Fireworks from the amp.

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simonl

Member - Posts: 9

Joined: April 12, 2004

Posted: April 12, 2004 at 9:49 PM / IP Logged

PLEASE HELP!!!

I took my sub amp out of my old Jeep, kept it safe and sound in my room and went to install it today. I had everything plugged in on the amp, speaker wires, remote, ground, power. I plug in the main fuse @ the battery on my power wire and **SNAP**, a big spark flies from my amp and I immeaditly disconnect the main power.

I have been running my components off another amp which is on the same power distribution block (so I am assuming there is nothing wrong with the power), this component amp has a seperate ground (possible problem with ground?).

What could possibly be going wrong!? Am I hooking it up in the wrong order or something? I have never had this problem before. After the fireworks, I opened the amp up, and the circuitry all looked fine, nothing charred or smelled bad. I left the cover off this time, and tried hooking up JUST the power and ground again.... ***POP*** there it goes again.

The amp in question is the ESX Q175.2 made by Zed Audio. Has anyone else ever had a problem like this? I am thinking about taking it to a local car audio place tommorrow for them to look at it, I think they have some diagnostic tools they can use... But I just want to rule out installer error if possible before I shell out the cash.

I am just

Ketel22

Silver - Posts: 976

Joined: August 23, 2003

Location: United States

Posted: April 12, 2004 at 9:52 PM / IP Logged

it sounds like a short circuit, if you havent checked your grounds and all on that amp do so. also make sure the chasis of the amp isnt grounding out if its metal.

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simonl

Member - Posts: 9

Joined: April 12, 2004

Posted: April 12, 2004 at 10:06 PM / IP Logged

anyone else got any ideas? I will double check the ground tommorrow. Is there any simple test I could try without having to try and spark the amp again? By hooking up a portable battery or anything? Multimeter?

simonl

Member - Posts: 9

Joined: April 12, 2004

Posted: April 13, 2004 at 5:37 AM / IP Logged

hmmm, someone posted on another forum that it could be the capacitors charging up. Sounds like a plausible idea. I am going to give this another shot after work.... hopefully itll go well :)

DYohn

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Joined: April 22, 2003

Location: Arizona, United States

Posted: April 13, 2004 at 8:21 AM / IP Logged

Did the main fuse blow when you got your "zap" at the amp? Or the fuse inside the amp? No? Then it may be normal. If any fuse blew, the amp is toast and needs to be looked at by a service center.

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simonl

Member - Posts: 9

Joined: April 12, 2004

Posted: April 13, 2004 at 3:38 PM / IP Logged

Dyohn. The amp in question is a ESX... i dont know if you are familiar with them. They were really popular, and still have a decent demand nowadays even though they were only produced one year (1998 i believe, by zed audio). I took the cover off, and couldnt find a fuse. the manual states that it has a shutoff circuit that will turn the amp off it it reaches 68 degrees C. and will turn back on once it gets cooler.. but as far as an actual removable fuse, there is none to be found.

i might try to hunt down the maker of the amp and see if he can help me perhaps. Anyone else out there with some ESX amp experience?

DYohn

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Joined: April 22, 2003

Location: Arizona, United States

Posted: April 13, 2004 at 4:04 PM / IP Logged

What about the fuse on your power lead from the battery?

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simonl

Member - Posts: 9

Joined: April 12, 2004

Posted: April 13, 2004 at 5:10 PM / IP Logged

60 amp. would a fuse that is too small cause this problem? I think I probably should have an 80...

DYohn

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Joined: April 22, 2003

Location: Arizona, United States

Posted: April 13, 2004 at 6:32 PM / IP Logged

No, too small a fuse just means it would blow earlier. Did it blow?

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simonl

Member - Posts: 9

Joined: April 12, 2004

Posted: April 13, 2004 at 7:22 PM / IP Logged

Nope, it didnt. But the sparking caused the center of the fuse to crease. theres a small line on the metal itself now. I just got back from picking up some 80amp fuses. I have been dying to try and install this all night, be we are getting relentless rain right now. 2 days solid.

is an amp sparking when 1st plugged in something that always happens to certain amps? One guy on the ECA forums with about 5,000 posts said that every time he installs amps, they generally spark. It just scares the hell out of me that when i plug in the power, my amp sparks, and a small puff of smoke creeps out of the corner, although there are no burnt components inside.

Whenever i do get a chance to do this, I am going to take a small movie of me plugging it in, so I can share if it continously sparks. I figure ill give it 3 seconds and see if theres just one loud snap (as there has been the last 2 times) or multiple.

Thanks for the wisdom so far Dyohn

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