amp makes humming noise

as soon as my amp gets power it gets a real annpying humming noise. its a kicker 1200.1 amp that only hums when there is power to it. when i shut it off the humming stops.I guess that guy has subs.

could it really be a bad amp?I guess that guy has subs.

or it could be a super duper way over cranked gain...  Turn the gain down, and see if it goes away.2003 Chevy Avalanche,Eclipse CD7000,Morel Elate 5,Adire Extremis,Alpine PDX-4.150, 15" TC-3000, 2 Alpine PDX-1.1000, 470Amp HO Alt.

I'm thinking its probably the ground.  The ground should be a 4 gauge ground wire, no longer than 2 feet if possible, and make sure its grounded in a good spot.  I think that should fix it.

Ive got a 60's vintage 2ch Craig amp that does the same thing. the pitch of the hum is engine speed dependent.Chris

StreetFX

If it hums with the engine on & is coming from the amp itself not the speakers it could be a loose power transformer inside the amp.  I just sent my fosgate bd500 in for repair because of this same problem.  My amp would hum with the car on & it didn't change with rpms.  I think they said the windings of the transformer were loose.

Humming from speakers is generally bad ground, too high gain, or too low speaker impedence.  If it changes with engine speed it could also be from grounded speaker wire, from bad ignition system (breaks in spark plug wires, coils, distributor cap, etc) or from induction into the speaker wires or line-level cables from being too close to power carrying cables.  It can also be a bad amp or a shorted speaker voice coil.  Lots to check.  Be methodical and change one thing at a time until you find it.  Good luck.Support the12volt.com