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PROBLEM

Amp keeps blowing fuses

Amp gets very hot

Distribution Block Amp Fuse

 - If both sides of the main fuse have power, and one side of the distribution 

block has power, but the other side of that fuse is dead, then you’re either dealing with a shorted power wire 
or an internal amplifier fault. There are a few ways to determine which one is the culprit, depending on how 
your amp is installed and where the wires are routed.
1. Check if you can see power wire that connects the distribution block to your amp. In an ideal situation, 
you’ll be able to see the entire length of the wire. If that isn’t possible, then the next best thing is to just dis-
connect the power wire from your amp, make sure that the loose end isn’t in contact with ground, and check 
whether the fuse still blows. If it does, then the problem is in the power wire, and replacing it will almost 
certainly fix your problem. Of course, you’ll have to take care when routing the new wire so that it doesn’t 
end up shorting out as well. If the fuse doesn’t blow with the power wire disconnected from your amp, then 
you have an internal amplifier problem. 

Internal Amplifier Fuse

 - If the fuse blows when the amp is turned up, then you likely have subwoofers that 

are either incompatible or that are wired at too low of an impedance. Rewire to achieve proper impedance, 
or replace the subwoofers with compatible ones. Check and make sure the power and ground wires did not 
get crossed. Also, check and make sure your speaker wires are not crossed.

1. The main reason amps overheat is if the impedance they are running at is very low, or if the subwoofer 
requires more power than the amp can give it. Also if the wiring cannot give the proper current fast enough, 
it can cause the amp to get hot as well. Make sure the amp is running at the proper impedance, or use 
subwoofers that are compatible with the amp. Make sure the wiring is correct and you are using the proper 
wires for your system.
2. A poor ground cable connection can cause your amp to get very hot. Check your ground connection and 
make sure that the cable is securely tightened.
3. Check the location where your amp is mounted. Make sure it is in a spot where it will receive proper ven-
tilation.

CAUSE/SOLUTION

Summary of Contents for RVA-M2

Page 1: ...RVA M3 RVA M2 OWNER S MANUAL A m p l i fier Power Stand a r d CEA 2006 C o m p l i a n t TM ...

Page 2: ...2 ...

Page 3: ... guide carefully for proper use of your RVA M Series amplifier Read this entire guide fully before attempting your installation Should you need assistance please call our technical help line at 1 646 758 0144 Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm EST WARNING BE AWARE Use of this amplifier at extreme high volumes for extended periods of time may cause hearing loss and or hearing damage During periods of...

Page 4: ... firewall Please be sure to leave breathing room around the amplifier heat sink so that it can efficiently dissipate the heat it produces The amplifier can be installed either horizontally or vertically When mounting the amplifier on the trunk floor be sure to watch for your gas tank gas lines and electrical lines Do not drill or mount any screws where they might penetrate the gas tank of your car...

Page 5: ...ly to the POSITIVE terminal An optional second fuse can be installed closer to the amplifier for additional protection to the amplifier itself If installing multiple amplifiers install a distribution block near their location and using a 4 gauge wire connect the block to the in line holder that is connected to the battery 5 Insert fuse s into the in line fuse holder s and check that all connection...

Page 6: ...any equalizer controls to adjust the system tonal level for personal preference Keep in mind that after equalizing you may have to go back and reset the amplifier s level controls If your unit has been professionally installed please do not change the gain settings set by the installer he is the professional Audio Pre amp Input The RVA M Series amplifiers feature RCA pre amp inputs Run RCA cables ...

Page 7: ...mind that one octave up is double the frequency and one octave down is half the frequency 1 Divide the tuning frequency of your port by two This is one octave lower than your tuning frequency 2 Divide the quotient answer of step 1 by two This is half an octave lower 3 Now subtract the quotient answer of step 2 from the port s tuning frequency Example Port tuning frequency is 46Hz 1 46Hz 2 23Hz one...

