Stereo Build Finally Finished!

[joe603]

How do you plan to keep your amps cool? My single amp has overheated and went into thermal protection mode after rocking for about an hour on the highway.

I've had the subs and a Memphis sub amp for a year now with a high/low converter without any heat issues. The sub amp is running at 1ohm...but it's designed for that and a class D so they're pretty thermal efficient. With the addition of the Focal 600watt amp and other components, so far so good with heat. In fact, they both barely break a sweat at high volume. If your amp is running hot, make sure your wiring is correct and the load on the amp is within specs.

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[Cobra Jet]

Are your amps covered? Mine are exposed to dissipate heat. They get pretty warm but have never gone into thermal. But then again, JL VXi amps are very efficient.

If the concern is amp temps, do this if you have not already:

Get small computer fans and mount them in the amp rack OR if there is room enough to mount them under the amp where the amp cover may have ventilation holes.

You want the fans to “pull” the hot temps out of the rack or out of the amp. So when you wire up the fans, watch the direction of the blades and feel which way the air is moving.

You can tap the fan wiring into your turn on lead. This way when you turn on the system, the fans will always be “instant on” and running.

—

In my 94 Cobra, I have an old school set up, which includes a PPI 5440. It’s mounted to MDF for the “rack”. I incorporated a fan into the MDF rack wired in exactly as I stated above. The fan comes on instantly and pulls any warm air out of the amp.

Since the rack is mounted upside down to the rear package shelf (amp top facing trunk floor), the fan can’t be seen, and the amp itself is barely visible too.

I’ve never had the amp “clip” or power down due to extreme use or temps rising due to hard use. The little fan trick works as it should.

The fan size is based on the room you have available to incorporate one, or more than one. Some of the newer computer fans are very streamlined and quiet too. They just need a ground and hot connection, that’s all to power them.

 

[Evolvd]

If the concern is amp temps, do this if you have not already:

Get small computer fans and mount them in the amp rack OR if there is room enough to mount them under the amp where the amp cover may have ventilation holes.

You want the fans to “pull” the hot temps out of the rack or out of the amp. So when you wire up the fans, watch the direction of the blades and feel which way the air is moving.

You can tap the fan wiring into your turn on lead. This way when you turn on the system, the fans will always be “instant on” and running.

—

In my 94 Cobra, I have an old school set up, which includes a PPI 5440. It’s mounted to MDF for the “rack”. I incorporated a fan into the MDF rack wired in exactly as I stated above. The fan comes on instantly and pulls any warm air out of the amp.

Since the rack is mounted upside down to the rear package shelf (amp top facing trunk floor), the fan can’t be seen, and the amp itself is barely visible too.

I’ve never had the amp “clip” or power down due to extreme use or temps rising due to hard use. The little fan trick works as it should.

The fan size is based on the room you have available to incorporate one, or more than one. Some of the newer computer fans are very streamlined and quiet too. They just need a ground and hot connection, that’s all to power them.

Not a concern for me and I said the exact same thing to Bassackwards

 

[Bassackwards]

I would need a way to vent and exhaust air from the well, I think my issue is that the hot air is getting trapped in there. Between the carpet and the giant rubber mat there is no way for the hot air to get out.

 

[joe603]

If the concern is amp temps, do this if you have not already:

Get small computer fans and mount them in the amp rack OR if there is room enough to mount them under the amp where the amp cover may have ventilation holes.

You want the fans to “pull” the hot temps out of the rack or out of the amp. So when you wire up the fans, watch the direction of the blades and feel which way the air is moving.

You can tap the fan wiring into your turn on lead. This way when you turn on the system, the fans will always be “instant on” and running.

—

In my 94 Cobra, I have an old school set up, which includes a PPI 5440. It’s mounted to MDF for the “rack”. I incorporated a fan into the MDF rack wired in exactly as I stated above. The fan comes on instantly and pulls any warm air out of the amp.

Since the rack is mounted upside down to the rear package shelf (amp top facing trunk floor), the fan can’t be seen, and the amp itself is barely visible too.

I’ve never had the amp “clip” or power down due to extreme use or temps rising due to hard use. The little fan trick works as it should.

The fan size is based on the room you have available to incorporate one, or more than one. Some of the newer computer fans are very streamlined and quiet too. They just need a ground and hot connection, that’s all to power them.

So...this did come back to bite me. My Focal amp runs quite hot and I had it shut down for thermal a few times on a recent road trip. I added a fan with a thermocouple that kicks it on at a certain temp. Works great so far...

 

[Evolvd]

Yep, even at moderate listening volumes amplifiers get pretty hot.

 

[joe603]

That's the thing, my sub amp doesn't...but that Focal amp, wow! Too hot to touch at even prolonged low volume with my wife in the car for the trip. I had to remove the carpet trunk floor piece to give it some air.

To fix it, I did the fan but also some plastic spacers to lift it off the carpeted amp rack. We'll see how it does over the summer in the south.

 

[Evolvd]

That's the thing, my sub amp doesn't...but that Focal amp, wow! Too hot to touch at even prolonged low volume with my wife in the car for the trip. I had to remove the carpet trunk floor piece to give it some air.

To fix it, I did the fan but also some plastic spacers to lift it off the carpeted amp rack. We'll see how it does over the summer in the south.

This is my setup and it went all summer in Florida without even a hiccup.

 

[Bassackwards]

This is my setup and it went all summer in Florida without even a hiccup.

Yours has plenty of ventilation which is what mine needs. I’m having a hard time figuring out how to get some air circulation while maintaining a flat trunk area. We stuff the trunk with full with luggage.

 

[Evolvd]

Yours has plenty of ventilation which is what mine needs. I’m having a hard time figuring out how to get some air circulation while maintaining a flat trunk area. We stuff the trunk with full with luggage.

You can run ventilation tubes up the side of the trunk behind the trim where there’s room. Then place the fan in front of it to bring in fresh air from the trunk area.

 

[Bassackwards]

You can run ventilation tubes up the side of the trunk behind the trim where there’s room. Then place the fan in front of it to bring in fresh air from the trunk area.

My amp is in the spare tire well and between the filler that serves as the trunk floor and the rubber trunk mat I’m not getting any circulation into the well. If I lift the filler it won’t be flat and if I put holes in the mat it won’t hold spills

 

[joe603]

There's a little room on each side of the spare tire well...all my power/signal wires run from the sides to the spare tire well and the carpet is flat. E's talking about a small hose...probably no bigger than 2".

With my amp overheating issue, I raised the amp off the carpeted amp rack with spacers and installed an 8", cross-flow fan (like an ac blower fan). This pulls air from the top and pushes it underneath/over the amp.

Xscorpion TF8 8-Inch Cross Flow 12-Volt Cooling Fan with Mounting Tabs, Stainless Steel https://a.co/d/9q9IfUG

 

[Bassackwards]

I’m dealing with this covering the well

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