Need Help - Fuses Blowing!!
 

Hey All,



I'm wondering if anyone can help me out with an issue im having. I have three amps powering 6 wetsound in boats, a XXX sub and two 485 tower speakers. The amp powering the 485's keeps blowing all three fuses. The other two amps are working fine. I also smell a slight burning smell. Everything worked fine when I winterized the boat last year. Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks

Ryan,
When you write "all three fuses" I assume the tower amplifier has three 25 amp fuses for example.
Most amplifiers have internal circuitry to protect the amplifier from being damaged by low or over voltage, a damaged speaker, or a shorted speaker wire. This protection circuitry normally engages long before the fuses would blow. The actual music demands typically do not approach the amplifier fusing. When the fuses blow that usually means something serious within the amplifier is in need of repair. When the amplifier is bad it may blow the fuses without speakers being connected. If you smell the burnt electronic odor coming from the amplifier then that's pretty conclusive. Your amplifier needs repair. If you sense the same odor from the speakers then damage has probably began there also. Don't repair the amplifier without thoroughly checking the speakers too. Problems are often related. At minimum, check the DCR of both speakers to make sure they are consistent between the pair and meet factory spec. A 4-ohm speaker will generally have a DCR between 3.5 and 4-ohms.
Damage can be accumulative (such as thermal) or sudden (water for example) so you really can't narrow it down to a time or event.

David
Earmark Marine