GREETINGS Car Audio Forum, I posted this situation in the CLASS D section but thus far only an idiot responded in regards to my WRITING STYLE?...... My goodness.
WELL... I thought to post here too and see if anybody here in CAR AUDIO has some INTELLIGENT POSITIVE input. I bought a GORILLA 2400 watt Class D MOMO SUBWOOFER amp for 10 bucks, it had a blown POWER TRANSISTOR so I ordered another. Upon examination i discovered another POWER TRANSISTOR was REPLACED by someone else. SO.... THIS AMP is like brand new, spotless DUSTLESS.... I BELIEVE it was a WARRANTY repair right out of the BOX that FAILED YET AGAIN SO.... that customer got a BRAND NEW amp and this one got tossed in the PILE. I bought it on EBAY so I am unsure of its history except that it was obvious there was a replaced transistor and a blown/shorted one when it arrived here in Hawaii. I bought new transistor and did all the testing to see if this thing was losher and it WORKS.
Ran for 4 hours straight. ONLY ISSUE I notice now is the DRIVER BOARD, it appears to be running HOT.... not warm. Pretty hot. I notice several transistors in there that are HOTTER than the others, theres a group of 10 or so transistors on the board and they are grouped together BUT as I finger each I can feel some are MUCH hotter than some of the other transistors SO......
Perhaps the DRIVER BOARD is the main culprit. I ran the amp at idle 4 hours and its still operating fine. Just a HOT driver board situation. Here's my FEAR... Once INSTALLED in a CAR and RUN HARD I am gathering them driver transistors will get even HOTTER... Hmmmmmmmm........ Perhaps they are running FULL ON as they are designed to drive other transistors THUS they will run hot at IDLE as well as FULL OUTPUT without any difference.
The POWER TRANSISTORS thus far have NOT heated up at all. Need to run it harder I suppose. I did notice the TRANSFORMER was a bit warm but I believe thats normal.
OK..... Someone chime in with GOOD NEWS... Class D driver boards run HOT by design and I am NOT having a secondary ISSUE that will eventually lead to a THIRD transistor needing replacement as well as the DRIVER board.
I am very HAPPY that I managed to get this 10 dolla BEAST to come back to life. I would like to actually USE this amp though. SO it MUST be "fixed" properly and never blow under normal conditions as well as some extreme conditions, occasionally.
THANKS for any positive input here, i am a novice and this is my firat Class D amp foray.
MAHALO and ALOHA from Hawaii..... BDBD/2022
WELL... I thought to post here too and see if anybody here in CAR AUDIO has some INTELLIGENT POSITIVE input. I bought a GORILLA 2400 watt Class D MOMO SUBWOOFER amp for 10 bucks, it had a blown POWER TRANSISTOR so I ordered another. Upon examination i discovered another POWER TRANSISTOR was REPLACED by someone else. SO.... THIS AMP is like brand new, spotless DUSTLESS.... I BELIEVE it was a WARRANTY repair right out of the BOX that FAILED YET AGAIN SO.... that customer got a BRAND NEW amp and this one got tossed in the PILE. I bought it on EBAY so I am unsure of its history except that it was obvious there was a replaced transistor and a blown/shorted one when it arrived here in Hawaii. I bought new transistor and did all the testing to see if this thing was losher and it WORKS.
Ran for 4 hours straight. ONLY ISSUE I notice now is the DRIVER BOARD, it appears to be running HOT.... not warm. Pretty hot. I notice several transistors in there that are HOTTER than the others, theres a group of 10 or so transistors on the board and they are grouped together BUT as I finger each I can feel some are MUCH hotter than some of the other transistors SO......
Perhaps the DRIVER BOARD is the main culprit. I ran the amp at idle 4 hours and its still operating fine. Just a HOT driver board situation. Here's my FEAR... Once INSTALLED in a CAR and RUN HARD I am gathering them driver transistors will get even HOTTER... Hmmmmmmmm........ Perhaps they are running FULL ON as they are designed to drive other transistors THUS they will run hot at IDLE as well as FULL OUTPUT without any difference.
The POWER TRANSISTORS thus far have NOT heated up at all. Need to run it harder I suppose. I did notice the TRANSFORMER was a bit warm but I believe thats normal.
OK..... Someone chime in with GOOD NEWS... Class D driver boards run HOT by design and I am NOT having a secondary ISSUE that will eventually lead to a THIRD transistor needing replacement as well as the DRIVER board.
I am very HAPPY that I managed to get this 10 dolla BEAST to come back to life. I would like to actually USE this amp though. SO it MUST be "fixed" properly and never blow under normal conditions as well as some extreme conditions, occasionally.
THANKS for any positive input here, i am a novice and this is my firat Class D amp foray.
