amp fuse question

[getmadboy]

ok so my amp fuse blew out. i have the fosgate 1000watt amp kit. i replaced it with the extra fuse i got in my 2 pack of fuses i bought at best buy. but like an hour later it blew again. the weird thing is that the first time it blew was when i hit lift. i was getting onto the freeway and once it hit lift in 1st, the speakers went silent then came back but no subs. checked my fuse and it was dead. i didnt' think lift had anything to do with it so i didn't really think of it until...

after i first replaced the fuse, it was fine. the fuse slid in no problem. then like i said earlier, an hour passed by and then blew out again when i hit lift again. wtf!!

ok so i went to best buy to get another set of fuses and tried to install the fuse. when i put the fuse into the fuse holder/bracket, it like sent out sparks!! i was like wtf is going on?? so i tried again and it happened again!! ok i didn't want to be electrocuted so i disconnected my negative terminal and installed the fuse. when i went to reconnect the negative battery terminal, the terminal sent out sparks just like the fuse did earlier, but the fuse had no sparks. ok so i said f*** it and took the fuse out.

i have NO idea of what may be causing this all of a sudden. the only thing that i can think of is that there may be a short somewhere. but i haven't messed with anything since i installed my system like 6 months ago and it's been fine up until now. please help me!!

[SpikedCola]

Best thing to do is check over your whole setup, and make sure all the connections are tight and that there are, in fact, no shorts.

I find it wierd that it cuts out when you hit lift though. Maybe there's something going on with your alternator, where, when the engine spins up past 6200rpm, it creates too low/high voltage/amperage? Not sure on that one.

[Xoxol]

The sparks are Ok. It's always like that. Turn amp off, install fuse and turn it on again.

I usually blow up fuses on my amp when I make it too loud :) SO check the volume :)

[wtcnbrwndo4u]

Yeah, the lift thing seems to have something to do with draining the alternator. That's quite interesting.

Just to make sure. Are you buying the right fuses?

[RekD0514]

Aaaaa blowing fuses is a bad thing man and sparks are also something you don't want to be seeing. The gain knob on your amp is not for volume. You are supposed to set it to match the preout voltage on your HU, but I am sure you don't know that. Put your HU up to 3/4 of the volume it can go to with NO settings on the amp or HU turned on, then keeping raising the gain until you hear distortion. Back it down slightly once you hear it, then you should be good and you should never have to move it again unless you switch equipment.


Oh ya and for your problem I would check all of you connections and every wire to make sure there isn't anything grounding out. Check for wire that is frayed or cut that my be touching the body of the vehicle. Otherwise your amp or other equipment may be bad. Just double check everything. :)

[SpikedCola]

I see a few sparks when I remove and reconnect my negative terminal, but only a few. Not like... welding sparks. A few sparks are normal but if it keeps sparking that leads me to believe there's another problem.

[getmadboy]

no its like welding sparks...and yes its the correct fuses. they look exactly like the ones i had before with no problems. same markings, numbers, etc. and after the initial fuse blowout, i used a fuse from the same package as the one that blew out. so i dont know why it blew again after like an hour.

and RekD0514 i wasn't pushing my speakers any higher than i normally do. if anything, it was quieter than normal because i had my gf's lil cousin in the car.

[RekD0514]

no its like welding sparks...and yes its the correct fuses. they look exactly like the ones i had before with no problems. same markings, numbers, etc. and after the initial fuse blowout, i used a fuse from the same package as the one that blew out. so i dont know why it blew again after like an hour.

and RekD0514 i wasn't pushing my speakers any higher than i normally do. if anything, it was quieter than normal because i had my gf's lil cousin in the car.


I was talking to Xoxol in the first paragraph I typed.

[2way]

Fuses blow for a reason... after the 2nd one... you need to identify what is causing the excessive load.

Either you have a shorted wire, bad cap, an internal problem with your amp, a speaker load problem causing the amp to draw too much, your alternator isn't regulating correctly and going over voltage, etc....

