car audio installation

[pwnag3!!]

Ok ive got all my components in for my trucks sound system.
Problem is.... I dont have anywhere to put my amps/capacitor.
Ive figured out a solution. Im going to put them on the lid of my truck box.
I dont know if it will get too hot in there so i fifugred i would buy some heavy dudty computer fans and make an exhaust port and a intake port to keep the air in there nice and cool.
Does anyone know how hot an amplifier can get before it shuts down?

 

[carshark]

Originally Posted by pwnag3!!
Ok ive got all my components in for my trucks sound system.
Problem is.... I dont have anywhere to put my amps/capacitor.
Ive figured out a solution. Im going to put them on the lid of my truck box.
I dont know if it will get too hot in there so i fifugred i would buy some heavy dudty computer fans and make an exhaust port and a intake port to keep the air in there nice and cool.
Does anyone know how hot an amplifier can get before it shuts down?
well an amp can get very very hot, however, if there is anyway way possible look into a power xtant amp, they are relatively reasonable anymore they have built in fans, have you looked into maybe installing them underneath your seats? i did that with my s-10 i had when i was younger. also the heat depends on how many watts you are pushing versus the capability of the amp, do you have crossovers, power caps, etc. what are you using to displace the power i guess is my question.

 

[pwnag3!!]

ok here is the entire system
1 audiobahn fan cooled a8000t it will be pushing 400w RMS
1 audiobahn fan cooled a4004t it will be pushing 300w RMS
2x 200w RMS 400 max Rockford punch stage 2
2x 90w RMS infinity reference component speakers with crossovers
2x 60w RMS infinity reference 2 way speakers
I have a 1 farad Audiobahn Digital Capacitor to keep the truck running without problems
I have looked into mounting the amps under the seats but the way the ford ranger is designed.... well there is not much room under there.
My last hope would be to take out the speaker mounts in the rear and fabricate them to look stock without speakers then install the regular two ways in the door... but i think the tool box idea would be much more innovative.
ive found that once i start driving my tool box doesnt stay too hot inside. i could always fabricate a vent to go from my cab where theair is cool to the inside of the toolbox... but that would be alot of work.

 

[carshark]

sounds like a nice system, is your truck extended cab or? you could mount it underneath where the jack sits...also id recommend upgrading your alternator with that much power, 110 minimum...135 would certainly handle the power. yes innovative, easy to theif or get damaged as well.

 

[pwnag3!!]

its regular cab. I have already taken out the jack housing and mounting plate to make room for my sub box.
but the problem im thinking of now is should i have one exhaust and one intake... or two exhuast....i live in texas and there would be no reason to pump in hot air just to suck it out.
The amps do have a temperature protection feature to shut them off whent they get too hot... maybe that will save me if it does ever get to hot.

 

[carshark]

Originally Posted by pwnag3!!
its regular cab. I have already taken out the jack housing and mounting plate to make room for my sub box.
but the problem im thinking of now is should i have one exhaust and one intake... or two exhuast....i live in texas and there would be no reason to pump in hot air just to suck it out.
The amps do have a temperature protection feature to shut them off whent they get too hot... maybe that will save me if it does ever get to hot.

yeah but it would sure suck in the middle of a great verse or at a soundoff!!! "pushing 135, 140, 142, 144, 147............................treble!" lol the reality of it overheating unless underpowered which looks like you arent is highly unlikely, and even with the temps in texas they arent near the temp of the actual amp...but maybe running it for 3 hours straight may do it, its all a matter of the power versus capability. i think on the market now is a relatively cheap, liquid cooled fan you could install on one end of the amp row...
but without installing them internally, you may run the risk of overheating installing them outside in the bed of your truck.. what about on the back of the seats? maybe make a drop cloth that fis right over top of them? or what if you bolt them to the bottom of the box and use the cargo room created from removing the jack compartments?

 

[darth tang]

They should fit under the seat. I have helped a friend do exactly that. Normally those amps would require four to five hours constant playing with the correct current before they overheat. Unless you are driving for that long with the volume all the way up, I don't see a problem with where you were thinking of mounting them. If it is hot out, the only thing your fan will do is blow hot air. Inless you keep them directly in the cab of the truck your amps will get hot in the summer heat, with or without a fan.

 

[pwnag3!!]

its just a small cab.. the amps are way to big to mount inside anywhere... we have already pulled the seats out to look and the fllorboards have a big hump where it would go.
i dont think heat while they are off is a bad thing since it gets jsut as hot if not hotter in my cab when not in use.

 

[darth tang]

What is the hump?

 

[pwnag3!!]

the way the floorboard underneath my seat is designed is flat then goes to a hump that just comes up next to the bottom of my seat. I thought about mounting them to the actual seat underneath but there is not enough clearance.

 

[darth tang]

How much ceiling clearance is your box. You could put it on stilts and mount the amps under the box. Seen that before also.

 

[hsanchez]

I had 2 digital amps mounted on an amp rack where the spare tire would go and covered it, then I put in a couple of computer fans to add on to the fans already built in to the amps, and had no problems. Although I am here in Chicago, the temps in the summer do reach about 100 degrees!
Just be sure to mount them horizontal, not vertical or upside down. I've been told this helps prevent over heating.

 

[pwnag3!!]

my spare tire goes underneath my truck... i dont think that would work to well.
Im probably just gonna unzip the bottom of my seat and shove a piece of ply wood up in there and install the amps that way.