Kick amp

[philwsailz]

Perfect!

Yeah, let us know... WE are here for ya !

Phil
Kicker

[ahicken]

The amp is fine. The tech at the shop said that the way the speakers were wired made them use too much power and caused the amp to overheat. Which explains why when it was hot the system would shut down often. The battery was also weak which causes the system to go into protect mode. Sounds better now. I need to get it on the lake to see if the batteries are charging properly. Does anyone know what the battery reading be when the boat is running?

[Timmy!]

The battery will read between 12.0 and 13.6 or so. If you have a fake-a-lake, you can test it out without going to the lake. If you don't have one, you can make one really cheap.

[chpthril]

The amp is fine. The tech at the shop said that the way the speakers were wired made them use too much power and caused the amp to overheat. Which explains why when it was hot the system would shut down often. The battery was also weak which causes the system to go into protect mode. Sounds better now. I need to get it on the lake to see if the batteries are charging properly. Does anyone know what the battery reading be when the boat is running?

Hmm There are 2 ways to wire the speakers, parallel and series, and both are correct. Did he say how they were and how he redid them? In parallel, the amp will deliver more power, but it's then divided by the 2 speakers. in series, the load is real low, so the amp will deliver far less power to the speakers. This may lead to clipping. Phil???

*EDIT* Looked back over the thread and dont see that you posted how many cabin speakers you have....2 or 3 pair? Sound like you have 3 pair. If so, the stereo shop, IMO, did not do you right if they rewired the main cabins from parallel to series as they are wired from the factory. Do you have the EIDB dual battery system? If so, what battery did you replace as indicated in you OP?

The static (engine off) charge of a fully charged battery is 12.8. The Alt output should be 13.5+ when above idle.

[ahicken]

Hmm There are 2 ways to wire the speakers, parallel and series, and both are correct. Did he say how they were and how he redid them? In parallel, the amp will deliver more power, but it's then divided by the 2 speakers. in series, the load is real low, so the amp will deliver far less power to the speakers. This may lead to clipping. Phil???

*EDIT* Looked back over the thread and dont see that you posted how many cabin speakers you have....2 or 3 pair? Sound like you have 3 pair. If so, the stereo shop, IMO, did not do you right if they rewired the main cabins from parallel to series as they are wired from the factory. Do you have the EIDB dual battery system? If so, what battery did you replace as indicated in you OP?

The static (engine off) charge of a fully charged battery is 12.8. The Alt output should be 13.5+ when above idle.

I don't want to sound like i don't know, but I really don't know. This is not may area of expertise. The stereo was upgraded from the basic at the dealer not the factory. They added the amp, 4 speakers on the tower, and an ipod play and drive. I hope i didn't pay the stereo shop money for nothing. By the way, what is clipping?

I have a dual battery system and I have not replaced any batteries.

[chpthril]

I don't want to sound like i don't know, but I really don't know. This is not may area of expertise. The stereo was upgraded from the basic at the dealer not the factory. They added the amp, 4 speakers on the tower, and an ipod play and drive. I hope i didn't pay the stereo shop money for nothing. By the way, what is clipping?

I have a dual battery system and I have not replaced any batteries.

Ok, so it was the 700.5, running the main cabin speakers and sub, that was the suspect amp, right? How many cabin speakers do you have, 4 or 6? And this was the factory install and the tower speakers and tower amp is what the dealer upgraded for you at time of purchase? Just trying to get a handle on what all you have in the boat so we can make sure it's done right.

[ahicken]

The reciept from the dealer indicates that they installed the Kicker 700.5Amp. 4 Monster Tower Speakers, I-pod interface, Kicker KM10 Subwoofer. Total cabin speakers just two in the front and two in the back.

[chpthril]

The reciept from the dealer indicates that they installed the Kicker 700.5Amp. 4 Monster Tower Speakers, I-pod interface, Kicker KM10 Subwoofer. Total cabin speakers just two in the front and two in the back.

Oh, so one amp then power the whole system?

