Melting Speaker Terminals - Fi SSD

[bugotti420 0]

I'm just curious, what in the heck is the cause of my Fi SSD 15" terminals on basket to melt? I've think It's killed my amp - A kicker ZX1000.1 with little warning. I had everything wired correctly and it's been bumping flawlessly for several months when last week I noticed my amp was off. I started looking over all my wiring starting from the hood, to the amp, to the sub. When I pulled my sub out I noticed on one side of the coil the positive and negative, well rather the positive melted towards the negitive post and caused a short. Im just curious as to what caused this? I'm still running a stock alt in the car and I know the kicker amp drawed alot of power to where my battery under the hood is starting to swell up, lol, so I know low voltage is a big part of all my problems but would low voltage make it melt like that? I'm running all 1/0 wire, big 3, and I noticed under the hood from battery post to fuse post the wire was crispy, and basically burnt out, and rest of wire was fine untill I pulled the 1/0 out of the amp, it was kind of crispy there too but not so bad. I've been knowing this voltage drop is gonna be a bad outcome, and now I see. Think I have to forfeit car audio untill I can gather the cash to get my electrical done right. Money is too big an issue now. Anyone got any feedback on this KOB build? lmfao

[Julian 641]

too much power.

[bugotti420 0]

Too much power, hmmm. the amp is rated 1000wrms, birth certificate said 1240wrms, accounting the voltage drop I figured it was about right at 1000wrms. Sub has got all options, and rated at 1000wrms, and sounds like it needs more powaah. I am running the sub with 8 guage wire though. IDK... I'll take that into consideration lol thanks

[16K 159]

did u have it wired to 1 or 2 ohms ?? im pretty sure that amp is only 2 ohm stable

[bugotti420 0]

You are correct. 2 0hm stable, and it was wired down to 2ohms. sub is dual 1. Also amp gains were set via my SMD DD-1

Edited April 4, 2012 by Bugotti

[audioarsonal 15]

He is possible situations that would cause that to happen. 1) you were clipping the signal. 2) loose connection. 3) frayed wires touching.

Those are generally what will cause enough heat to melt plastic. What size speaker wire are you using?

[bugotti420 0]

He is possible situations that would cause that to happen. 1) you were clipping the signal. 2) loose connection. 3) frayed wires touching.

Those are generally what will cause enough heat to melt plastic. What size speaker wire are you using?

As stated before, in my first post, I had checked all my wiring and connections after the fact, in which everything was tight(<--Dont think i included that part lol), but looked a little burnt. I have a SMD DD-1, found clipping level of headunit, then set amp gains with the SMD DD-1 to match headunit. No wires were anywhere touching anything that they shouldn't of been touching lol, they weren't naughty So 1-3 I don't think was the case,

On to speaker wire size: I used 8guage speakerwire. Think it might of been Rockford fosgate, don't quote me on it as it was just given to me. But non the less, 8guage speaker wiring.

Thx:)

[cx-7heaven 7]

A few things for you.

1) Your batt isn't swelling because of your amp. It's because it is old.

2) Your wiring is messed up because of a bad grounding job. When your grounds are not perfectly solid, your wires will get very hot due to microarcing at the point of the bad connections.

3) Unless your alternator only puts out around 50-70 amps total, then voltage drop is not your issue. These low output alts are only found in much older vehicles, before electronic fuel injection. Think early 80's and older.

4) You do not need 8 guage on your sub. I have personally run 10 guage speaker wire on a 6KW system, and never had issues.

Your zx1000.1 is just not enough amp to cause your issues except for maybe the speaker terminal itself. All the other problems you have are due to poor maintenance and poor install. I have a 1200watt rms Orion, and two Sundown 125.2's each bridged at 4 ohms all running off my stock electrical and only 2 of the big 3 are done, and I don't have any of the problems you have, and I draw WAY more current than you do. I only have a 130 amp stock alt in my truck, which, at most is only 20 amps more than what most any other car has. One possible reason that your speaker terms are melting is because your poor wiring/ install is causing the amp to draw less voltage than it normally would. The amp knows this and has to make up for it somehow, so it draws more current, possibly passing this through to your sub. Another scenario is that the speakerterms are undersized from the factory. I have never seen the SSD terms, so I can't speak to that. I have owned FI product before, it was very high quality, so I wouldn't think that they would forget that small step.

Replace your battery ASAP, that's the first step. Then reground everything. If you don't know how, find someone that does.

[bugotti420 0]

A few things for you.

1) Your batt isn't swelling because of your amp. It's because it is old.

Replace your battery ASAP, that's the first step. Then reground everything. If you don't know how, find someone that does.

When I first got this car, the battery was fine, unswolled. Shortly after installing this system it swol up, looking like it was about to blow up. I replaced it, shortly after it did the same thing. I've never had this prob in my oldschool oldsmobille 91. I think it's alt was a 120amp. I can't find information to see how many amperage my stock alt is in this newer car but I think it's much lower than the oldschool. it's a 06' Saturn Vue Redline. Alternator is in bad spot cant just open hood and read information printed on it.

