so i'm going to be mounting my amp underneath the factory cover on top of the foam tray (i'll be modding the foam so the amp will actually be resting on something else that won't potentially burn) and i need to hook up a fan or 2 to keep everything cool. i was looking for suggestions, instructions, anything at all to help me out.

 

good question! I am looing at putting my amp in that location also, but worried about over heating issues. has anyone had them???? summer get over 100 here and seems like the amp would have a hard time staying cool.

 

1. Get an amp with built in cooling fans (mine has 2, they make some noise, but with music playing, u can't hear them. my amp has never overheated and gone into thermal protection mode...even on hot butt summer days. Mine is crammed between the sub enclosure and the rear seats, not much breathing room.

good luck
2. reconfigure your plan and provide the amp with more breathing room--this is recommended anyway.
3. subs should not heat up, at least not to the point where it would matter. and if they do, there is probably some other kind of issue at play.

 

my amp doesn't have a built in fan iirc, and i'd rather be safe than sorry. a little extra cooling can only help, and considering the confined space, i know it'll help a lot.

 

so where are u going to draw power to run this fan(s) from?? unless you have a dedicated separate power supply, they're going to be draining power and almost doing more harm than good. fyi....

 

didn't know that. i was always under the impression that they used very little power. i was told by a friend of mines that i could use a pc cooling fan or something like that. again, i've got zero experience so any info provided is new to me.

 

they don't draw much power, you just need to have it wired to turn on and off with your amp...the draw will be very little and you won't need a power supply for a 12v fan, you just need to wire it to power, ground and remote turn on like your amps

 

Wow. So much misinformation.

A/B class amps are 50%-70% efficient and the rest of the power is converted to heat. The amps require sufficient air volume to remove the heat. The foam tray will keep the heat in and the floor will seal the top. Putting an amp into that location will cause the thermal protection circuit to trip... often. Cut access holes on either end of the tray and use a fan to move air out of the area. Look for a squirrel-cage type of fan. They're low profile will allow you to mount it within the tight confines. Use a Bosch relay, triggered by the power-on signal from the headunit, to control the fan when the amp is active. You can also use a thermal couple to activate the relay if you want to get fancy. Do not power the fan directly from the turn-on signal because fans have a high inrush current and the headunit isn't designed to operate that way (not to mention it's usually only 5V.) Remember to fuse the fan power source, and it shouldn't be anything more than 5A. Fans are more efficient at blowing air than sucking it (IOW, have the fan blow onto the amp's fins.)

PC fans are 12V devices and can be used if you want. Look for a high CFM (cubic feet per minute) Some a quieter than others. Case fans move about 25% of the volume of a CPU fan. And, although a small 60mm or 50 mm fan would be tempting, their usually inefficient in moving air and very noisy. A single 120mm would be best. Panasonic fans are considered to be the quietest available.

Remember to seal around the fan and to have an outlet for the air to leave opposite the fan location. The idea is to create a flow, not to pressurize the cavity.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Stinger-12-Volt-...QQcmdZViewItem

May I suggest rebuilding the foam tray out of MDF or particle board? That way you'll have a much more solid place to mount the amps, fans, and whatnot.

 

There's some component fan boxes online, but you could make some nice and cheap if you're handy with box fans from Radio Shack or the like.

 

Check these out:
http://www.goldmine-elec-products.co...?number=G16576
They are rated for 10V so you'll need a small resistor to make sure they don't burn up but you can't beat the price. There's also a ton of other cool stuff at that site including relays.

 

cool. thanks for the suggestions guys. i'll definately have to do a little more homework, but i've definately got some new info to consider.

 

I mounted my amp underneath the passenger seat. Works just fine. Lots of ventilation. If the amp blocks the vent for the heater, just plug up the vent with a rag. The heat will just come out of the other vents.

 

uh-oh! this looks like a job for West Coast Customs or GAS!! maybe you can put a juice bar back there too, just in case your subs get thirsty. :D

imo: run the setup first and see if you even have any issues with overheating. Then worry about how to correct them (easiest way is probably to just get a better amp w/ fans built in). don't get too far ahead of yourself here.

 

I'm guessing your title should have been fans to cool amps? Anyways, what amp are you running? If it is for subs, it is probably a Class D amp. Class D amps usually don't get too hot if tuned properly (gain not set too high) and fans aren't usually necessary.

 

wow. i just realized what i put as the title of this thread. i'm an idiot.

 

my amp is an ma audio m700xe. i'm actually a fan of ma audio. for the money you get a heck of a lot. i had 2 ma amps and subs in my xa and loved them.

 

MA's aren't known for getting too hot, so I wouldn't worry about it. Try it without any fans. If it goes into protection, then look into them.

 

MA seems to make solid gear i thought. but now i'm looking at the website and they have like no info on your amp there.... just power specs. i'm assuming is a class a/b because its 2 channels.

http://www.maaudio.com/product.jhtm?id=14&cid=12

but it says hi performance series and the heatsink looks decent, i think you'll probably be okay with no fans blowing on it. just try to keep as much air flow as possible to it.