[ahicken]

Thats right

[chpthril]

Gotcha! Well, with what you got, there could only be 1 correct ways to configure the system - 2 bow speakers on 1 chnl, 2 main cabins on a 2nd chnl, 2 towers on a 3rd chnl, and the last 2 towers on the 4th chnl. Out of this, there are 2 ways to wire it - 2 speakers wired in parallel (speaker + to + and - to -) on each amp chnl would result in a 2ohm load on each each amp chnl. Or, 2 speakers wired in series (+ of one speaker to + of amp, that speaker's - to the + of the 2nd speaker and that speaker's - to - of amp) on each amp chnl would result in an 8ohm load. Neither way is wrong, but one way will yield the best results. The amp's output is a result of the load, in Ohms, that is placed on each chnl. That amp's rated watts output is stated in 2 ohm watts rms and 4 ohm watts output. This means that it is perfectly acceptable to have a 2 ohm load placed on each amp channel. In other words, it ok to have 2 speakers wired in parallel on a single chnl. Now, this does cause the amp to work harder then it would with a 4ohm load (as in a single speaker), but the amp is designed for it and will run all day this way, providing everything is setup correctly.

I'm only speculating that the stereo shop is inferring that they rewired the setup from 2ohm (parallel) to 8ohm (series) as this is the only way to "decrease" load so the amp doesnt "work as hard". Not that there is anything wrong with having an 8ohm load on an amp. Keep in mind that the load determines the amp's output, so the less load that is placed on a chnl, the less power the amps puts out. This is compounded by the fact that you have 2 speakers on each chnl, so they will split whet ever power is supplied. I dont know what the estimated power output is on that amp when wired in series at 0ohms, but the 2 ohm output is 85 watts I think, which is then split for a net of 42.5 watts per speaker. If wired in series, your speakers are getting far less then that. Need to get Phil back in here and get the expert's opinion.

Get a 2nd amp just for the 4 tower speakers, you will be AMAZED at the difference in performance. Take a peak at the mx350.4.

[philwsailz]

Wow.

I have to say that by the specs, the amp is supposed to be able to run that way, but that is a LOT OF SPEAKERS for a single amplifier. While electrically stable at the outputs, the total load is causing a tremendous current draw and that is showing up as heat in the amp. You have the EIDB system, so your charging is down by .7 volts to begin with as a result of the isolator, and since the amp has an un-regulated power supply, at lower voltages the amp pulls even more curent. It will get hotter and hotter as the battery goes lower and lower....

Wiring the system to 8-ohms will help, as it basically takes the current draw and cuts it by about 50%. Mathematically it looks like it would cut it at a rate of 75%, but from experience, that amp does not lose its power output into 8-ohms as much as the math suggests; it sitll will hump it pretty good into 8-ohms for the full range amp channels.

Chpthril is right though.. You REALLY should consider using an additional amplifier for the tower speakers. If you went with the MX350.4 as he suggests, you could have each speaker on its very own amplifier channel. the 700.5's and the 350.4's will deliver about 65-70 watts into each 4-ohm load. That is certainly a very common power output that will work well with most coaxial speakers.

What brand drivers are in the Monster Tower cans, and what brand are your in-boat speakers? Let me know and I can see if I can guide you further. glad to know your amp is okay though!!!!

Keep us posted, and consider the very real option of doing some amplifier shopping!

Phil
Kicker

[ahicken]

Wow.

I have to say that by the specs, the amp is supposed to be able to run that way, but that is a LOT OF SPEAKERS for a single amplifier. While electrically stable at the outputs, the total load is causing a tremendous current draw and that is showing up as heat in the amp. You have the EIDB system, so your charging is down by .7 volts to begin with as a result of the isolator, and since the amp has an un-regulated power supply, at lower voltages the amp pulls even more curent. It will get hotter and hotter as the battery goes lower and lower....

Wiring the system to 8-ohms will help, as it basically takes the current draw and cuts it by about 50%. Mathematically it looks like it would cut it at a rate of 75%, but from experience, that amp does not lose its power output into 8-ohms as much as the math suggests; it sitll will hump it pretty good into 8-ohms for the full range amp channels.

Chpthril is right though.. You REALLY should consider using an additional amplifier for the tower speakers. If you went with the MX350.4 as he suggests, you could have each speaker on its very own amplifier channel. the 700.5's and the 350.4's will deliver about 65-70 watts into each 4-ohm load. That is certainly a very common power output that will work well with most coaxial speakers.

What brand drivers are in the Monster Tower cans, and what brand are your in-boat speakers? Let me know and I can see if I can guide you further. glad to know your amp is okay though!!!!

Keep us posted, and consider the very real option of doing some amplifier shopping!

Phil
Kicker

I assume the driver brand is Kicker as that is what the speaker covers say. Is there some other way to tell. By the way, went to the lake this morning and the stereo worked very nicely and sounded very good. I will look into another amp and let you know. I appreciate all the help. You are all great.

Thanks, Alan