Having stereo probs

[HYB90RID]

Front speakers are running off an amp, When Im listening to music they all of a sudden just shut off and the light on the amp that sais over current comes on. Whats going on what do I need to do

[gofast]

do you have a fuse

[4sc]

check your connections and grounds... what amp is it?

[SHOmethemoney]

Either the speakers are too low of impedance for the amp (not likely), there's a problem with the amp, or the speakers leads are shorting out. I'd check the speakers out first. I've seen a few cases where the tinsel lead running from the voice coil to the terminals was shorting to the basket or to the other lead.

The amp is shutting down to protect itself.

[GSR01]

It may also be that draw on the amp is too much. Have you matched the power of your amp and speakers. If your speakers are 150 watts RMS and your amp only puting out 50 RMS this will cause your amp to over heat and shut down.

[SHOmethemoney]

Um, nice try. The amp will only put out as much power as it can. Powering a 150 watt speaker with a 50 watt amp isn't going to cause the amp to put out more than the 50 watts it can put out.

[GSR01]

No your wrong, the speaker pull or draw the power from the amp. If the speakers are drawing more power than the amp produces it will cause the amp to over heat and shut down. The amp does not push the power to the speakers, the speakers pull the power from the amp.

[gtiguy]

No your wrong, the speaker pull or draw the power from the amp. If the speakers are drawing more power than the amp produces it will cause the amp to over heat and shut down. The amp does not push the power to the speakers, the speakers pull the power from the amp.

hahahah... clueless!

If what you say is correct, why would amps have different power ratings? Would a 100W amp not do the exact same thing as a 200W amp?

[GSR01]

You guys should do some research. No a 100 watt does not do the same as a 200 watt amp. If you have a 200 watt speaker and only a 100 watt amp, then that speaker (at full load) is trying to draw more power from the amp than it can put out. (the speaker sucks the power from the amp, not the amp pushing power to the speaker) This causes the amp to over heat and shut down(overload). This is why you need to match the power ratings between the amp and speakers. It is a misconception (sp?) that you can over power speakers (they only use the power they need). If you under power them then you can blow or damage your speakers.

Class is finished (Stereo 101)

Anyway Check the conections to the amp and speakers. Power, ground and remote trigger. (+) and (-) to the speakers. Make sure wires are in good shape ( Not grounding out) and the fuse is the right amps for your car amp. You might want to check your stereo wiring harness if you used one, could be a short in it. Good luck

[SHOmethemoney]

You're hilarious.

The only way a speaker impacts an amp is by it's impedance. The lower the impedance the higher the current and thus the higher the power drawn. Aside from impedance the speaker has no impact and what the amplifier puts out. The amplifier is in control. The speaker is a passive device. It's just like a resistor except it moves.

Have you ever taken any basic electrical or electronics courses? If you have you'd probably learn about ohms law. Remember V=IR? Or reworked I=V/R. Basically the amp is putting out a voltage. The level is determined by the input and it varies along with the input. The current (I) is determined by the voltage divided by the resistance (or impedance). You can assume that the impedance doesn't change (not entirely true) so, for example, if the amp is putting out 40 volts into a 4 ohm speaker, it will be putting out 10 amps (40 divided by 4). Power is voltage times the current so the power output by the amp is 400 watts. Here the voltage (and current) are determining how much power is put out. The speaker has no way to the power output. A 4 ohm 4000 watt subwoofer will draw the same power as a 4 ohm 100 watt subwoofer.