Venting!

[Robert.Metzel 4]

Oh I'm so pissed off right now!

So, a little over a month ago my amp started cutting in and out one day then went into permanent protect mode. Had the amp hooked up for maybe a month and was brand new. So it was deemed the output board took a shit. So I had to argue and jump through hoops over a few days to get them to replace it under warranty. 3 weeks later they finally get the new replacement amp to me.

Hooked it up, set gains,ssf, etc... Everything sounded great until tonight. I'm driving through town listening to Aerosmith's "Amazing" on volume 13 subs set at -5db via my kenwood. ( Amp reaches max power at volume 25 with sub set at 0db. ) Out of the blue while the song was playing my amp surged and my subs started blasting bass like I was burping them. It scared the shit out of me because I'm listening at a moderate level, not expecting 140 db to come blasting from the back! lol

So now, after all the I had to go through the first time, I'd put money on it that they won't replace it again.

So when I got home I checked, double checked, then triple checked EVERYTHING from the battery back. Not one issue was found. Coils on the subs are good cause I pulled and checked those too. I got good readings on everything I could hook my dmm to.

So now, I am once again without my subs and the money going towards my components is once again out the damn window! Which I was only half way there so now I have no amp, I really don't want this amp anymore, and no money for a new amp.

I own my own business, but we are going into the slow time soon, so I can't afford to just drop a ton of cash in case things don't pick-up right away in the spring. Which sometimes they don't.... So I'm pretty much left with getting this amp fixed, or going without. With this being the second time its happened with the same Make and model amp, I really just wanna throw it into the river. lol

End Rant

Edited August 21, 2010 by Teampapi79

[aimone 4]

tip next time buy sundown......

db-r refurbs are just like new

[Robert.Metzel 4]

tip next time buy sundown......

db-r refurbs are just like new

That's exactly what I plan to do!

Edited August 21, 2010 by Teampapi79

[Godsmack 360]

Check you hu output voltage? It may have spiked.

J

[Mark LaFountain 1,054]

tip next time buy sundown......

db-r refurbs are just like new

FYI, SSA sells them brand new

i'm just saying....

[The enD 467]

What brand and model was that, OP?

[Robert.Metzel 4]

What brand and model was that, OP?

Soundstream Rubicon 1600d..... output board blew 2 times in a row within 2-3 weeks of being hooked up. Using 2 different HU, both of which were brand new.

Mark, I would love to buy new! I am currently trying to offload a bunch of crap I have had laying around to get some more funds.

And HU output voltage reads fine right now. I take it a spike would blow the output board? You think it would just go into protect if it spiked. I pulled the rca's and tried to turn the amp on but it just sits in protect. I'm pretty sure it shot!

[aimone 4]

i know mark lol . . . he was talking bout not having the funds is why i mentioned db-r. plus the good service lol

if times get tough enough i might have my saz1500 up forsale. preying it dont come to that cause ill never get a deal like i got for mine

[KU40 173]

I take it you have dual 4 ohm SSDs?

[Robert.Metzel 4]

I take it you have dual 4 ohm SSDs?

dual 1 ohm wired in series/parallel. Final impedance read 1 ohm on my DMM

Edited August 21, 2010 by Teampapi79

[Adrian_D 520]

Check you hu output voltage? It may have spiked.

J

No way it could cause such problems. It would shoot it into clipping, just like turning the gain all the way up.

Was the amp mounted on the box ?

[Robert.Metzel 4]

Check you hu output voltage? It may have spiked.

J

No way it could cause such problems. It would shoot it into clipping, just like turning the gain all the way up.

Was the amp mounted on the box ?

Yes it is mounted to the back with a foam spacer, rubber spacer, and another foam spacer. I have always mounted to the box when I don't have enough room for an amp rack. Never had an issue and have always use the spacers to damping the vibes. But, Maybe my luck ran out?

While driving to my car shoot today, I glanced back and noticed the amp light was back on. Pulled over, hooked the rca's and speaker wires back up. Turned it back on with zero bass output. But when I switched from iPod to radio, it goes back into protect. Switch back to iPod and it comes out of protect with no output still. So I am at a total loss right now. I am going to swap rca's out tomorrow to see if that does anything. Yesterday they metered fine, but today with the amp acting weird I'm gonna check them again tomorrow.

[Duran 387]

Sounds like a HU problem.

[KU40 173]

I take it you have dual 4 ohm SSDs?

dual 1 ohm wired in series/parallel. Final impedance read 1 ohm on my DMM

Oh yeah, SSDs only come in dual 1 or dual 2, don't they? Silly me.

It does kinda sound like a head unit problem, but since it came out of protection when you put it on ipod but it still had no bass output, that's not so promising. Try hooking the DMM up to the RCAs to see what the voltage is like coming down them.

[Robert.Metzel 4]

So the HU voltage read fine right after it happened. Now, I get no reading at all. Tried a 60hz 0db test tone and a 1000hz 0db test tone from volume 0 all the way up to 25. Positive on the core and neg on the outer jacket. DMM set to AC. So, I am guessing the HU preouts are screwed. Okay, HU is an easy replace through Crutchfield but, how would the preout voltage blow the amp? Or is it not blown?

Here is what it did tonight when tested:

RCA's plugged into the amp:

Turn HU on which is defaulted to iPod source. Amp turns on, no output.

Change source to radio. Goes into protect mode for about 10 secs then amp comes on.

RCA's unplugged from amp:

Turn HU on, default iPod. Amp turns on

Switch to radio, amp goes into protect for about 10 sec then turns on. No output of course.

I cycle through between iPod and radio about 4 times and then it just stops going into protect and stays on until I turn the HU off and restart the cycle.

So I am guessing the amp might be shot too if it still goes into protect even without the RCA's plugged in?

As mentioned before, this is a brand new HU, yes, I guess its defective. But when this happened last time it was with a different HU, which was also brand new. Different RCA cables too cause I upgraded from the cheap walmart one when I got the Kenwood.

I am completely baffled right now!

Edited August 23, 2010 by Teampapi79