mtx mxa8001 problem

[BEEFKING9]

hi guys i have an mtx mxa8001 amp and ive had it for 2- years and every time i hook the power up it just sparks like im touching the pos and neg together i took it apart and it seems to be fine inside i didnt notice anything burnt if some one could help that would be awsome

[Perry Babin]

If you've removed any of the clamps from the transistors, replace then and tighten the screws.

Remove the fuse from the distribution block (or at the battery, if you don't have a distribution block).

Remove the 3 30 amp fuses and install one 15-20 amp fuse.

Make the power connections and replace the fuse in the distribution block.

If the single fuse in the amp holds, turn on the head unit (or otherwise apply 12v to the remote terminal). If the amp powers up and the fuse doesn't blow, the amplifier is probably OK.

If the fuse blows, disconnect the RCA cables and the speaker wires from the terminal block on the amp. If it still blows the fuse, the amp is probably damaged.

If it only blows the fuse when the RCAs are plugged in, the RCA shield on the RCA jacks may be broken. If it only blows the fuse when the speakers are connected (volume set to minimum), check the speaker wiring.

It's normal for it to spark once or twice when you're reconnecting power but after making contact a few times, it should no longer spark.

When connecting the amp, it's good practice to remove the fuse from the fuse block feeding the amplifier. That will prevent damaging the amp if the power wire contacts something it shouldn't.

[BEEFKING9]

thx will try and let u know what happeneds

[BEEFKING9]

ok it blew the 15 amp fuse when i hooked the remote power to the battery

[Perry Babin]

With your multimeter set to ohms and no power applied to the amp, measure the resistance between the legs of the individual output transistors (large 3-legged devices clamped to the heatsink). If you read anything near 0 ohms between any of the legs of any individual transistor, it's likely defective.

If none read near 0 ohms, try a single 20 amp fuse. The older MTX amps drew a lot of current turning on but I don't remember them blowing 15 amp fuses. If the amp blows a 20 amp fuse, it almost certainly has a problem.

[BEEFKING9]

ok 20 amp pops as soon as i hook up the remote and the output transistors seem to be fine

[Perry Babin]

Remove power from the amplifier and measure the resistance from the center leg of each of the heatsink mounted devices to the heatsink. Do any read near 0 ohms?

[BEEFKING9]

one of the small ones reads 0 the rest steadly rise and a couple small ones start at minus somthing and go to 0 then start rising

[Perry Babin]

With no power applied...

Unclamp the one that shows 0 ohms and lift it off of the sink. Does it still read 0 ohms from the center leg to the heatsink? If so, what are the numbers on it?

[BEEFKING9]

ok gotta get a star driver but its red to center leg black to heatsink?