POP POP POP

LooseChangeRacing · September 12th, 2006, 3:24 pm

Ok, my 4 channel amp, Kicker 350.4 is doing some screwy things...amp worked fine for a week now suddenly whenever it turns on the speakers just POP, it's not the rca cables themselves, it's not the crossovers, it's not the ground and it's not the remote or power (i know this becuase I've tried them all on another amp.) Could the output of the whole amp be bad somehow, anymore tests I can run?

jschrauwen · Post by **jschrauwen** » September 15th, 2006, 2:25 pm

You mean you've done a search. And found nothing to sort this out for you? I think in about 15 to 30 minutes I could find something very relevant in here - http://www.mx-3.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=53867
Post back if there's no viable solutions available in those sites.

PATDIESEL · Post by **PATDIESEL** » September 15th, 2006, 3:57 pm

I doubt you'll find much to directly help you by using a search. Sorry John, I know that goes against all that you live for

I would bet your amp is fried for one reason or another. Either you've wired the speakers with to low of an OHM rating and the amp couldn't handle it or you arked a wire somewhere are fried it. You can ark the battery cable and a lesser amp will blow from the resulting jump in voltage. Take the amp cover off and see if you can find any broken soldier lines. DO NOT TOUCH anything and do not play with anything. You may think the amp is fried, but if you start messing with it then you have definately screwed it up. They are sensitve and should not be played with. If you find what looks like a problem then call around if you want to have it looked at, but for the price of a Kenwood it would liklely be cheaper to just buy a new amp.
I have a whole SPL set-up for sale if interested.

jschrauwen · Post by **jschrauwen** » September 15th, 2006, 11:11 pm

In the better quality amps there are soft turn on and turn off features that prevent the "speaker thump" when the actual amplifier section in the amp turns on. This is designed to work when the source signal from the HU is sensed and then the soft switching kicks in. This also applies when shutting down. The (Blue wire) from the HU that does the initial triggering of the system should turn the front end on in the amp but not the amplifier section. It sounds like yours is going straight to the amplifier section being turned on right away and thereby sending power to the speakers even before the signal source has been processed by the front end of the amp. You didn't by chance switch the triggering feed wire to the amp from the HU's blue wire to another source - perhaps another ignition controlled source? At any rate, it sounds like Pat's diagnosis is spot on and perhaps you may have cooked a relay inside the amp that usually controlls this.

LooseChangeRacing · September 16th, 2006, 8:20 am

Yeah, the search feature is great and i love it, but didn't help in this case....anyway I ended up taking off the cover and sure as we all though there is a FEW blown lines....i wish my camera worked you could see what I see and not even think twice about saying it's a blown amp, I'm not sure what happened anyway it was $125 so....no big deal, I already bought another and have it installed.....

hgallegos915 · Post by **hgallegos915** » September 16th, 2006, 9:55 pm

u get a pop of bass or POP like a gun pop?

PATDIESEL · Post by **PATDIESEL** » September 18th, 2006, 12:47 am

No it is usually a constant and rythmic thumping (if sub amp) or popping if mid/high amp.

hgallegos915 · Post by **hgallegos915** » September 20th, 2006, 1:40 am

I had that noise when i had a very poor ground to the amp.

chew* · Post by chew* » September 21st, 2006, 12:32 am

Not that this post will fix your old amp but may help protect your new amp.

Rule # 1 amps do not blow speakers.....Speakers blow amps.

Rule # 2 distortion blows speakers.

For those questioning this heres how it works. If a speaker is blown most likely due to distortion it no longer operates at the standard 4 ohm impedance. Thus it drives your amp into a load it is no longer stable to or is a direct short. Thus the amp breaks. You can check the ohms on your speakers with a simple multimeter. For the most part surrounds or satelites implement a 4 ohm load, subs however can be more complicated offering a variety of ohms and or dual and even quad coils and a variety of wiring configurations.

Other possible causes for a blown amp in the MX-3 is poor grounding or to long a ground, speaker terminals grounding out on door( use electrical tape around the metal cut outs for all factory speaker housings ) and last but not least not enough or fluctuating power.

You can upgrade the 70 amp alternator. You can implement the 3 B's = Improve ground from chassis to battery, Improve ground from engine to battery and improve power wire from alternator to battery. Improve ground to amp and run no more than 2 feet. Tape all the edges at factory mounting holes for speakers. Last but not least inspect factory wiring if not upgraded to make sure its not chafed and grounding out on chassis.