ok so the other day i was driving along and smelt something burning. When i went in the back to check my sytem the plastic around the power turminal of my amp (sony explode 1000watt mono) had kinda melting in the teminal and around the power wire. I use this amp to run my two 12 inch JLW3's. My setup is 4 gauge fused from battery to Cap ( i know everyone talks crap about them but i got it for cheap(cost) and it did help with dimming.) 4 gauge cap to dist. block to two fused(fused at block) 8 gauge wire's to the troubled amp above and the other to a sony 4 channel 800 watt amp. Both amps are grounded along with the cap. This happened after i rehooked the amp and subs up because i had to take them out because i went camping. They have been in for over a year and have never had a problem. All i did was take the subs out and disconect the power wire and the remote turn on. Everything else stayed intact because i left my amp rack together.
1) Now the amp still works is it safe to use or am i going to catch my car on fire?
3)If when i hooked the power wire up again if i accidently might off(dont think i did) got a little of the electrical tape that held the prong for the conection on in the terminal could this of caused it. ( i dont think so)
2)What did cause this?
3) Is it repairable?
4)WHAT SHOULD I DO??
Thanx guys
-Chris
Replies (11)
compvr15s on 08/20/2004 09:50:25
have you tried smelling inside the amp with the burnt power terminal? you will know an electrical burn from the smell or is it just a burnt plastic smell.. if the inside of the amp is fried then you may have a problem... not too sure what would cause this, did maybe have a loose strand from neg touching the positive side... electrical tape is non-conductive so thats not the problem, id imagine somehow the power arced from neg to pos causing it to get extremely hot and melt... it sounds like the amp dont work now? probably blew some resistors or transformers in the powersupply.. until you find the cause of the problem i would hesitate on runnin the other amp, dont want the same to happen more than likey i dont think it would but why chance it... do you have a warrenty on the amp from dealer or manufacture??? if not it could be repaired, depending on the severity of the problem, price will differ as well, if its just simply a few resistors or things of the such i would say probably less than 75-100 dollars to fix.... if you dont have a warrenty, you can always take the cover off and look inside, dont touch anything just look for burnt spots on the greenboard... you will be able to tell what blew by the surroundings, it will be noticable, if you dont see or smell anything, then there probably is a bigger issue here... wait for others to respond on this because im no pro in the internal areas of amps.... good luck though
uochronos on 08/20/2004 10:25:55
i would not use this amp again till i was sure what coused it a fire would not be fun had it actualy cuaght on fire,. this is not a normal thing to happen and something had to have gone very wrong for the terminals to melt.... this is not low grad plastic it has to get pretty warm to melt most new durable plastics and what not.
in other words the melting was a symptom not the problem find the problem.
swez on 08/20/2004 10:34:29
ALWAYS PULL THE POWER LINE FUSE WHEN WORKING ON AMP OR REMOVING WIRES !!!
Hard to say what is happening here. If the amp was still on when you pulled the subs, may have damaged a few circuits in the power supply of the amp and now getting too much current draw at that terminal. Most quality amps have internal load resistors to protect the amp when the load (speakers) are removed. Not sure if Sony has that feature or not.
The plastic insulator is there to prevent direct shorts from hot wire to grounded chassis. If that deteriorates, a short is sure to follow and your main fuse will blow to stop current flow. A low amp fuse might be a good idea to help aid this stop in current flow before you can get a repair on the power terminals.
Another possible issue that may be causing this, VOLTAGE DROPS! If you have added any additional devices (fog lights etc) the voltage load may be going below 12.5 volts and causes the amp to consume more current to make up for the loss of voltage. If this happens, what you have noted is a possibility. More current draw will create more heat at the amp as it tries to keep up the output power. That insulator can only take so much heat before it begins to melt. You might need a new power input terminal component here. The whole rail needs to be replaced.... REM, GND and HOT terminal block that is.
Swez
Doycth on 08/20/2004 10:43:08
Yes the amp does still work (not hooked up now) and i think the smell is only burnt plastic.
I dont think i have a warrenty because they amps are almost 2 years old but i will look into it. Also i dont think any of the negative wire was touching the power wire because both have those rubber conector pieces to conect the prongs along with electrical tape. Also my other amp has been working fine for the past week since this happened i havent disconected it.
1)How do i find out what the problem is other then taking it somewhere? I
2)If i do have to take it somewhere what kind of places fix amps? Pro install places? I would rather not go to sony cause they will probably be expenssive.
and finally
Why do they put the power and ground RIGHT next to eachother if sparks shoot when they touch? (we all know a lot of us have had the you know what scared out of us while sending sparks in the air accidently)
swez on 08/20/2004 11:20:13
If you have some board level repair experience, you can probably remove the old terminal block and install a new one.
Would have to order this from a Sony part Distributor. See Sony website for details and maybe contact Tech Service at Sony USA and see is they can get you the part. They may refer you to a Sony Authorized repair center in your area for that item. Main thing here... get the part first.
