amps over heating

my amps in my boat r over heating does anyone know how to help this

How are they mounted? Where are they located? What load are they pushing? What do you have the gains set at? What voltage are the amps seing?

A quick answer is to add fans.

What adam said, add fans on the amps. After my setup cut out years ago from heat and I added fans they have never cut out and any new amps always have fans added. You will need a relay to turn them on since your amp turnon output from your deck most likely wont handle the load.

Fans are a must. Also, if you have speakers paired up or if you have the gains turned way up you may want to invest in another amp to lessen the load on the ones you have now. You may also look into some spiral cell batteries such as Kinetics brand if you don't already have them.

I live in Houston, and had a decent sized system...5 amps in my old boat, I never needed fans. Our summers are easily 100 degrees plus with humidity close to 100%...my amps would get hot but never cut out. (had one cut out once) I think if you set the amps up correctly (provide adequate air flow/orientation of the amps) you won't have a problem. That's why I asked those questions. Sometimes adding fans may just be a band-aid.

I'll second that. Temps here reach 105 late August, and never need fans. Fans should be the last thing you consider after verifying proper settings and wiring.

As your battery power drops down, the voltage the amplifier sees also drops. To maintain the same wattage output the amps have to increase the current to compensate for the decrease in voltage. Current equals heat. Fans won't help.

1) Be sure you have adequate battery life.

You can also increase the load (impedance) on the amplifier sees. Go from 2 ohm to 4 ohm. Of course, you'll see a reduction in output wattage and will need more amplifiers. This works as amp will have a reduction in current, as said earlier current=heat. This will solve your cutting out problem, especially in low voltage situations.

2) increase load

3) play the music at a lower level.

I don't think fans are a bad idea, but I agree with some of the folks here, they're not good to solve this problem. I believe fans should be used after you have a correctly configured and self-sufficient system. Fans can be used to help dissipate heat away from the amp to increase it's longevity.

I have five amps in my boat as well. I have 2 JL 6450's 2 JL 300/2's and 1 500/1. Because of where they are mounted (under passanger seat area) and the amount of equiptment mounted there, fans are the only way to provide enough airflow to properly dissapate the heat from the amps. I have a consisitant 14 Volts or better and am running 3 spiral cell Kinetics. I personally believe that fans in boats, sometimes are the only way to push enough air across the amps to remove the heat.

Mike, in your situation I 100% agree.

Certain situations call for fans, some do not. Taking a hard line on either extreme is not well informed on systems where limited details are available.
I was glad to see one point made above regarding the relationship of Current and Volts. This is very key in order to get optimum performance from you amps while minmizing heat build up. Having said that, even the power wire size vs length are major factors.
I think I'd make sure that the power "To" the amps is done properly as a first step, i.e. battery capacity, power distribution etc.. Then insure that you are not overloading the amp by trying to run at an level not stable.
Lastly, if you have your gains set beyond some 25% you would be wise to bump the input line level to a higher voltage. You'll get way more bang for your buck here then trying to squeeze more out of your amp with a low input level.
After all that and you still have too much heat, FANS!

yea i go to brownwood which is right by abilene it does get to like 105 in the summer and what type of fans im running factory amps n they cut out then i put a kicker amp in there pushing a type r n it started cutting out cause its in a air tight compartment with no air flow

where do u get the fans

Chase I had the smae boat as you ( a few years older (2004 SSV), but same layout). 5 amps close to 3000 RMS. Like mentioned earlier I rarely had any overheating issues. Try re-routing the vent hose in that compartment to blow air in that area. You will still have adequate airflow to the engine doing this.

If you still need fans, stinger makes a very good fan. if not any brushless fan will work.

Sorry but I'll stick with my blanket statement. These are car audio amps that we run way harder then any car would...constant very high levels. If you are sitting still the amps get very hot. I dont care if they arent cutting out, what is the #1 killer of electronics- heat or too much heat. The cooler you get your gear to run the longer it will last. Unless you never sit for long periods and your amps arent in an enclosed area I say take the little extra time and put some small computer fans on the amps.
Maybe we need to do a poll on how many people still have the same amps in their boats from 5 years ago with and without fans.
My opinion is some people care more about what their system looks like then what it sounds like (or lack of sound).
Rock on
Duane are you telling me you can get the full potential or close to it out of an amp from a gain setting of 25%? I know you shouldnt run it to the wall but come on, unless you have a line level booster of some sort (even with 4 volt-not highest but others are lower deck)you may need to up around 6/10 -3/4. Output is relative to input, lower voltage in(no booster) calls for higher gain on amp.

Bob,
Yeah, you've got it with the input vs output. The point I'd make here is that starting with a low input requires more output from your amp to get to the same point that you can get to if you had a higher starting point and not demand as much from the amp.
Addiction ally, the more you rely on your gain for the power, the more distortion you introduce.
Assuming that the amp was sized properly for the speakers in the first place, increasing the gain should never be used a "Volume" control.
I certainly agree with your "run way harder" statement vs car applications, as well as the heat issue. The trick (or skill) is to get the most "Clean" output from your amp you can. You do get to a point (and it isn't very high on some amps) in which the gain not only amplifies the signal in (some cleaner than others) but of course will amplify the dirt in the input and then eventually start adding it's own dirt.
Adding a line driver/EQ if necessary is IMO an easy way to overcome this issue.
Will it solve all heat issues in a boat? No!