Amp started to smoke!

Hi,

I have an older RF 800a2 amp.  That one is still the wedge design.  Its a 2 channel amp, and pushes 200x2 at 4 ohms.  I had it running in bridged configuration at 4 ohms, pushing a MB Quart PWE 252 10" DVC sub.  That sub is wired in series to yield a total 4 ohm load.  Everything is properly fused and grounded. 

The abovementioned setup is relatively new.  I've been listening to it just a week or two, I've had the amp turned down.  Two days ago, the amp just shut down on me.  I dont know what happened, but I changed the fuse (which did not look blown by the way!) and the amp turned back on.  The next day, the amp shut down again.  I changed the fuse again today, and as soon as i did that, smoke started to come out of the back of the amp.  I immediately turned the car off and disconnected the power and ground. 

Now, the amp is a two channel, so it has two gain settings (L + R).  I do not have the proper tools to adjust the gain, and was plannign to take it to a pro to get that done this week.  RF says that both gains must be set identically when runnign in bridged mode.  My gains were obviously not set correctly. 

Any clues as to what is causing this?  Is my amp fried, or did I save it in enough time?  Is it the gain settings that did this? 

Thanks for reading all this.

-a

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1991 Mazda Rx-7
Alpine HU w/iPod adapter
PG 600.2Ti, Alpine 35x4
Optima Yellow

I had a buddy that had two of the same amps. He had them setting around for awhile and decided to put them in. When we hooked up one of the amps not only did it start to smoke, but it burnt up the remote wire as well. Luckily he bought his from an authorized dealer and was able to send it back to RF. They wouldn't disclose the reason for failure but it was fixed. Good Luck.

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"Find a profession you love, and you'll never have to work another day in your life."

If your amp is under warranty send it back to RF, smoke is never a good indicator.  If everything is wired right it sounds like you have a bad amp.

...and the differences in gain settings would not affect the amp, but might affect the sub only.

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Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.

...and this is why they are called rockford fosbrake. Most likely, your amp is fried... all electronics run on smoke, and if you let it out, it won't work anymore... LOL

I have seen many RF amps do this very same thing. They have usually had to go back for repair, only to repeat past offenses. This is the biggest reason I avoid the stuff...

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It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

I just tried the amp again.  Turned both gains all the way down, turned the punch bass all the way down, and turned the HU all the way down.  The amp still works - the LED is on, and the sub is bumping, albeit very very lightly. 

I guess I turned it off in time before it fried completely.  I'm not sure what to do now, as I'm afraid to turn the thing back up!

What do you guys think?

-a

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1991 Mazda Rx-7
Alpine HU w/iPod adapter
PG 600.2Ti, Alpine 35x4
Optima Yellow

Leave the bass boost off and set the input gain properly.  If it "smokes" again, get it fixed or replaced.

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Support the12volt.com

Check the resistance on the ground return, my bet is that it is sky high. Rockford amps are notorious for blowing power supplies when faced with a high resistance on the ground return. If the amp has SAS, get if fixed. If it has already smoked and still sort of works, it will not work properly. Do not continue to use it as it will be a much more expensive repair bill.

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Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.

true.... smoke is always indicative of something overheating inside, regardless of whether anything actually blew.... overheated resistors that smoke (which is probably what you experienced ) change their value...so the components that rely on then are at jeopardy.... would you like to take out a complete rail of power supply FET's because you smoked the gate stopper resistors and continued to run it hard? when replacing the resistors may have only cost a few bucks?

i'd say stop now and get it checked, if for no other reason than peace of mind.....

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Kevin Gerry
Certified Electronics Technician
MECP First Class Installer

Owner/Installer
Classic Car Audio
since 1979

forbidden wrote:

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Check the resistance on the ground return, my bet is that it is sky high. Rockford amps are notorious for blowing power supplies when faced with a high resistance on the ground return.

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When you say "ground return" - you are refering to the ground wire, correct?  How would I go about checking the resistance (where do I put the two prongs of a multimeter?)  Also, what is a "high" resistance?

sorry for the noob questions.

-a

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1991 Mazda Rx-7
Alpine HU w/iPod adapter
PG 600.2Ti, Alpine 35x4
Optima Yellow

high resistance is anything over 1 ohm....

meter from the negative post of the battery to the end of the ground cable

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Kevin Gerry
Certified Electronics Technician
MECP First Class Installer

Owner/Installer
Classic Car Audio
since 1979

if i were you i would send it off to get checked,if it smokes something is wrong,get it checked before it burns up completely and it costs more to fix it.

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if i can't make it sound good,then it is just a piece of crap anyway