I just recently purchased a single MTX T5510-44 Dual 4 Ohm Voice Coil sub (300 RMS) and a RockFord Fosgate P3001 Amp.
I paralleled the MTX sub so it would be 2 Ohms, and connected it to the amp. Problem is, the amp keeps cutting off and on, and the amp gets hot. The gain is turned all the way down, and the crossover is set at LP (low) and Freq set @ 80.
I put the Positive power wire back-up fuse about 1 foot from the amp, instead of near the battery at the front of the car. My ground and power wires are 4 gauge wires. Is it be too big? Also, another note is that the amp is mounted horizontally on top of a vented sub box. Could heat be the problem?
Do you guys think the placement of the back-up fuse near the amp could be the reason why its cutting on and off? Or is it because of how I wired the sub? Or any other "causes"?
Another note, I took this setup and put it into my friends car who has 8 gauge power wiring and the back-up fuse placed near the battery. It worked fine in his car, no problems, bass that was clear as day, but when I put it back in my car, I get the dreaded "Thermal"/Protection light. He also drives the same type of car I do...(just trying to knock out the reasons why it would not work on my car)
Sounds like that amp has problems. You get it new? Altho it would be a very good idea to move the "backup fuse" to right next to the battery(its there to protect your wiring and your whole car, not your amp) you seem to have everything wired up right. I'd check to make sure you have a good chassis ground close to the amp to bare metal(scrape that paint off).
As an experiment you could wire the sub's voice coils in series and see how the amp performs altho it'll only be producing about 75 watts @ 8 ohms. If its still getting hot and shutting down it probably needs service or replacing.
Hmmm.... if its working in a friend's car its not the amp. Did you put your sub in your friend's car as well? Maybe one of the voice coils is shorting causing the amp to go into protect mode. If you have a multimeter try measuring the resistance of each coil(not hooked up parallel). They should be anywhere between about 3.3 to 4 ohms each.
As for when I put the setup in my friends car, Yes, I put the amp along with the MTX sub in a vented box...I just connected the RCA's, power, ground, and remote wires...and turned on the car, and it all worked fine...
You may have a voltage problem. I'd take your car to pep boys or some place and have the guys test your alternator/electrical system. Does it matter whether the car is running or not?
Again if you have a multimeter you could measure the voltage at the amp yourself and save yourself the trip. You should have at least 11.5 volts or so with the car off and 13+ with it running.
I dunno. Probably grasping at straws here. Just seems kinda weird. You get in touch with Fosgate yet?
Nope when the system was in my friends car, wether the car was on or off, it worked fine, but in mine, didn't work...amp would cut off once I turned it up and the bass would attempt to "hit," but it cuts off...
Nope, haven't gotten in touch with Fosgate (I do have a 1-yr warranty on the amp though)
Nope, I don't have a multimeter...
LOL...As for my headunit, its an old head unit...its an AIWA (45 x 4)...
I dunno what to tell you. 300 watts ain't a whole lot these days. As long as you've got sufficient voltage, a good ground, a h/u with low level preouts, and you have the gains all the way down it should be working.
I'm not sure if you can get your electrical sytem tested for free, but it might be a good idea anyways.
Hey Noy Boy, just being nosey, You wired everything the same in ur friend's car EXCEPT u have 4 ga wire. I have seenn a case where an amp starved for power would shut down, but not this. Check ALL your grounds, conns at the battery-agree w/ Fishy about moving the fuse to closer to the battery. Better yet, try this, Get 1 of those ANL in-line fuse holders with about eh probably an 80A fuse. Get a FUSED dist block (4 awg to 8 awg). Runn some 8 awg wire to the RF amp & see what happens. The thing is this, It worked in ur friend's car, but not ur's. Check the conn on ur HU for the REM. Make sure it is sound. I honestly don't think the 4/8 awg wire thing is going to be an issue...But fusing the wire at the battery AND close to the amp(so nothing gets fried) is a good idea. Onn second thought u said the amp gets hot...THERMAL PROTECTION???!!! Change the wire setup(4/8awg) 4 awg carries 2x more current than 8awg. Let me know if this works. GOOD LUCK.
I checked my mids and tweets to ensure they weren't grounded anywhere, and in the end they were fine.
I moved the back up fuse to the front of the car like it should be, and decided to ground the ground wire to the frame of the car (sanded and everything, almost polished LOL). Tested out the amp, and it still didn't work...
I got a hold of a voltmeter, and I tested my sub to see if it was still pushing around 3-4 ohms, and it was doing around 3.5 on both coils (DVC sub), so the sub was fine. So i thought about it, if the sub isn't getting power, what could it be? Its either the amp or the speaker wires?
I chunked the old speaker wires and got some bigger ones (4 gauge speaker wires), and it turns out, that was the solution to the problem . My speaker wires were too small to push what I wanted, causing the RF amp to go into thermal protection mode. Luckly I didn't fry the amp...
After the change, everything works fine, and all is good. My car rumbles to the point where the hairs on my face tingle hahaha.
But I still wonder, how the heck did it work on my friends car when i had the old speaker wires on there???
The problem was something so simple, and yet it was something neglected from the beginning haha, oh well, lesson learned...
Thanks Fishy and Kojak for ur help!!! Couldn't have figured it out without guys!!
Maybe you just had an intermittent short in the old stuff and got lucky(or unlucky) in your friend's car. If anything I would think smaller wire should make your amp MORE stable as it would add slightly more resistance to the system so the amp would see a higher impedance.
