Justin95SE

iTrader: (1)

got 2 amps and each have a blown channel. one is a RF punch 150... old model so it doesnt suck. the other is an earthquake amp. i dont know how to fix it. and the fuses are still good in the punch, its definetely a channel blown.

Micah95GLE

Unless you're experienced with electrical engineering-type stuff, send it back to the manufacturer.

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

As Micah said, you don't want to mess with trying to repair an amp unless you're well versed in electronics repair. As a 3rd year EE, I still wouldn't touch it if I didn't know for sure what it was doing before I opened the case. (I've fixed a few amps before, but it was all due to small stuff. bad connectors, dry solder joints, etc).

Just send that puppy back and eat the repair costs if you think the amp is worth it.

GarthG

iTrader: (1)

What does a blown channel sound like? On my PPI 4400, the front right speaker at lower volumes seems like it cuts in and out, but is fine when I turn the system louder. I have been trying to figure out the culprit for it, and was going to play with the RCAs to see if it was the deck or the cables, or the amp, but it was just something that bothers me.

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

I would suspect a problem with your RCA cables. Sounds like a dry solder joint in one ot the ends. I used to have a terrible problem with this on Rockford Fosgate audio cables. Even my Esoteric Audio Musica 500 cables ($50+ /pair) had problems with this after a while.

The remedy in my case was to pull the outer part of the connector apart and resolder the signal and ground connections.

GarthG

iTrader: (1)

Thanks, I will have to look into that, my cables are RF, so it could just be a quality control problem.

ray89se

if u got a signal generator and can read a schematic diagram and oscilliscope then u can attempt to fix one of them.....u dont need an EE degree to do it just go to know what the components r and what they do...but if the amp is bad u can send it to amp doctor or rock ford they r pretty good at repair there stuff.... actually audio is real easy to fix all u realy making a small siganal big.....

GarthG

iTrader: (1)

The problem is figuriing out which component is bad. . . I think you have to have a very good understanding of amplifiers in general to fix a problem like that. . . While an oscilliscope can help you, it isn't guarenteed that you will find the problem. I would assume that car amplifiers use MOSFETS essentially to as the amplifiers, I am just guessing on this, and they aren't the best device to be fiddling with as they are very sensitive. The good thing about having a multi channel amp though is that each channel should have the same circuitry, or ver close to the same circuitry so this would help a lot in figuring out what might be causing the channel to act the way it has.

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

Uhhh, I never said you HAD to be an EE to fix this stuff... I said I'm a 3rd year EE student and wouldn't feel comfortable cracking open one of these things and trying to hunt down a problem- Yet I DO know how to read schematics, AND I've got an oscilloscope, huge 12V power supply, and function generator in my closet.


Adidas_boy, yeah.. MOST car audio amps today are made with MOSFETs.. some are HEXFET, but only a few.. they came and went very quickly.

Most of the circuitry in the amps is very simple and straightforward. the ones in my current amps are actually identical circuits, ran down opposite sides of the board.