SAZ-1500D fudging up

[Blazinloud 0]

Hey guys, I'm new here.....thought I would come ask the experts.

Well I recently purchased a barely used 1500D.

Previously I ran an mrd-m501 for about 2 years to 2 12" R's, then I swapped it out for the saz, running it at 2 ohms. alls I did was swap the wires.

the 1500D worked flawlessly for about 2 weeks, then all of a sudden today it got protection happy.

my electrical is stock 105amp alt. stock batt. with 4 gauge wiring.

It was fairly hot today, +35*C......so when it kicked into protection the 1st time I pulled over, checked the connections, turned it back on and it worked. the 2nd time it kicked into protect it wouldnt go back on

I turned everything off except the a/c to try and cool it for a good 15 minutes.......still, as soon as I turned it on it would go <protect/power/protect> very quickly and stay in protect.

I noticed that one of the rca connectors is somewhat loose.....like it turns a little.....could this be it?

Like running at 2 ohms should be no problem for this amp, even on stock electrical, right?

the amp was running pretty hot......but not so hot i couldnt hold my hand on it......

sorry bout the rant....but im a little dissapointed considering I just bought 2 new subs to drop it to 1 ohm.......and now im ampless 2 weeks after i bought it.

any help?

[sundownz 197]

Indeed, 2 ohms is an extremely easy load for the amp. 4 gauge wire is a tad small, but still shouldn't cause a problem unless you were clipping the amplifier badly. I'll put it this way... nobody has ever damaged one at 2 ohm in the past.

I'm not sure what you mean about the connector being "somewhat loose" -- do you mean you can easily move it around? Or just that if you try you can rotate it a bit? If it is the latter that isn't a big deal.

Where is it mounted? To the sub box? That can cause issues if so.

What kind of fuse do you have? And what size?

Check the remote lead voltage? Is that okay?

One thing to check... which I have seen once before -- take off the bottom panel and see if it runs fine. If it does, put some duct tape on the bottom panel above the transformers. The other time I saw something like this the transformers were barely touching the bottom plate and would act like you are describing.

PS: Who did you get the amplifier from?

[Blazinloud 0]

Indeed, 2 ohms is an extremely easy load for the amp. 4 gauge wire is a tad small, but still shouldn't cause a problem unless you were clipping the amplifier badly. I'll put it this way... nobody has ever damaged one at 2 ohm in the past.

I'm not sure what you mean about the connector being "somewhat loose" -- do you mean you can easily move it around? Or just that if you try you can rotate it a bit? If it is the latter that isn't a big deal.

Where is it mounted? To the sub box? That can cause issues if so.

What kind of fuse do you have? And what size?

Check the remote lead voltage? Is that okay?

One thing to check... which I have seen once before -- take off the bottom panel and see if it runs fine. If it does, put some duct tape on the bottom panel above the transformers. The other time I saw something like this the transformers were barely touching the bottom plate and would act like you are describing.

PS: Who did you get the amplifier from?

about the connector......when i stick the rca plug in i tend to twist it to slide in easier , while im twisting, the female connector on the amp also turns a bit.

yes, currently its bolted to the back of the box.......this is in a blazer and I had the back seat folded down so it had great ventilation.

thats a good question on the fuse, im not too sure....I never changed it when i swapped the amps......but the amp is still getting power.....so its not blown.

Ok, im not to technically smart with amps......but if its not working tonight....I will open her up and visually check.

I got the amp from Rob E

is it possible for me to send it to you if all fails to work?

I've been reading thru this forum for a good month, and the customer service is outstanding......I'd love to be a sundown enthusiast for life!

thanks sundownz

[sundownz 197]

Doesn't sound like the connector is an issue, if it has been twisted a few time sit could be slightly loose -- which is no big deal as long as it stays on the amp.

Ventilation isn't the main concern for box mounting, extensive vibration that can shake stuff loose inside the amp is

If the fuse is a "glass cylinder" AGU style... change it. They can drop voltage, even if the amp has some power if the voltage is way too low it'll go into protection. Fuses can "go bad" without blowing and cause problems. Even other fuse types CAN do this, but AGU are the worst for doing so.

