QuestionQUESTION: Hey Scott, I have a four channel amp powering four of my car speakers. Ever since i have had my system my amp tends to cut out when hitting heavy bass parts at high volume. The amp is grounded with more than appropriately gauged wire, has very good air circulation, and there are no impedance, or wiring issues. I have re-grounded the amp in several place in my car with wire no longer than 1 foot in length. I am completely stumped and appreciate your personal suggestions.
ANSWER: Joe, amps are made to protect themselves against overloading. It sounds like the amp is just cutting out to keep from burning itself up. Most amps will distort alittle, before they actually cutoff to let you know that you are getting the full power out of it, but some are questionable. If there is a gain control on the amp, you can turn it down just a bit, and the amp will not shut off anymore. Most amps have that adjustment, so that adjustment should do the trick. Hope this helps, Scott
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QUESTION: Scott, the gains on my amp really aren't very high at all, Maybe 60%. It's an alpine amp so i don't think its a cheap manufacturing flaw or anything of the sort. I used 8 gauge house wire to power my amp and 4 gauge for the ground(appropriate to amperage/distance chart). Could upping the power wire to 4 gauge help? Would a capacitor help?
AnswerI see where you are headed, and yes, too much power draw will cause the amp to cut out as well. Bigger wire will not hurt any setup, as long as the ground is just as big or bigger than the power wire, which you already have. Also, if that is the problem, the best fix would be a capacitor. They build up the extra power for the big hits. So, with the extra power draw of a big bass hit, the capacitor will have it ready, and not cut out. Honestly, I have not had to ever wire a capacitor for a high/mid amp setup. I have only used them in large powerful sub setups (normally over 300 watts rms of just bass). Does the cutting out happen whether the car is running or not? If it only happens when the car is off, then the options above may solve the problem. If it happens while the car is running also, then the power should be available. You may try upping the wire size, but I still think the only way to truly resolve the problem will be to reduce the gain. The problem that happens is that the newer stereos are coming out with preouts up to 4 volts and if your amp is setup for 2 volt inputs, the higher voltage causes an overdrive on the amp circuitry, and it just has to be lowered enough for the amp to handle. Sorry I couldn't come up with a better solution. You may want to move up to a class D amp or a better brand. Alpine is a very respectable brand, but if you are working your amp hard, you may want to look at amps that are built for heavy usage such as Fosgate Power amps, Phoenix Gold, Hifonics, or JL Audio. These are all brands that have made their name building hard working amps. Good Luck
