Amps and fuses

[TEHxFALLEN V1.2]

The fuse on my amp keeps blowing.. wtf??! I hate this! What could be the cause of this? It uses 25 watt fuses, and I am not going to step it up!

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by TEHxFALLEN V1.2

The fuse on my amp keeps blowing.. wtf??! I hate this! What could be the cause of this? It uses 25 watt fuses, and I am not going to step it up!

What's the amp rated at (Watts @ Ohms per channel(s)), and what's the rating on the speakers it is driving?

Did it run fine for a while and now it is suddenly giving your trouble?

[sportin83]

what type of amp and how many speakers and how are they wired? bridged? stereo?

[TEHxFALLEN V1.2]

Well it's this boxed sub + amp combo I got at Circuit City. It's supposed to be a system that's good to go, just plug it in and there's nothing to worry about..

It's 2x 10" Bazooka subs + one Bazooka 300 watt amp. It has never given me any trouble before, but now it is.

[sportin83]

do u have a warranty? most likely you have a blown sub or about blown

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by TEHxFALLEN V1.2

Well it's this boxed sub + amp combo I got at Circuit City. It's supposed to be a system that's good to go, just plug it in and there's nothing to worry about..

It's 2x 10" Bazooka subs + one Bazook 300 watt amp. It has never given me any trouble before, but now it is.

Check its ground connection - It may have vibrated loose enough to cause a poor connection.

[TEHxFALLEN V1.2]

I have checked the ground connection, there is no problem with that! I still don't know what's going on ):

[Spades]

that should be enough amperage of fuses to power a small amp like that. time to start checking power conections leading from the battery to the trunk or where ever the amp is at. ensure the wire isnt rubbing some where. check the ground wire, if you arent running a ground wire back from the battery, make sure you have a extra ground wire from your battery to the subframe of the car(a grounding kit works well). make sure if you are using a chassis ground, that the screws anchoring your ground are making good contact, a extra self tapping screw next to the screw going through the ring terminal to make sure neither works its way through.

check your connections to ensure good power and ground. if you have followed those steps, and you know everything on your wiring is good, its time to worry about the amp.


p.s. if its a ground issue ussually you would have heard a large thump when the amp powers up and a steady buzzing/humming sound through the subs. either way, the steps above will be of long term benifit even if you have to have the amp warrantied and you get a replacement. remember, any type of conductive non etching and weather/corrosion proof grease is of long term benifit. my favorite is a silver grease available at computer stores they use for pin connections or repairs on circut boards. it works well on ground and power connections to batteries, chassis, amps, ect.

[TEHxFALLEN V1.2]

Anyone think that the Sylvania Silverstars rated at 13.2 volts is going to be the source of this problem? I never had this problem until I installed these bulbs..

I have these same bulbs in my CRX for about a year now, with a 300 watt system.. never had a problem. As for the Yaris, I am now worried about burning my harnesses (for the bulbs) and the constant fuse replacing for the amps ):

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by TEHxFALLEN V1.2

Anyone think that the Sylvania Silverstars rated at 13.2 volts is going to be the source of this problem? I never had this problem until I installed these bulbs..

I have these same bulbs in my CRX for about a year now, with a 300 watt system.. never had a problem. As for the Yaris, I am now worried about burning my harnesses (for the bulbs) and the constant fuse replacing for the amps ):

What is the current rating of the Silverstars? The voltage rating is fine. Also, the radio and lights are on different fused circuits, so it shouldn't be an issue (unless the bulbs are drawing enough current to cause the battery voltage to sag enough to cause the amp to draw more current than its fuse is rated for...

[TheRealEnth]

well u could always test your theory? wont kill ya to switch silverstars to normal

[Spades]

maybe my logic is retarded, but if there is no cap on the amp side of the fuse...why would a headlight blow it? a fuse will blow when more current than it allows passes through it. i kind of doubt that headlights would be sucking current from a amplifier. besides, most amps are set to blow fuses in a bad ground, or when your power wire shorts. most just have protection and wont blow the fuses unless its bad. if your amp has a "protection" circuit breaker feature, the only stuff that will blow the fuses is a ground or power issue...the protection is just for when you push it too far.

from the sound of it, its the amps fuses. do you have a fuse by the battery of your car? has it blown at all(if you have one)? if not, put a fuse by the battery...for 1, to test if your power wire is shorting, and for 2, its a good idea to have if you dont have it already.

now, if you can ensure you have a excellant ground as i mentioned in a above post, and you have a fuse by the battery to make certain you have a un comprimised power wire, and you have made sure the speakers are wired properly and that the remote wire is a solid 12v, you can be 90% sure that it is a amp issue and not something in the car.

BTW, I also looked up the amp you have, it has thermal protection as well as short circut protection. if you were over taxing it, the amp would pop thermal protection instead of blowing fuses.

[talnlnky]

its actually fairly hard to blow fuses in an amplifier without either the amp being bad (in which case it wouldn't even fully turn on, just pop fuses and off again), or wiring the amp to a lower than spec'd ohm load.

Make sure the amp isn't running at a lower ohm load than rated.
Next, turn down any bass boost you may have on the amp. Although unlikely, it might be possible for too much boost/eq on the amp to cause the amp to draw more power than it can really handle....and pop those fuses.


Fuses can take A LOT more current than they are rated for. It usually takes a fuse awhile to blow unless there is a near zero ohm load in which case the fuse would pop instantly.

look at all the connections at the amp. make sure there are no stray strands of wire that are frayed out and touching something they shouldn't be touching.