You don't have to know anything about the amp to test for the transformer shorting. Simply try it without the bottom cover on, if that solves it apply 2-3 layers of duct tape to the inside of the bottom panel directly above the transformers.

And yes, if you can't figure it out you can send it to me. The amps from Rob are still under warranty.

[Blazinloud 0]

right on man, thats great!

Rob was a great guy to do business with.

I will give that a try tonight, thanks alot!

What size fuse should i use?

Will I have problems running at 1 ohm with 105amp alt

I dont think my voltage is dropping that badly.......unless im just idleing......

[sundownz 197]

right on man, thats great!

Rob was a great guy to do business with.

I will give that a try tonight, thanks alot!

What size fuse should i use?

Will I have problems running at 1 ohm with 105amp alt

I dont think my voltage is dropping that badly.......unless im just idleing......

Since you only have 4 gauge wire I wouldn't go higher than a 100 amp fuse. You really need 1/0 wire, at which point you would use a 150 amp fuse.

You can run the 1500D @ 1 ohm with a 105 amp alternator, sure, but how well depends on how you treat the volume knob. The 1500D can draw over 160 amps at full output, this WILL drop your voltage to battery level or less. So, if you are calling for the amplifier to produce it's full output on a consistent basis, then no, it won't work very well for you.

If you can't upgrade the alternator now... at least get the biggest starter battery that you can cram under the hood. I fit one almost twice as bit as stock under the hood in my Civic!

[Blazinloud 0]

thanks for the info!

will it benefit me to run dual batteries and a stock alt......or will I still have horrible voltage drops........I have a chance to get a used kinetic hc800 for $125 shipped.......or I'll just get an optima or similar.

I'm gonna go out and see if i can find a bigger fuse also........I will let you know how this works out for me......

thanks for all the help.....thought I was in a big pickle untill i registerd here lol

but the amp did perform quiet nicely when it did work......its only tuned by ear for now......

[Blazinloud 0]

ok, actually it was a 60amp agu fuse.......is this my main problem?

I tried 7! different places and the biggest agu fuse I could find was an 80amp....grrr I didnt buy it tho

also I blew my 60amp fuse tonight do they even make 100amp agu's?

I opend the amp tonight to take a peek, and everything seems hunky dory.......I will try either an 80amp or 100 if i can find it and the red green style duct tape. tomo

does running a small fuse contribute to an amp heating up faster orrrr............

if this dosent work.....then I'm stumped.........ground is good......or at least was good enough for the alpine for 2 years.......

ugghh......im bassless, how sad.....

any idea how much warranty i still have? I plan on running this amp for quite a while.

also when my warranty does run out......am I still able to send it to you if need be?

[johnecon2001 82]

The biggest AGU fuse you can get is 80 amps.

Upgrade to an ANL fuse and fuse holder.

[sundownz 197]

Indeed, AGU fuses only go up to 80 amps. It is likely that your old fuse is damaged, so go ahead and replace it until you can upgrade to an ANL fuse. This could very well be your only problem. Try that and let me know. And yes, that little AGU fuse can be dropping voltage -- which will make the amp get hot, and if voltage gets low enough will cause it to hit protection like you described.

If that doesn't work then you can send it to me.

Send me an e-mail to [email protected] and I will look up how much warranty you have left tomorrow... well, I guess later today since it is past 1 AM

[Silverbane 0]

right on man, thats great!

Rob was a great guy to do business with.

I will give that a try tonight, thanks alot!

What size fuse should i use?

Will I have problems running at 1 ohm with 105amp alt

I dont think my voltage is dropping that badly.......unless im just idleing......

Since you only have 4 gauge wire I wouldn't go higher than a 100 amp fuse. You really need 1/0 wire, at which point you would use a 150 amp fuse.

You can run the 1500D @ 1 ohm with a 105 amp alternator, sure, but how well depends on how you treat the volume knob. The 1500D can draw over 160 amps at full output, this WILL drop your voltage to battery level or less. So, if you are calling for the amplifier to produce it's full output on a consistent basis, then no, it won't work very well for you.

