amp keeps blowing fuses............

[jgrnot]

Hey all.....been a while!

So my amp keeps blowing fuses. I have two Kicker IX402 amps, one for the subs, one for the doors. The fuse on the sub amp keeps blowing, has only been doing so for the last couple months. It's not blowing the in line fuse, just the fuse on the amp. It was doing it nearly every i used the truck. I would replace the fuse and listen, next time i use the truck fuse is done. Last month i replaced the battery because the factory original finally died (after 9 years and 114,000 miles). When I did this, the fuse stopped blowing and everything seemed fine. Last week my MAF was throwing check engine codes, so I cleaned it.....disconnected the battery while doing so. Ever since..........every time i use the truck the fuse blows again. I checked the battery terminals and made sure everything was tight. I was told to check the volts on the battery, then check the volts on the battery when the truck is running to see if maybe the alternator is dying.

Anyone have any ideas? this is driving me crazy having no bass!

 

[DaNgErOus1998RaNgErOuS]

turn down your settings on your amp and make sure your ground wire is properly grounded. other than that it should not be anything with your alternator, because the fuse on your power wire would probably blow first. also, this may sound dumb but make sure you are using the right fuse for the amp.

 

[willievhook]

maybe need a heavier gauge wire for the ground/power?

 

[Southern_Trendkill]

It sounds like it's only your sub amps, which is pretty common. You need to install a capacitor in your power line. Size is going to depend on your amps. Radio Shack should be able to tell you what size you need. The capacitor will keep your fuse from having strong bursts of power drawn through it, and give it a more even power flow. It will also keep your headlights from dimming every time your subs hit.

This could also cause your check engine light, since your drawing power away from the essential components. For example, you're not getting enough power to your fuel injectors, causing a lean condition, which trips your check engine light.

You could also parallel bridge the amps, which would cause them to draw less current, but then you need to be careful not to turn them up all the way, because you will fry your amps, and everything connected to them.

 

[jgrnot]

it just doesn't make sense though.

The system has been in the truck for nearly 9 years, and I've had zero problems until now. Literally, zero. No headlight dimming at all. I have that in my mustang. I don't think the capacitor is needed in my truck. I'm going to check to make sure all the wires are secure. I'm starting to think my amp is dying.

 

[GoodOld85BlueBalls]

I had a amp do that as it got older. Turned out the internal heat sink somehow started grounding through the amp housing. ???????????
I checked it with a volt meeter by just going to ground and the outside of the amp hosing and found it has 12 volts where there should have been no power. I ended up mounting the amp with rubber isolation feet so the hosing could not ground to the truck. Ever since it has worked fine. It too is a Kicker amp.

 

[Southern_Trendkill]

it just doesn't make sense though.

The system has been in the truck for nearly 9 years, and I've had zero problems until now. Literally, zero. No headlight dimming at all. I have that in my mustang. I don't think the capacitor is needed in my truck. I'm going to check to make sure all the wires are secure. I'm starting to think my amp is dying.

I was thinking this was a new system.

In that case, you amp is dying.

 

[jgrnot]

Well, i had a little time to check things out today. There is no nicks or cuts in any of the wiring, so those can't be shorting out. The connections to battery terminals are fine. I replaced ALL the fuses, both inline and the amp fuses on both amps. I checked the ground and it looks fine. One thing i did find was that the speaker wires were a little loose at the amp connection. I tightened everything down, maybe (and hopefully) it will help.

 

[Snowboarder7710]

meter the subs and make sure that they at at the proper ohm load. (usually 4 or 2 ohms). also, meter them separately to make sure they are still ok. a 4 ohm sub will usually read on a multimeter at around 3.5-4 ohms. same variance with a 2 ohm sub.

if the subs are starting to go out, then the ohm load that the amp sees can go below the amps operating range and cause it to over work itself and either heat up and cut out or pop fuses.

you can take a look at www.the12volt.com and see how to achieve different ohm loads on the amp by wiring up the subs differently. (if that indeed is the problem)

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Blah, blah, blah...

Capacitors only mask problems, and sometimes make them worse. You're far better off to configure things properly to begin with.

Ground wires are EXTREMELY important. And as I've discovered, they can often be a source of problems. I managed to fry a big Rockford Fosgate amp because of a bad ground once. I couldn't figure out why it kept popping fuses until it finally fried with the distinct smell of ozone....

Turns out for some reason someone working on my truck relocated my ground wire for me. Still not sure why they did that. But more to the point, after discussing my problem with some friendly audio junkies, they informed me that just picking some spot close to the amp and bolting to sheet metal is not the best way to ground an amp. It's fine for small amps, but with big amps, if you really want to ground that way, you should upgrade the grounding straps on the vehicle. But then you have to worry about the condition of all of those points of attachment....

The solution I used? I ran a ground cable from the amp location directly to the negative battery terminal. And both ends got a liberal dose of dielectric grease. Never fried an amp, popped a fuse, or killed a battery yet since I did that. I did, however, kill my subs at one point (RF 801s amp, 915 watts rms by two channels, bridged with a pair of 4 ohm subs... you do the math, lol). And it reduced electrical interference with other electronic items in the truck.