If you do not have board repair tools and skills, ask around at school. An electronic teacher may have a good student that can do the swap for you at little or no charge. All you have to do is get the part.
Any TV/electronics repair shop can fix this for you as well. Most shops charge a min., bench fee (~$60.00) + parts. They can usually order the part for you as well... but it may take a long time to get one from Sony. (Like... when Hell freezes over)
Finally, this is more a ghetto rig, but it will work!
1. Remove the damaged terminal strip. Hard wire (soldering) new wires where the terminal strip once was.
2. Extend the wires outside the chassis. (drill a few exit holes for 12 gage wire is fine)
3. Use grommets to protect the wires from chaffing.
4. Mount a barrier strip to your amp rack and make all connections from amp to sub via barrier strip block.
Yeah, it's a bit non-OEM... but the amp will work and you would not have to wait for Sony to get the part you need.
What say you?
Swez
Doycth on 08/20/2004 13:14:00
Well i have no experience with working with the insides of things like this so i am probably going to take it somewhere. Anyone know of any places in MASS Boston and north (i live about 20 minutes north of boston)
ssallstar598 on 08/20/2004 13:53:12
Reply Posted: 08/20/2004 10:34:29 by: swez
ALWAYS PULL THE POWER LINE FUSE WHEN WORKING ON AMP OR REMOVING WIRES !!!
just curious swez.... what exactly are you talking about here? id like to know incase i remove wires or something....
P0werLifter on 08/20/2004 14:05:07
The Inline Power fuse Swez is talking about is whenever you run power wire back into your car for your sound system etc, there must ALLWAYS be a fuse on that wire close to your battery (no more than 2 feet i believe, the closer, the better) to protect yourself and your cars electicals from blowing something, catching on fire, ect. If both the power, and ground did touch it would short and blow that fuse, or if your system is pulling more amps than that fuse is rated for, it will blow also. Once you remove the fuse, there is no power running to that wire hence it being safe to work with now.
Hope that answeres your question
-Jason
ssallstar598 on 08/21/2004 00:20:27
yes it actually did... and i was running the battery wire and having the fuse near the amp.... so it REALLY helped alot of frustration for me
P0werLifter on 08/21/2004 00:32:11
Yah allwasy make sure that fuse is close the battery..not the amplifier, if you had the fuse next to the amplifier and it got a short behind that somewhere, the fuse would do you no good at all and would cause some major damage. Make sure the fuse is close to the battery,,,No exceptions
Jason
swez on 08/21/2004 09:13:59
Find a Sony Authorized repair facility in your area via Sony Web site or per info on your manual... parts & service. You may have to send it out via USPS to a regional repair center. They will have the right parts on hand or have to order it. Either way, expect a long turn around time if you go this route. I think.... BB or CC are authorized repair centers for Sony products or will forward the amp to a regional repair site for you.
If you have no experience in electronics or repair, don't attemp this one on your own. Best left to a qualified repair Technician or advanced electronics student.
Swez
1) Now the amp still works is it safe to use or am i going to catch my car on fire?
3)If when i hooked the power wire up again if i accidently might off(dont think i did) got a little of the electrical tape that held the prong for the conection on in the terminal could this of caused it. ( i dont think so)
2)What did cause this?
3) Is it repairable?
4)WHAT SHOULD I DO??
Thanx guys
-Chris
Replies (11)
compvr15s on 08/20/2004 09:50:25
have you tried smelling inside the amp with the burnt power terminal? you will know an electrical burn from the smell or is it just a burnt plastic smell.. if the inside of the amp is fried then you may have a problem... not too sure what would cause this, did maybe have a loose strand from neg touching the positive side... electrical tape is non-conductive so thats not the problem, id imagine somehow the power arced from neg to pos causing it to get extremely hot and melt... it sounds like the amp dont work now? probably blew some resistors or transformers in the powersupply.. until you find the cause of the problem i would hesitate on runnin the other amp, dont want the same to happen more than likey i dont think it would but why chance it... do you have a warrenty on the amp from dealer or manufacture??? if not it could be repaired, depending on the severity of the problem, price will differ as well, if its just simply a few resistors or things of the such i would say probably less than 75-100 dollars to fix.... if you dont have a warrenty, you can always take the cover off and look inside, dont touch anything just look for burnt spots on the greenboard... you will be able to tell what blew by the surroundings, it will be noticable, if you dont see or smell anything, then there probably is a bigger issue here... wait for others to respond on this because im no pro in the internal areas of amps.... good luck though
uochronos on 08/20/2004 10:25:55
i would not use this amp again till i was sure what coused it a fire would not be fun had it actualy cuaght on fire,. this is not a normal thing to happen and something had to have gone very wrong for the terminals to melt.... this is not low grad plastic it has to get pretty warm to melt most new durable plastics and what not.
in other words the melting was a symptom not the problem find the problem.
swez on 08/20/2004 10:34:29
ALWAYS PULL THE POWER LINE FUSE WHEN WORKING ON AMP OR REMOVING WIRES !!!