[v3bahumut]

May be a wild guess but I say check to see of your amp power wiring is coming in contact with the body at any point. Do a very thorough check.

It may short during lift because the wiring is being nudged back against the body during hard acceleration.

Just a guess.

[02celica]

May be a wild guess but I say check to see of your amp power wiring is coming in contact with the body at any point. Do a very thorough check.

It may short during lift because the wiring is being nudged back against the body during hard acceleration.

Just a guess.

This is actually a very good idea.

I would also check all grounding connections.

Very odd it cuts out at lift.

[getmadboy]

May be a wild guess but I say check to see of your amp power wiring is coming in contact with the body at any point. Do a very thorough check.

It may short during lift because the wiring is being nudged back against the body during hard acceleration.

Just a guess.
i was thinking this too...i'll have to check it out later this evening after work when it cools down. thanks for all the replies guys and gals!! :D

[derricksonb]

GMB-

There may not be a short in the system if you're only experiencing the problem under lift while the system is on. You may be pulling too many amps from the alternator / battery when the engine and stereo are under load which is causing the fuse to blow.

Connect a volt meter to the positive terminal of the battery. Have someone crank the stereo and place the motor under heavy load. If the volt meter drops below 11 volts then you may want to consider replacing the alternator or installing a capacitor in line between the battery and the amplifier.

[SpikedCola]

...installing a capacitor in line between the battery and the amplifier.
No offense, but capacitors dont solve problems... they bandage them. Besides, a cap is going to help if your voltage dips a few millivolts. Its not going to help when youre drawing 5-to-10A more than the alternator can provide.

Check for shorts, and the like, but if you dont find anything wrong, it could very well be your alternator. In this case, youll need to take it to something like PartSource (donno what you have where you live), where they can load test your battery and alternator to make sure they are functioning properly. If they are, your next step is a High-Output alternator.

[derricksonb]

No offense, but capacitors dont solve problems... they bandage them. Besides, a cap is going to help if your voltage dips a few millivolts. Its not going to help when youre drawing 5-to-10A more than the alternator can provide.

Not sure you actaully read my post or just glanced over looking for clue words to chime in on but I also suggested checking the voltage and adding a cap as a last resort after checking the voltage pull from the alternator but then again you may have a degree in electrical engineering from some major univeristy of which I'm unaware.

Check for shorts, and the like, but if you dont find anything wrong, it could very well be your alternator. In this case, youll need to take it to something like PartSource (donno what you have where you live), where they can load test your battery and alternator to make sure they are functioning properly. If they are, your next step is a High-Output alternator.

Which I also suggested.

AGAIN......

Check for shorts... Then....

Connect a volt meter to the positive terminal of the battery. Have someone crank the stereo and place the motor under heavy load. If the volt meter drops below 11 volts then you may want to consider replacing the alternator or installing a capacitor in line between the battery and the amplifier.

[SpikedCola]

Dont want to make a big fuss, so ill just say: look at the author of post #2. You simply repeated whats already been said.

[getmadboy]

well i recently had my battery and my alternator tested and they both came up fine. so i dont think it's that. probably a short somewhere....

[v3bahumut]

Take the argument elsewhere, If you have nothing relevant to the subject at hand please refrain from posting.

[RekD0514]

Take the argument elsewhere, If you have nothing relevant to the subject at hand please refrain from posting.


Haha Yes, Let's all be nice down in the Audio forum. It is a pretty barren place most of the time. haha

[wtcnbrwndo4u]

Haha Yes, Let's all be nice down in the Audio forum. It is a pretty barren place most of the time. haha
Yeah, it's been relatively active in the past two weeks.

[SpikedCola]

Nice weathers' finally rolling around - everyone's rolling down their windows and cranking the tunes.

[MKE]

I just had a similar problem, although it wasn't happening as frequently. It only happened in when there was really deep bass, or i was hitting lift as much as possible.

turns out, my fuse holder wasn't 100% covering the 4gauge wire, and it was shorting out on something. so,i just redid the holder, taped the edges, and zip tied it up. hasn't happened yet (2 days now)