over heating the amp?

Hi i just made a custom system and i'm running into a problem. I have 2 SVC 1000 rms subs that i have wired to about 1.6 Ohms. The amp is a class D Kenwood 1000 watt. It says it'll put out 500x1 if run at 14.4 volts, but most cars do not reach that equivelant anyways so i figure my subs are way under powered. My main problem is that the amp shuts off after about a minute or so lately. What would make it over-heat? And is it overheating? It says it can handle a 1 ohm load stable. So i have no idea what's wrong. Any help would be appreciated greatly. thankz   -Jeremy

The two subs, you say are single coil.  What impedance are they, and are they matching?  The closest I can figure to get to 1.6 is 3 ohms each, but that would be 1.5...so what are they?  Just to figure the actual load on the amp.

You say it just started doing this recently.  What has changed, anything at all, with your system prior to the problem starting?  If no changes, did you do any rearranging of anything?

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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.

Ya I am interested as to how you are getting that load, if the subs are 4 ohm coils then you may have a sub on its way out the door and could be causeing a short that is sending the amp into protection, just a thought

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double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer

typical amps (even class d ones) cannot run indefinitely at less than 2 ohms mono impedance. i think ravendarat has nailed this problem. also, if you're amp is heating up, that's usually a sign that the impedance is lower than it should be for that amp.

The subs are 4 ohm coils. They are wired as follows. A wire for positive on each sub goes to the positive in the terminal and a negative wire goes to each sub and out to the terminal's negative. Parallel i belief. And why would the sub be on its way out the door ? Thankz          -Jeremy

That should give you a 4 ohm load. Since it doesnt I would disconect the subs and meter each one seperatly to see if one tests less than 4 ohms. If it does than thats the sub that needs replacing and the one thats causing your probelms. There are a ton of reasons why a sub can go, over powering, clipping, wrong box size...........etc etc etc.

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double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer

Ravendarat wrote:

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That should give you a 4 ohm load. 

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You mean a 2ohm load.

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Ya I was typing to fast, I meant 2 ohm

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double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer

you have a 2 ohm load    is thier a way to bridge this amp and did you if so then you are trying to run the amp at 1 ohm

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Don't belive that BS about 1 ohm stable.Check the mfg.specs on the amp what the power output is at a particular impedence.Personally Kenwood,Sony,Jensen etc fudge their ratings with the one ohm stable.If your sub is ok buy a better grade of amp(HiFonics,Rockford,Xtant etc.) and you will have years or enjoyment.

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BigDog

Check to ensure that you have a good ground with a low ground return impedence. If it is a high return impedence, this too can lead to many an amplifier heating up very fast. After the amp shuts off, feel the heatsink. If it is hotter that a sheet metal roof on a hot day, there is a major problem, either with the ground, the load (bad sub) or the amp itself. If the amp is shutting down and is not hot, then I would look closer at the subs. Hook one sub up at a time and retest the system. If one sub caused a shut down and not the other, then you need to look at that sub and the speaker wire to the sub from the amp.

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