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Old 03-28-2006 | 08:42 PM
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Amp cooling

Hey guys since im asking a lot of questions here, i got one more...... This regards the best place for trunk mounting an amp. Currently i have mine mounted on the rear of my box so when ur looking back from the front seats the amp sorta fills the access hole behind the fold down arm rest. I figured it would get alot more air there instead of in the trunk somewhere. I only had my volume up maybe 1/4 of the way and in about 10min. my amp was so hot i could not leave my hand on it for more than a few seconds... This is while im driving with the window down. It is bridged and running a 2ohm load, so it's about maxed out.....

Anyway just wanted to get some opinions about where it was placed... Anyone else have there amps mounted similar? Amp is a RF punch 400s, only feeding two alpine 10's about 200rms a piece is what is on them.
Old 03-28-2006 | 08:46 PM
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Back of sub box and seat back are typical amp mounting locations.

You could try under a seat but that would not help with your cooling problems.

Get an amp with more headroom?
Old 03-29-2006 | 09:22 AM
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think i'll just leave it there, really its the most logical place i guess.........
Old 03-29-2006 | 12:18 PM
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IT IS going to get warm/hot no matter what. You're running alot of power from it AND your running it at 2 ohms so regardless of what you do it will run hot. RF's have a tendency to run VERY hot, don't worry about it till it shuts off on you at which point I would suggest a higher output amp. How do you have the amp wired? Is it a 2 channel bridged to 2 ohms? If so thats not how that amp should be config'd.
Old 03-29-2006 | 05:45 PM
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Is the amp going into protect mode ? Ie.. Not subs playing. I would DOUBLE CHECK the wiring on your subs and verify that you are using the correct ohm load for that amplifier. Arnt the 400s full power @ 2 ohms bridged ?
Old 03-29-2006 | 08:39 PM
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Yes, my spec sheet says it tested 424 all channels into 2 ohms... I have not experienced the amp shutting off and as long as the windows are down with air circulating it does'nt get that hot.... I know if it was wired wrong the amp should shut off right? I have 4 ohm subs and the amp is safe down to 2 ohms..

Amps bridged and subs are wired parallel, so i know that's a 2 ohm load... No problems from the amp it works perfect even when it's cranked really loud... Must not be getting too hot, but i don't know that much about amps :

How hot do typical high watt amps get? I had a $100 jensen cheapo once, drove 1 10" sub with it and it would get so hot i think u could cook an egg on the heatsink! lol
Old 03-29-2006 | 08:50 PM
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Your amp is wired fine if it's not in protect. It's probably to it's wits end though, hence the heat. Consider upgrading, it would solve your heat issue, and your subs may hit better.
Old 03-29-2006 | 09:38 PM
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I was looking on the RF website and it said that there amps do run hot because of the mesha technology. Transfers lots of heat to the heatsink more effecient than most. So maybe thats it..... If any of u guys have a RF amp there website is great for tech questions.
Old 03-29-2006 | 09:50 PM
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RF amps are notorious on getting warm, but double check your gain settings. I had my old RF amp mounted in a similar orientation when it was powering my Brahma 12, and it got pretty warm, but it never gave out on me.
Old 03-29-2006 | 09:53 PM
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Does it have a fan mounted on the bottom of the amp? if so you could get some rubber washers and put them under the feet to raise it up a little...
Old 03-29-2006 | 10:22 PM
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Nah no fan or anything, today i was driving it pretty hard just to see how warm it would get, this is with the windows down with air blowing in.......... it was really warm but never shut down so i guess it's fine... I've had it since 02 and only used it maybe 10 times, so it's still new... Got it switch mounted so i only power it up when i want.........

Still it's maxed out into 2 ohms so what can i say? Never shut down on me so no complaints....
Old 03-30-2006 | 05:45 AM
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If your running your subs in parallel and the amp is stable to 2 ohms and your running it bridged you may be running it at 1 ohm and it will run, but its not stable that low.
Old 03-30-2006 | 06:58 AM
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Is running an amp at an impedence lower than what it's rated ok assuming the amp isn't getting too hot or going into protect mode? (Yes, I know it's not generally a good idea, but just for discussions sake.)
Old 03-30-2006 | 08:19 AM
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Typically if you wire it lower than what it's rated it MAY sustain for a short while, but almost inevitably go into protect mode.
Old 03-30-2006 | 11:33 AM
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A bad idea, and not going to work well in the long run. The amp will eventually go into protection like Nilesh stated especially when it gets hotter out, and COULD sustain permanent damage.
Old 03-30-2006 | 01:04 PM
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That's what I thought, but just wanted to make sure. Thanks!
Old 03-30-2006 | 10:45 PM
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Well i looked at the woofer-wizard on the RF site and it showed the exact wiring that i have as an option for wiring two 4ohm subs. but im not sure if the were bridged.
Old 03-30-2006 | 10:46 PM
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take a pic of the connections and post it.

i'm pretty sure it's normal, i've used two RF amps in the past, and both got pretty warm even with normal usage.
Old 03-31-2006 | 03:55 AM
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What voice coil config are the subs? Are they single 4ohm? If so you need to have them wired in series.
Old 03-31-2006 | 06:56 AM
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Now that I have more time to respond here's what it should be

if you have 2 4ohm subs you need to wire it like this

sub1 + to sub2 -
then the leftover outputs should go to the amps bridged + and -.

if you have 2 2ohm subs it should be wired the same way

if you have 2 8ohm subs you can wire both +'s directly to the amp's bridged + and both negatives directly to the amp's briged -.
Old 03-31-2006 | 09:28 PM
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Originally Posted by nismos14
IT IS going to get warm/hot no matter what. You're running alot of power from it AND your running it at 2 ohms so regardless of what you do it will run hot. RF's have a tendency to run VERY hot, don't worry about it till it shuts off on you at which point I would suggest a higher output amp. How do you have the amp wired? Is it a 2 channel bridged to 2 ohms? If so thats not how that amp should be config'd.
I agree... your pushing this amp at 2ohm which is low, but not uncommon. It'll get hot no matter what! I had an Orion HCA225 (old skool) and HCA 250 (both running at 1/2ohm!) Since my amp was High Current it taxed the Alternator hardcore trying to get the juice it needed to meet my demand! hehehe

So, make sure your alternator is able to provide everything your throwing at it!... I tried many location for the amp, fans, and tons of other things, still got hot. Incase your curious my amp(s) (had two orions) never blew, but turned off alot

Good luck!
Old 03-31-2006 | 09:46 PM
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the amps turning off a lot is a bad thing
Old 03-31-2006 | 10:50 PM
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No my amp has never turned off....... my alt is rated at 125amps so im good
Old 04-01-2006 | 05:52 AM
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Originally Posted by AscendantMax
the amps turning off a lot is a bad thing
Hehehe yeah, you're right! Back when i first installed it, I knew jack about stereos and didn't have a good resource like the Org for information!
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