you screwing into. There is usually a few spots were it is safe to screw in without hitting anything, but it requires you to take the amp slightly apart, look, and mark. Personally, I would build the fans into the wooden blocks/stand for the amp. Easy, reversible, and no chance of screwing up the amp.

Now, as for the fans, you have a couple options. 12V fans and power them from the battery (install a kill switch, or wire them into wires that are live only when the key is in ignition or acc). A different voltage fan can be hooked up to the appropriate batteries batteries (can get messy if the batteries crack open or corrode, but you can build/buy a case for them too with a kill switch). Computer gamers know a lot about running auxiliary fans off of batteries. Might want to look in that direct. I'd jut wire in the car battery, but that is a lot of wiring. Separate batteries would be quick and simple, and much less permanent.