Hard to say what is happening here. If the amp was still on when you pulled the subs, may have damaged a few circuits in the power supply of the amp and now getting too much current draw at that terminal. Most quality amps have internal load resistors to protect the amp when the load (speakers) are removed. Not sure if Sony has that feature or not.
The plastic insulator is there to prevent direct shorts from hot wire to grounded chassis. If that deteriorates, a short is sure to follow and your main fuse will blow to stop current flow. A low amp fuse might be a good idea to help aid this stop in current flow before you can get a repair on the power terminals.
Another possible issue that may be causing this, VOLTAGE DROPS! If you have added any additional devices (fog lights etc) the voltage load may be going below 12.5 volts and causes the amp to consume more current to make up for the loss of voltage. If this happens, what you have noted is a possibility. More current draw will create more heat at the amp as it tries to keep up the output power. That insulator can only take so much heat before it begins to melt. You might need a new power input terminal component here. The whole rail needs to be replaced.... REM, GND and HOT terminal block that is.
Swez
Doycth on 08/20/2004 10:43:08
Yes the amp does still work (not hooked up now) and i think the smell is only burnt plastic.
I dont think i have a warrenty because they amps are almost 2 years old but i will look into it. Also i dont think any of the negative wire was touching the power wire because both have those rubber conector pieces to conect the prongs along with electrical tape. Also my other amp has been working fine for the past week since this happened i havent disconected it.
1)How do i find out what the problem is other then taking it somewhere? I
2)If i do have to take it somewhere what kind of places fix amps? Pro install places? I would rather not go to sony cause they will probably be expenssive.
and finally
Why do they put the power and ground RIGHT next to eachother if sparks shoot when they touch? (we all know a lot of us have had the you know what scared out of us while sending sparks in the air accidently)
swez on 08/20/2004 11:20:13
If you have some board level repair experience, you can probably remove the old terminal block and install a new one.
Would have to order this from a Sony part Distributor. See Sony website for details and maybe contact Tech Service at Sony USA and see is they can get you the part. They may refer you to a Sony Authorized repair center in your area for that item. Main thing here... get the part first.
If you do not have board repair tools and skills, ask around at school. An electronic teacher may have a good student that can do the swap for you at little or no charge. All you have to do is get the part.
Any TV/electronics repair shop can fix this for you as well. Most shops charge a min., bench fee (~$60.00) + parts. They can usually order the part for you as well... but it may take a long time to get one from Sony. (Like... when Hell freezes over)
Finally, this is more a ghetto rig, but it will work!
1. Remove the damaged terminal strip. Hard wire (soldering) new wires where the terminal strip once was.
2. Extend the wires outside the chassis. (drill a few exit holes for 12 gage wire is fine)
3. Use grommets to protect the wires from chaffing.
4. Mount a barrier strip to your amp rack and make all connections from amp to sub via barrier strip block.
Yeah, it's a bit non-OEM... but the amp will work and you would not have to wait for Sony to get the part you need.
What say you?
Swez
Doycth on 08/20/2004 13:14:00
Well i have no experience with working with the insides of things like this so i am probably going to take it somewhere. Anyone know of any places in MASS Boston and north (i live about 20 minutes north of boston)
ssallstar598 on 08/20/2004 13:53:12
Reply Posted: 08/20/2004 10:34:29 by: swez
ALWAYS PULL THE POWER LINE FUSE WHEN WORKING ON AMP OR REMOVING WIRES !!!
just curious swez.... what exactly are you talking about here? id like to know incase i remove wires or something....
P0werLifter on 08/20/2004 14:05:07
The Inline Power fuse Swez is talking about is whenever you run power wire back into your car for your sound system etc, there must ALLWAYS be a fuse on that wire close to your battery (no more than 2 feet i believe, the closer, the better) to protect yourself and your cars electicals from blowing something, catching on fire, ect. If both the power, and ground did touch it would short and blow that fuse, or if your system is pulling more amps than that fuse is rated for, it will blow also. Once you remove the fuse, there is no power running to that wire hence it being safe to work with now.
Hope that answeres your question
-Jason
ssallstar598 on 08/21/2004 00:20:27
yes it actually did... and i was running the battery wire and having the fuse near the amp.... so it REALLY helped alot of frustration for me
P0werLifter on 08/21/2004 00:32:11
Yah allwasy make sure that fuse is close the battery..not the amplifier, if you had the fuse next to the amplifier and it got a short behind that somewhere, the fuse would do you no good at all and would cause some major damage. Make sure the fuse is close to the battery,,,No exceptions
Jason
swez on 08/21/2004 09:13:59
Find a Sony Authorized repair facility in your area via Sony Web site or per info on your manual... parts & service. You may have to send it out via USPS to a regional repair center. They will have the right parts on hand or have to order it. Either way, expect a long turn around time if you go this route. I think.... BB or CC are authorized repair centers for Sony products or will forward the amp to a regional repair site for you.
If you have no experience in electronics or repair, don't attemp this one on your own. Best left to a qualified repair Technician or advanced electronics student.
Swez
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