MAHALO and ALOHA from Hawaii..... BDBD/2022
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theres 20 transistors on the driver board, what a quagmire of possible issues. This amp is like brand new inside, no DUST... it was mounted likely under SEAT. The driver board gets beyond WARM on a few transistors, i notice uneven heat. I think it is a lingering issue as someone already changed a power transistor and soon thereafter I get the impression it blew yet another power transistor. On the SAME bank. Power transistors appear to be blowing on the same side x 2.... Hmmmmm..... I BET if I install this amp in my car it will run for a while then RE blow again. But I might just be worried about a inherent design aspect.... STILL LEARNING here.
Thank You Perry... from the Land of Aloha...
BDBD/2022
Thank You Perry... from the Land of Aloha...
BDBD/2022
These run hot, especially the lower-right group of transistors. I installed a small fan on some of them.
What's the circuit board designation for the transistor that was replaced?
What's the circuit board designation for the transistor that was replaced?
Q132 is the designation?.... and Q130 also blew but was replaced by someone else along the way. I hope thats what you are looking for. To clarify.
BDBD/2022
BDBD/2022
Yeah I was thinking FAN myself... But I am unsure as you know Perry, I am new to this so I an HYPERSENSITIVE at this point. Heat - problems in my mind but I get that these things can run hot by design. Planned Obsolescence... LOL... I need a small fan for this.... Hmmmmmmm BDBD/2022
I'd replace all of the FETs in that bank with FETs that have matching date codes.
I've also had problems with these amps with the 1N4148 diodes on the output gates cause problems. I'd replace those as well. Of course, check the gate resistors.
Email me.
babin_perry@yahoo.com
I've also had problems with these amps with the 1N4148 diodes on the output gates cause problems. I'd replace those as well. Of course, check the gate resistors.
Email me.
babin_perry@yahoo.com
ok.... oh boy.... more learning. I was maybe contemplating buying a replacement driver board.... Well I am into this amp for only 40 bucks parts and maybe a couple hours time... 4 FETS and some diodes... OK I will see ya in the email.
Thank You Perry.
BDBD/2022
Thank You Perry.
BDBD/2022
perhaps theres a better designed Driver Board that can be swapped in to upgrade that bad design hot runner there.... Hmmmmmm BDBD/2022
The earlier driver boards all had problems, even the ones with the larger transistors. There was one version (about 10 years old) that had extra drivers on the main board that didn't have driver board problems but it wasn't used in many amps.
OK... 10 year old driver board, well I suppose this amp is destined for the scrap heap based solely on bad design. I will fashion a HEAT SINK..... install a FAN.... and see how long it runs in my car. Self Destructing design.... Ugggggggggg i am in this amp for less than 50 bucks. Time to get my 50 bucks worth out of it. BDBD/2022
Well... I fashioned a Heat Sink that covers all them transistors. I also installed 2 very small fans, one on the transistor side and the other on the board side. Dont notice any fan sound in the car. I drilled some holes to vent the amp better and installed it today. Ran STRONG, loud and clear. Louder than my RAZOR. The Gorilla is rated at 900 watts at 2 ohm load so I guess its more powerful than my Razor by a couple hundred watts, and this Gorilla is 1 ohm stable. MIGHT be what blew it up. Stick with 2 ohm load and maybe it will LIVE for a while. It runs cool. and quiet. Played Snoop Dog for over a half hour... LOUDLY.... Thing slams. I seek a REMOTE BASS KNOB for it now BUT..... boy oh boy theres none to be had anywhere, SO.... a CROSS REFERENCE.... any other brands remote that works with these Gorilla amps. Its a 6 PIN telephone type socket. I get these are all different. Ugggggg.
Well I repaired it and it survived a day at loud volume. LOL
Keep searching for a bass knob....
BDBD/2022
Well I repaired it and it survived a day at loud volume. LOL
Keep searching for a bass knob....
BDBD/2022
did not think to do so... WELL I must say... I been beating the crap out the GORILLA and so far no smoke.... I might have fixed it.... Stay away from 1 ohm loads. I think its A-OK... Have yet to take it on a really long run but 45 minutes... LOUD and CLEAR... Dont get hot... Cool runner. The MUNTZ...... Them INDUCTORS arrived from GREECE...LOL... and yes I TRIED to remove/save the ORIGINAL one but it broke upon removal. so NO measurement of the original. GREAT..... BUT as I mentioned them ones from Greece arrived and I measured them to be 1.3 h.... I tried the Mh setting but no reading. 1.3henry is the verdict as them new ones WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!........ I installed new Tantalum caps there and new inductors and IT WORKS. My goodness, the MUNTZ actually sounds pretty good now. LOUD and CLEAR.... Strong, no HEAT at all really... Only thing I notice is a slightly different voltage measurement on a single bank of 2 transistors... only like a 10th or so of a volt different... 6.95 vs 7.10 v.... Pretty close BUT the others all read 6.95 so I notice that one "set" there... running slightly different. Dont seem to make much difference in regards to sound. Sounds good now.... YAY!!!!! Got it working Saturday the 23rd at about 10pm.... BDBD/2022.... STILL sucking wind here....D