I never had the Pioneers on the cerwin vega amp, but it might just be that I had my gains too high or something I just turned them all the way down and it didn't go into protect mode, but the only time I know when its going into protect mode is when my lights dim and they didn't dim... the interior lights didn't dim. Guess I'm going to have to keep the gains down I put a meter up to the battery while the subs where playing and the voltage level dropped to 11.9. Now I gotta save up money to do the big3

 

I've turn the gains down and I barely have the problem anymore. Well I ran into a slight problem today and now I have no power running to that amp I wondering if its a fuse? I haven't checked it yet though I find kinda hard to break a 200 amp anl fuse and 2 150 amp midi fuses. I to the power wire off the battery and put it back on and the distribution block came back on with the voltage reading of 8.5v until I cranked the car up and then it just went off. still no power to the amp. I mean it was on one minute and off the next, but usually if there is a fuse blown I would get a warn signal from the distribution block and the amp power would be flashing the protect light while the power light is still on. I don't get it whats going on? It came back up to a 14.0 voltage while the car was running I'll have to check it when I get out of school

 

A couple comments.

That is a very nice amp if my memory serves me correctly. The EXL line cerwin vegas are basically a cheap version of a pretty nice arc audio design.

If you have the subs wired down to 0.5 ohms and the amp is 1 ohm stable, it will go into protect mode but will more then likely eventually fry.

I would bet with a class D amp the amp itself has around 100 amps, 1200 watts/12 volts. Tf you are running only one of these amps and 150-200 amp fuses, you are only protecting against a dead short of the cable and not protecting the amp from too much current.

If you did blow a fuse, it should be the 150 amp. If you blew it you have over 150 amps of current entering the amplifier. That is a lot more power from the amp and also a ton more heat. Heat kills electronics.

I don't know of any dist. blocks that will warn you in advance of blowing a fuse. If you blow a fuse the voltage downstream of the fuse will be zero.

Dropping down to 12 volts shouldn't cause your amp to turn itself off.


Check the fuses on the amp and in our wiring and replace the 150 amp fuses in your wiring to something close to the rating of the amp.

Check your wiring on your subs and make sure the lowest reading you get is 1 ohm. If it is any less like mentioned before, you will eventually fry your amp.

 

well it does go into protect mode, but I'll check the fuses in the amp. glad you mentioned it because I forgot all about it. Those things are going to hard to pull out I tried once before when I wanted to put some smart fuses in, but the amp doesn't have any power at all and it didn't overheat. I put my hand on top of it and it was a little warn but not hot...

BTW dont' the V6 Mustangs have a 80 amp alternator? IDK for sure, but I always thought it was 70 I could be wrong though

 

I have a 90 amp alt on my nissan pathfinder and can easily push 1200 watts rms without having issues. I have an optima red top and have upgraded the big three and that helps but before doing those upgrades I didn't have any problems.

Get out there with the multimeter, read the resistance of the load on the amp and check your voltages everywhere. This could be as bad as a blown amp or as simple as a loose ground.

 

Stupid questions, I read quickly.

You have a power wire direct to the battery, right? How many fuses do you have inline, and where? is the Ground cable for the amp going to a good ground on the car?

Have you had the battery/charging system tested? Lots of auto shops will do this really cheap.. It sounds like you may have some major issues, but hopefully you do not.

Did you reuse the wiring from the old vehicle? have you checked all the connections- everywhere, also checking for oxidation and/or corrosion?

 

yeah the main anl fuse is blown! I have all of the fuses in the trunk so it would be easier for me to change without losing tools in the engine bay. Its brand new wire (JL 2 gauge amp kit) my old (Stinger 0 gauge amp kit) I think works better, but I didn't want to take it out when I already put a whole in the firewall of my Cam. I didn't drill anything in my Stang, but I might end up doing it in a little while...

 

you really should have a fuse as close as possible to the battery you know....

 

If the main anl is blown and it is the fuse next to the battery as it should be, you have a short somewhere. (That amp will never pull 200 amps long enough to blow a fuse)

I doubt changing the wire will really help you. 1/0 is larger but with that amp you should be fine running 2 gauge.

 

it is not a "should" have it is a MUST have. The fuses in the back that are easy to replace are fine but that wire MUST be fused with in 12 inches of the batter to protect your car from the cable. IF the insulation wears thin and it shorts out that wire will weld itself to the point it grounds out, and then set the cable on fire between the batter and that point.

You should either install a fuse holder up front, or a fire extinguisher that is easy to get to........