The ground really is indeed solid, (I Thought, here's how it's done): it's down to the frame of the body which there wasn't much of, paint scratched and grinded off; clean surface. The only thing not solid about it, is it wasn't soldered. just clamped on end of wire and screwed into frame with a washer and self tapping screw. Very tight, will not move per hand movement.

I do realize I am going to have to re-do everything, even big 3 after seeing the wires in this condition and that something is absolutely up with this install. Lets just say that my alt does only put out about 50-70 amps total, what would that do? I know it's terrible versus my oldsmobile back in the day, same amp and all. With that previous setup my voltage would never drop more than 13.5, in this new setup it can drop as low as 12.4 but averaging around 12.9 and 13.0. I can't help but feel it's a voltage issue, I never had it in my previous setup. same amp, same output but had different subs. so technically same thing? The fact that a brand new battery can swell up after a month of abuse. My dash lights would nearly dim all the way down to where they were almost off lol. HID bulbs so cant tell through headlights

Thanks

Edit*Note that these are only wal mart batteries I speak of. No since and getting a good battery if this is the result.*edit*

Edited April 4, 2012 by Bugotti

[cx-7heaven 7]

After looking at FI's website, it appears that they use push terminals on the SSD line. Push terminals are way too large to melt unless there is a serious problem with the amp. Those terminals can easily handle 2+kw. If I'm not mistaken they are the same on every sub up the line, and some of those are getting 3+kw daily.

[bugotti420 0]

Yes they are push terms. Look durable.

I'll get it right one of these days lhl

[cx-7heaven 7]

If you battery keeps swelling, there is a problem with your starting/charging system or you happened to get two bad ones in a row. Fact of the matter is that you just dont have a large enough amplifier to cause these issues.

Generally, the newer the car, the larger the stock alt is. This is due to more and more electronics in the newer cars. If your old Olds(always enjoy saying that) had a 120 amp in it, that is not stock, unless it is some kind of upgraded alt. Maybe it had all the electronic bells and whisltes, I just don't know.

I don't have any of my grounds soldered either, self tapping bolts with heavy commercial oring crimp terms.

If your alt is only putting out 50-70 amps, then that could be the cause of your problems, at least all the underhood ones. There is no way that the stock alt will be that small though, simply due to the fact that your accesories pull more than that, and that doesnt take your fuel injection and engine management into account. A drop to 12.4, while that seems to be a lot, really isn't. That's barely into the batt by itself. Try dropping to <11 volts, that is what kills amps and fries wires.

Maybe you have a bad alt? More aften than not, when your batt goes bad, it takes your alt with it, and vice versa. Look at this as an opportunity to get a better alternator. You don't need a huge one, Probably 130-150 amp wil be just fine.

[cx-7heaven 7]

Also, try grounding to your rear seatbelt bolt next time. I have found that to work very well whenever I did it. Seems to work much better than a frame ground on those unibody cars, don't ask me why. Eliminated many an engine noise issue by doing that.

[bugotti420 0]

Also, try grounding to your rear seatbelt bolt next time. I have found that to work very well whenever I did it. Seems to work much better than a frame ground on those unibody cars, don't ask me why. Eliminated many an engine noise issue by doing that.

Thanks for your input bro, I will look at this as an opportunity to get a better alt. That's where most of the wire burning is taking place. In between battery positive post to the fuse block I've taken it out the terminal and the wires just fall off as I pull on it thats how crispy burnt they were, from other side of fuse block to amp just a little bit toasty, put off a little dust in the air when rubbed. not TOO serious. I'm going to try and get a nice alternator though if I replace it. I want it to be up to par for a future build if moneyflow ever allows me to, lol. Something that might allow about 5000 watts . But that is where most of my problems originated, under the hood. the alternator charge wire to the battery etc... <--- I would have to maintain these wires under the hood, replace battery to fuse block wire quite often to keep the amp running due to not enough voltage reaching it I assumed....

Thanks man:D

Edited April 4, 2012 by Bugotti

[tprj82 4]

Also, try grounding to your rear seatbelt bolt next time. I have found that to work very well whenever I did it. Seems to work much better than a frame ground on those unibody cars, don't ask me why. Eliminated many an engine noise issue by doing that.

Thanks for your input bro, I will look at this as an opportunity to get a better alt. That's where most of the wire burning is taking place. In between battery positive post to the fuse block I've taken it out the terminal and the wires just fall off as I pull on it thats how crispy burnt they were, from other side of fuse block to amp just a little bit toasty, put off a little dust in the air when rubbed. not TOO serious. I'm going to try and get a nice alternator though if I replace it. I want it to be up to par for a future build if moneyflow ever allows me to, lol. Something that might allow about 5000 watts . But that is where most of my problems originated, under the hood. the alternator charge wire to the battery etc... <--- I would have to maintain these wires under the hood, replace battery to fuse block wire quite often to keep the amp running due to not enough voltage reaching it I assumed....

