scl0n

so i've heard that some people put computer fans in their car next to their amp to help cool it down... those of you that have done this how have you wired it up? can you use the battery wire off the amp for power and the blue amp remote wire as a signal to turn it on when your car is on? any help is appreciated since I'm a noob when it comes to car audio haha

BZinn1

the signal wire should power it......

Tcguy85

if you are referring to the turn on lead, then NO! do not hook a fan up directly to the turn on lead.

you can however use a turn on lead to trigger a relay to hook up a fan. i did this in a prior install in a past vehicle and it worked well.

datdude1119

so what should he do ? i want to know because im having a problem with mine overheating, everyonce in a while it shuts off because it over heats

how would u hook up the relay??

Tcguy85

go to bcae1.com and on the right side scroll down until you see the tab for cooling fans. it shows how to wire up a 4 pin relay. this is the correct way to do it. it may look a little complex but its really not.

the only other option is to wire a fan to a switch and turn it off and on manually, but thats a pain in the ___.

but do not hook a fan right up to the turn on lead.

datdude1119

thanks for the site! its very helpful

joshrobb08tc

if your amp is running THAT HOT then youv wired up the speakers/subs wrong and the amp is trying to run at the wrong ohm load that its not stable... i have a amp pushing 1456 (tested RMS watts) at 1 ohm and it barely getts warm..... eventually if you dont fix the problem then the amp will burn out prematurally. crutchfield i think has a sub caculator so you can put in how many ohms your amps stable at and your sub dvc/svc set up...... does the amp cut out for 10 seconds or so if you turn it up too loud?

x_Batman_x

iTrader: (3)

what exactly is the big problem with hooking the fan(s) directly to the turn-on lead?

joshrobb08tc

the turn on lead is only meant to turn on a amp meaning it has very little amprage it can send out from the deck if you exceed that it can fry the deck or turn the deck off blow fuses and turn off speakers(not blow the speakers just turn off) its a bad idea all together DONT DO IT if you wanna hook up a fan get a 10 awg (fused) amp kit and go to the battery or just go to the ingnition harness and (fuse) the wire running back. mecp (mobile electronics certified professional)

x_Batman_x

iTrader: (3)

i see, thanks

trialsindude

He's a pro listen to him

STNC

iTrader: (1)

this is what i was going to do, awesome info!

Tcguy85

your welcome.

hagakure

my welcome? no you're welcome

foose801

where is your amp located? fans do a good job of aiding in cooling down an amp ONLY if they can pull in cooler air. simply circulating warm air coming from the amps heat sink will have no effect on cooling your amp.

the best location for an amp in gonna be somewhere in the passenger cabin where i can be affected by the vehicle's a/c (ie under a seat maybe?)

how many channels? is it bridged? how many subs? what is the impedence (ohms) of each sub?

if you'd like any help i'd be happy to give some direction ;)

Tcguy85

also it would probably be better to either do a push/pull(using two fans) or just pull with the fans.

joshrobb08tc

agian you shouldnt need a fan at all if your amp is getting that hot youve done something wrong!! the wiring to the speakers are the most important conection to the amp/speakers, that determines how the amp/speakers are going to perform!!!! if you are running the amp/speakers at a OHM load the amp is not stable at then it will cut out and get way too hot!! this is probley whats happening to you. you need to figure out if you wired it is series or parallele? do you have svc's or dvc's (single or daul vioce coil's) and what ohm load can your amp handle if your not sure you can google the model # and all the info will pop up no matter how old or new it is. go to crutchfield and use that calculator that shows you how to wire it up!!!!!!

trialsindude

Not all correct, an amp can be designed to get hot.
Example from RF Class B/D

My old Orion 250HCCA amp was a space heater (class A/B), can run down to .25ohms.

My current zapco dc ref amp, is running at 4ohms per channel to all my speakers right now and it is almost a space heater too.


So just because the amp is running hot doesn't mean that you are doing something wrong.

joshrobb08tc

trialsindude

Sorry I didn't know you are MECP, you're the pro... HEY everyone he is MECP, he knows everything so listen to him.