One of my friends has a Hifonics BX1500D and a Pioneer Premier 3004SPL and he has had this system for about a year. He got this after me and because he liked mine so much he copied me. Now he says that the amp will protect when he turns the head unit volume up over half way. He then said that the amp will turn back on if you shut it off and turn it back on again but will go into protect if you turn it up again. He said he had change no settings and the stereo worked fine for over a year. I have minimal time to repair this for him so I need some suggestions to solve this problem so it will take the least amount of my time to fix. He came to me because I have a similar settup but I have double what he has. Oh yeah, he also said that when he turns the bass knob down he can turn the head unit volume up higher before it protects. Is this a sub/amp problem or a head unit/RCA problem or wiring/electrical etc.? I will probably be looking at it this comming weekend and I don't have much time to spend fixing a DIY job so your suggestions could help make my job easier and faster. Thanks ecoustics members!!
You're not dealing with the highest quality amp. It could be that the Hifonics amp could be on it's way out. Check the amp's gain/level setting. Also check the venting around the amp. If it's blocked or if it has an internal fan, check that it's getting power and spinning. If everything looks okay, then lower the gain/level setting slightly. Using bass boost can alter the HU's output voltage. Most of the setting are done at the flat setting. Therefore, with a bass boost to the max, you're injecting more power (bass), thus increasing the voltage. This is why when he lowers it, the amp can operate at higher volume before shutting down.
Yes, but he says that the settings were never changed and everything worked fine for over a year. Thanks for suggestions, Any more? I want to make repairs as fast as possible and I haven't see the car yet. Once again thanks!!!!!! I know that this amp won't work initially if the BB isn't plugged in, but if you unplug and don't use it, will the amp still work?
Thanks Mat Dope, always a help. But is the amp damaged now from prolonged exposure to the problem? Should I just tell him to get it fixed or is there a chance it isn't the amp?
I've seen amps break down over time cause of signal overload (gain/level set incorrectly). The problem you're dealing with is that, the setup could be the same as before, things like songs being played could've changed. Turn all the settings to flat, set the gain/level to proper voltage, and then test it. If the amp doesn't shut down, then it's the songs/bast boost that's causing the overload.
Much thanks to all that helped. Feel free to give any more suggestions because it will be almost a week before I can look at it so if something comes to you later keep posting. Thanks again.
Use a DMM and measure the resistence of the subs. Make sure it is as stated or required by the amp. Sometimes the speaker strands come loose and short out.
Double check ALL the wiring/connections. A buddy of mine wired all new speakers in his car and one of the wires in his doors was loose and it casued the HU to get SOOOOO hot and turn off and the amp would go into protect mode, but once he fixed the wire connection, everything worked perfectly and he had no problems....
All right! I have a good list started and a educated ordering of these ideas so far. Any others? oh and he called me and said that it cuts out at a lower setting when there is a low & long beat played at over half volume. Just putting more information out there.... Any more Suggestions?? Remember that he can shut stereo off and then turn it back on and the amp will turn on fine, but when he turns it up it goes into protect.
Make sure the amp is getting enough volts......i remember my amp would go into protect when the bass hit long and low when my car was off....but if it was running it would work fine....or if i had my ac on blast it wouldn't hit as hard but if i reved the engine it would hit like usuall...try telling him to rev his engine when he plays it loud and see if it still goes off......what kinda car does he have??? and also what size power wire is he running????maybe he needs a new alt...
i had this exact problem, when a sharp fast hard hitting bass hit, my amp would shut off, i could turn off my hu and it would normal again, and i think what it was eventually was a freyd...is that how u spell it? freyd wire was arcing somewhere, i just rewired my subs in the box and reconnected everything to the amp and haven't had a problem since.
Shutting down the HU/amp does nothing but increase your risk of damging it. When an amp shuts down due to overload/heat, it needs 'x' amount of time before it can get back to normal operating temperature. If you reset it by turning off the power, then you're kind of beating the protection. Your goal should be to isolate the problem and fix it, not mask it. Use DMM and monitor the voltage, speaker shorts, low sub resistence, gain/level setting.
