Amp shutting down

[flex]

Dear Audio Gods! Can you please help?

my kicker 700.5 amp is shutting down & is hot as can be to touch. i'm running a sub off the sub channel & one pair of kicker hlcd's on the other four channels in bridge mode. amp 1 & 2 are set to "Hi" & the sub amp is set to "on/sub". batteries are fully charged.

the manual says this amp will handle this set up, but apparently not. i also have a 200.4 that is running the six cabin speakers. should i swtich the cabin & tower speakers around? can the 200.4 handle the hlcd's?

i read Ed's post where he had similar issues. https://forum.moomba.com/showthread.php?t=14169

any suggestions on what to do to fix would be appreciated. swtich speakers around? replace amps, etc?

thanks!!!

[Razzman]

Not the best setup for the Kicker hlcd's, the amp can't really handle the load. Dump the 200.4 and get yourself a 450.2 to drive the towers. Run the cabins and sub off of the 700.5 and you'll be good.

[EarmarkMarine]

flex,
While that Kicker amplifier is a known workhorse you have to consider how demanding the tower speakers are as compared to the in-boats.
I would 86 the 200.4 and switch the the 700.5 to the in-boats. You could even use half the 200.4 to the bow or bridge it to the bow. Six in-boat coaxials with a channel per speaker is heavenly from a cleanliness and headroom standpoint. You will hear a difference with the more conservative operation.
Check voltage at the shut-down point because low voltage compounds thermal issues. And, make sure that the primary supply cable to the 700.5 alone is 4-gauge with a separate 4-gauge supply to the tower amplifier. Verify that you have quality, high gauge terminations and that they are all secure.
Make sure you are running the tower HLCDs at 100 Hz or higher in highpass depending on the pod size you are using.
Btw, you can't run an amplifier bridged into the Kicker HLCDs if you are using the second pair of midbass drivers, which would be a 2-ohm load. You didn't specify this or I may have missed it.
For your next and dedicated tower amplifier I would strongly recommend the higher eficiency of a Class D fullrange amplifier. A Class AB will generate 250 percent more heat to begin with. Kicker and JL Audio have amplifiers to fit the bill and are 60 percent more efficient (just sip current).

David
Earmark Marine

[mmandley]

Flex i have to agree with Dave and Razz, your asking too much of the 700.5 the sub alone is working it pretty hard and then the HLCDs are just jamming it up.

TO save the coin now, take the 200.4 and bridge it to the HLCDs this will power them up and it shouldn't overheat and then you can run the cabins to the 700.5 and i did that my first summer and that amp never shut down and i was pounding on my stereo pretty hard.

Ultimately get the Kicker ZX450.2 or another dedicated 2 channel to run your HLCDs and you will be golden.

[MLA]

Where is the sub chnl gain and Bass-Boost set at on the 700.5? Was the 700.5 factory installed, or replace a factory installed amp? As noted above, if the power and ground cables are inadequate, it can lead to excess heat and thermal shutdown. Also, is the amp mounted directly to a carpeted surface? Putting it on some stand-offs will allow for some additional heat dissipation.

[philwsailz]

Which Kicker tower speakers are you running? KMT6 or KM6500.2?

Also, David and CHP's comments regarding power wire are totally correct. You need to use 4 ga or the amp will overheat. I know this as fact, as another boat builder, (who shall remain nameless, know at least it was a stern-drive builder) who thought he could use smaller wire. I told him he needed 4, but he insisted he could get away with less. The overheating calls started coming in, and he insisted it was the amp's fault. He finally tried the 4 ga wire after a ton of complaints of overheating. Guess what? The overheating issue went away.


Let us know what speakers you are using and I can guide further. Just know that if you have the KMT6 you do not want to run 4-channels in bridge-mode; it will not work.

Phil
Kicker