Thanks man:D

on a unrelated note man you live out in nowheresville, i was like wtf is franklin, you dont ever come down to the houston area for shows do ya?

[jonbearsmt 919]

check your grounds.. not sure if that has been stated yet... but that can be an issue

[cx-7heaven 7]

No problem partner, good luck. Just as an FYI, if you get an alty that will be able to handle 5kw+(I'ma guess 300 amp here) be prepared to:

1) lose some fuel mileage. It makes the engine work much harder, the more you load that alt, the harder it will be to turn.

2) You'll have to buy a much better serpentine belt. The stocker will squeal like a pig. Listen to the recommendation from whoever supplies your alty. Some will try to sell you one, to make it easy, just buy that one. If not, or if you want to save money, shop at the autoparts stores for a good one. I think that there is one called a Gatorback by Goodyear maybe? I've always liked that one.

Unless you absolutely know for a fact that you will be putting a 5kw+ system in that saturn, I wouldn't spend money on the largest alt possible. Get one that will support what you know for a fact that you can afford within say the next 2 years. It takes a lot more than a HO alt and some amps to properly build and support a 5 kw system. There will be a lot of money to spend on things you never thought of. If you think you have money issues now, wait till you have to build a 5+kw system, especially in a small car like that.

Edited April 5, 2012 by cx-7heaven

[bugotti420 0]

on a unrelated note man you live out in nowheresville, i was like wtf is franklin, you dont ever come down to the houston area for shows do ya?

Yeah, lmao I know. Not too far north of Bryan/College Station ... Honestly I never hear of any shows down in the Houston area or I most def would probably be around them! I got a brother that stays in Cypress I occasionally go down there to visit. Would love to appear to one of those shows

[bugotti420 0]

No problem partner, good luck. Just as an FYI, if you get an alty that will be able to handle 5kw+(I'ma guess 300 amp here) be prepared to:

1) lose some fuel mileage. It makes the engine work much harder, the more you load that alt, the harder it will be to turn.

2) You'll have to buy a much better serpentine belt. The stocker will squeal like a pig. Listen to the recommendation from whoever supplies your alty. Some will try to sell you one, to make it easy, just buy that one. If not, or if you want to save money, shop at the autoparts stores for a good one. I think that there is one called a Gatorback by Goodyear maybe? I've always liked that one.

Unless you absolutely know for a fact that you will be putting a 5kw+ system in that saturn, I wouldn't spend money on the largest alt possible. Get one that will support what you know for a fact that you can afford within say the next 2 years. It takes a lot more than a HO alt and some amps to properly build and support a 5 kw system. There will be a lot of money to spend on things you never thought of. If you think you have money issues now, wait till you have to build a 5+kw system, especially in a small car like that.

Thanks for the info, yeah I still have plenty of time to think about what it is that I want to do. It probably wont end up being that much. Don't think I'd have enough room in the car to do anything that big unless I lost the backseat which I'm quite fond of. haha

Still time to plan ahead & things to think about! I just know it's time to do it right. Tired of the complications it ends up costing me more in the long run than if I did it right the first time lolol.

Edited April 5, 2012 by Bugotti

[cx-7heaven 7]

No problem partner, good luck. Just as an FYI, if you get an alty that will be able to handle 5kw+(I'ma guess 300 amp here) be prepared to:

1) lose some fuel mileage. It makes the engine work much harder, the more you load that alt, the harder it will be to turn.

2) You'll have to buy a much better serpentine belt. The stocker will squeal like a pig. Listen to the recommendation from whoever supplies your alty. Some will try to sell you one, to make it easy, just buy that one. If not, or if you want to save money, shop at the autoparts stores for a good one. I think that there is one called a Gatorback by Goodyear maybe? I've always liked that one.

Unless you absolutely know for a fact that you will be putting a 5kw+ system in that saturn, I wouldn't spend money on the largest alt possible. Get one that will support what you know for a fact that you can afford within say the next 2 years. It takes a lot more than a HO alt and some amps to properly build and support a 5 kw system. There will be a lot of money to spend on things you never thought of. If you think you have money issues now, wait till you have to build a 5+kw system, especially in a small car like that.

Tired of the complications it ends up costing me more in the long run than if I did it right the first time lolol.

These are the famous words that a lot, if not most people learn the hard way after thier first system lol.

[JohnHinerman 10]

Wires burning up with 1/0 Cable and that amp are not from too much current being drawn through them. *I don't think* wires burning like that sound more like a short to groud, on something grounding through that circuit. Check engine and body ground resistance. I would also check your ground resistance at your amp and see what it looks like on a DMM. Other than that, I think you need to just start eliminating parts untill you can trace it down? I don't think a lower output alternator would cause this issue.