If you can't upgrade the alternator now... at least get the biggest starter battery that you can cram under the hood. I fit one almost twice as bit as stock under the hood in my Civic!

As a reference, I have a 105 Amp alt, red top under hood and big 3 and the 1500D at 1 ohm is just fine. Dims the lights if I pound it hard, but no real issues.

[Blazinloud 0]

sweet, im gonna try an 80 amp today......hopefully it works for me........but sundownz......about the duct tape....wont it melt?

silverbane.....have you tried 0.5ohm on that setup?

thanks guys......I will let you know how it goes later today

[sundownz 197]

sweet, im gonna try an 80 amp today......hopefully it works for me........but sundownz......about the duct tape....wont it melt?

silverbane.....have you tried 0.5ohm on that setup?

thanks guys......I will let you know how it goes later today

I haven't had a problem with the tape, I used it on one other unit probably 6 months ago and haven't heard anything back since I did use high-temp duct tape 3 layers thick, though, so this could be a factor. The bottom panel doesn't get nearly as hot as the rest of the heatsink and the contact with the transformer is minimal as well.

1/2 ohm is a no-no with a limited electrical setup. You can draw over 220 amps at full blast at 1/2 ohm.

[Blazinloud 0]

I got 5 "gold plated" 80 amp fuses.

disconnected the subs, put the fuse in and as soon as I turned on the deck, it blew. did that twice......-2 fuses.

next I took the bottom cover off, tried that......to rule out the transformer issue.......still blew....

So anywho I hooked up the alpine and voila, great sounding bass.

which leads me to belive its the amp. I will email u, sundownz, tonight.

_____________________________

[sundownz 197]

Indeed, looks like you narrowed it down. Send the amp in to me. If you have the manual the address is on the inside of the front cover.

[TRZ 0]

I got 5 "gold plated" 80 amp fuses.

disconnected the subs, put the fuse in and as soon as I turned on the deck, it blew. did that twice......-2 fuses.

next I took the bottom cover off, tried that......to rule out the transformer issue.......still blew....

So anywho I hooked up the alpine and voila, great sounding bass.

which leads me to belive its the amp. I will email u, sundownz, tonight.

_____________________________

X Scorpion makes 100A AGU style fuses .I stock them, find a dealer that has X Scorpion and you should be able to get them.

Edited August 6, 2007 by TRZ

[ANeonRider 3]

Putting in a bigger fuse... great idea!

[audio-neon 34]

All I have to say is that the amp should have no problem with your electrical system. I am probably the most abusive to my saz-1500d's. I am running 2 strapped a @ 1 ohm (.5 per amp) off of an 80 amp alt and a factory battery, daily. If I didn't get scammed on my battery I would be doing better, but we all know how scamming goes. If I wasn't selling the car in september to a fellow competitor than a Kinetik 2400 would be going in followed by a 200 ampere dominic irragi alt. The next car will be a little better once I get around to doing audio in it, as it will be using a large body gm alternator which are everywhere.

[Blazinloud 0]

Well the amp worked fine for almost 3 weeks with the 60 amp fuse.......and now it blew 3 80 amps.

It has to be the amp.......which I will be sending out either today or tomo. hopefully sundownz can find my problem........Just got 2 new 12's and im really anxious to drop her to 1 ohm.

with 1/0 and an ANL fuse of course.

[Blazinloud 0]

Sorry for the delay sundownz but im heading out now to send in the amp. UPS ground I guess, I'm poor

I hope you dont need the remote knob, I didnt pack it up.

I've been giving the amp evil looks for like 2 weeks now lol

If you need to contact me my email is [email protected]

hope it goes well!

[Blazinloud 0]

Sundownz did you get my email?

[sundownz 197]

If I have not responded to it then not likely.

[Blazinloud 0]

oh, well the amp is in the mail, should be there by the end of the week

my email is a couple posts back.

[sundownz 197]

Alrighty, I will check it out as soon as it gets here.

[Blazinloud 0]

thank you!