Unknown_redneck Posted June 11 Report Share Posted June 11 I'm running 4 Skar vxf-15v2 with a Taramps Big boss 3k, duel 1/0 power and grounds to the amp, Mechman 400 amp alternator but the amp caught fire after being installed for 1 day. this is the second amp I've gone through (warrantied the last one) both amps had less then 2 hours play time on them. What could keep frying my amps?! This is the first amp ive ever fried in car audio. I need help trying to figure this out! thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe X Posted June 11 Report Share Posted June 11 You have 3K worth of amplifier and 6K worth of woofers, as a permanent solution I would suggest a single 6K half bridge amp. There is a user on here that recently got one those big boss, he had good electrical and yet the amp had to be returned due to a fault just days after installation, not a rare occurrence. If you want luck with those full bridge amps run strictly within 12.5-15V (as measured at the amp power terminals) not for a millisecond above or below that, run loads 1 ohm or above. Don't place the amp where there is significant vibration and/or bad ventilation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowDrifter Posted June 11 Report Share Posted June 11 What impedance are you wired to? IIRC those amps don't care for being wired below rated Sanity check it's not fixed to a high vibration area too Quote ~~~~~~~~SAY NO TO PHOTOBUCKET~~~~~~~~ Snow's DD-1 tracks here: https://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/167433-snows-dd-1-tracks/ My take on OFC vs CCA: https://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/110381-things-that-piss-you-off-in-the-car-audio-world/?do=findComment&comment=2461444 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknown_redneck Posted June 12 Author Report Share Posted June 12 I have the subs wired down to 1ohm, and this has happened both times when I wasn't even playing music. I turned the truck on, radio, amp turns on like normal then poof.. amps on fire. The subs did make a loud crackle right before the amp started on fire if that helps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe X Posted June 12 Report Share Posted June 12 (edited) 3 hours ago, Unknown_redneck said: I have the subs wired down to 1ohm, and this has happened both times when I wasn't even playing music. I turned the truck on, radio, amp turns on like normal then poof.. amps on fire. The subs did make a loud crackle right before the amp started on fire if that helps? have you measured with a multimeter the final resistance at the amp speaker terminals? What does it read? also, Do you have a voltage gauge connected at the amp power input terminals? What does it read with the engine turned on? Your readings should be 0.7-0.9 ohms for the first test and 13-15V for the second test. Edited June 12 by Joe X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknown_redneck Posted June 12 Author Report Share Posted June 12 Subs are reading .9 to 1ohm at the amp and when the truck is running its sitting right at 14.5v Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe X Posted June 13 Report Share Posted June 13 Those big boss amps are supposed to have many protection systems in place, hard to believe that something is fooling them all, likely it blew on it's own. Try testing with some other amp to be sure everything else in your system is as supposed to be. I have read about a couple of cases where the third amp actually worked, I wouldn't put my self through that though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowDrifter Posted June 17 Report Share Posted June 17 Agree with Joe on this one. I know everyone here gets pretty fussy about keeping voltage perfect and whatnot... But realistically, the thing is a big 'ol hunk of solid state electronics. It doesn't actually care that much. In theory, it should have basic over/under volt protection, over-current, and high temp cutoffs. How well those work in practice is a different discussion. But that's what it *should* have. How bad was the fire? I'm pondering if we could see where it started on the board to glean any information. A brain dump of other things to check: - Intermittent short in output. Maybe not enough to trigger OCP, but enough to start overloading parts - Excessively high signal input. And I mean *excessive*. How's it hooked up? - 'wire whiskers' either getting in the amp, or shorting out where it shouldn't be - Confirming that it was actually the amp that lit off, not something near by? - What's your alternator setup looking like? Internal/external regulation? Any possibility of voltage spikes? >17v on a 12v system would be pretty difficult to do.... But it's still worth checking - Where's it mounted? Vibration makes everything sad IMO, you're squarely in tip-to-toe lookover of your setup. Feel free to toss up pics. But at this point, I don't think it would be wise to assume anything is good. Need to get in there and start checking everything. Grab a wrench, tighten bolts and screws, give your terminations a *hard* tug, look for any dust, dirt, wire whiskers, or other debris, check that nothing is pinched in doors / frame rail / etc, check sub wiring, tinsel leads, spider attachment, all of it Quote ~~~~~~~~SAY NO TO PHOTOBUCKET~~~~~~~~ Snow's DD-1 tracks here: https://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/167433-snows-dd-1-tracks/ My take on OFC vs CCA: https://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/110381-things-that-piss-you-off-in-the-car-audio-world/?do=findComment&comment=2461444 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknown_redneck Posted June 20 Author Report Share Posted June 20 On 6/17/2024 at 9:31 AM, SnowDrifter said: Agree with Joe on this one. I know everyone here gets pretty fussy about keeping voltage perfect and whatnot... But realistically, the thing is a big 'ol hunk of solid state electronics. It doesn't actually care that much. In theory, it should have basic over/under volt protection, over-current, and high temp cutoffs. How well those work in practice is a different discussion. But that's what it *should* have. How bad was the fire? I'm pondering if we could see where it started on the board to glean any information. A brain dump of other things to check: - Intermittent short in output. Maybe not enough to trigger OCP, but enough to start overloading parts - Excessively high signal input. And I mean *excessive*. How's it hooked up? - 'wire whiskers' either getting in the amp, or shorting out where it shouldn't be - Confirming that it was actually the amp that lit off, not something near by? - What's your alternator setup looking like? Internal/external regulation? Any possibility of voltage spikes? >17v on a 12v system would be pretty difficult to do.... But it's still worth checking - Where's it mounted? Vibration makes everything sad IMO, you're squarely in tip-to-toe lookover of your setup. Feel free to toss up pics. But at this point, I don't think it would be wise to assume anything is good. Need to get in there and start checking everything. Grab a wrench, tighten bolts and screws, give your terminations a *hard* tug, look for any dust, dirt, wire whiskers, or other debris, check that nothing is pinched in doors / frame rail / etc, check sub wiring, tinsel leads, spider attachment, all of it Sorry for the late reply, works been keeping me busy. I installed a voltage meter at the amp to keep track of voltage. We had every meter you can think of testing everything. I switched head units, rcas, ran all new power and grounds, and we still can't figure it out. As for the amp, the fire was actually internal. I'll see if my buddy can send me a picture from when we opened it. As for alternator, im running a mechman 400amp charging at 14.9 - 14.8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe X Posted June 21 Report Share Posted June 21 12 hours ago, Unknown_redneck said: Sorry for the late reply, works been keeping me busy. I installed a voltage meter at the amp to keep track of voltage. We had every meter you can think of testing everything. I switched head units, rcas, ran all new power and grounds, and we still can't figure it out. As for the amp, the fire was actually internal. I'll see if my buddy can send me a picture from when we opened it. As for alternator, im running a mechman 400amp charging at 14.9 - 14.8 Just install some other amp now that you have checked your system, if that amp works fine for a few days return the taramps for a refund. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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