Page 8: ...8 Class D Monoblock Amp Input Connect your head unit s RCA outputs to the amplifier s Left and Right RCA input jacks Class D Monoblock 1 Ohm Amp Configurations L R SOURCE ...

Page 9: ...pedance configurations The dual positive and negative terminals are connected in parallel inside the amplifier Connecting two speakers each to one set of positive and negative terminals will result in a parallel speaker connection If only connecting only one pair of speaker wires it is not necessary to use both sets of connections 2 OHM SUBWOOFER 2 OHM SUBWOOFER 1 OHM MINIMUM LOAD SUBWOOFER IMPEDA...

Page 10: ...s as long as you don t bridge the two amplifier outputs together You can only bridge two of the same amplifiers together DO NOT bridge different models together When bridging two amplifiers together the final impedance load of the bridged amplifiers should be no lower than 4 ohms Double power will occur at 4 ohms The MASTER amplifer s positive speaker terminal should be wired to the positive termi...

Page 11: ...11 Twin Amp Bridging MASTER SLAVE REMOTE SUBWOOFER LEVEL CONTROL L R ...

Page 12: ...WOOFER MINIMUM IMPEDANCE 2 OHM Twin Amp Bridging IMPORTANT NOTE CONNECT THE TWO SPEAKERS NEGATIVE SPEAKER TERMINALS TOGETHER WITH A 12 WIRE STRAP IF THIS STRAP IS NOT INSTALLED THE AMPLIFIERS COULD BE DAMAGED ...

Page 13: ...l light indicating a diagnostic condition Turn off your system disconnect one speaker at a time and try to determine which speaker might be faulty Correct the condition and restart the amplifier You must reset the amplifier by turning it OFF and then ON again by the Remote power connection after correcting a diagnostic condition Turn your radio off and then on again Clipping or total shutdown may ...

Page 14: ...l i fier Power Stand a r d CEA 2006 C o m p l i a n t TM A m p l i fier Power Stand a r d CEA 2006 C o m p l i a n t TM 1 Ohm 1000 Watts RMS CEA Compliant 1 THD 14 4 Volts 74 1 efficient 2 Ohm 600 Watts RMS CEA Compliant 1 THD 14 4 Volts 84 5 efficient 4 Ohm 360 Watts RMS CEA Compliant 1 THD 14 4 Volts 88 3 efficient Peak 4000 Watts 1 Ohm Only use this power as reference if matching with amps that...

Page 15: ...ass D monoblock amplifiers is 1 ohm Lower impedance loads will cause overheating and may damage the amplifiers Do not mix different impedance speakers in series and or parallel combinations as unequal power sharing and acoustic outputs will result SVC configurations ...

Page 16: ...for single RVA M Class D monoblock amplifiers is 1 ohm Lower impedance loads will cause overheating and may damage the amplifiers Do not mix different impedance speakers in series and or parallel combinations as unequal power sharing and acoustic outputs will result ...

Page 17: ...orrectly 3 Blown speaker To check for a blown speaker disconnect all the speakers from the amplifier If the amp goes out of protect mode then the problem is indeed a blown speaker Find which speaker is blown and replace it 4 Wrong speaker impedance Replace the speaker s with one of the proper impedance 5 Speaker wires touching If the positive and negative speaker wires that run from your speakers ...

Page 18: ...re is connected securely to the amplifier on one end and make sure the other end is connected to the remote turn on of the receiver A common error we see is the remote turn on gets connected to the antenna wire instead of the remote turn on wire of the head unit Please note the remote turn on wire is a required wire The amp will not work if this is not connected It is also possible the remote term...

Page 19: ...etimes the head unit will allow you only to enable front and rear which would cause the amp to have no sound 8 Speaker wire is not making a good contact on the speaker output of the amp or on the speaker terminal You need to make sure the speaker wire is securely tightened into the speaker terminal and the amplifier terminal 9 A pinched or cut speaker wire that is now not running a signal Speaker ...

Page 20: ...f your RCA cables and speaker wire are run alongside your power cables they will pick up feedback If this is the case you will need to run the RCA cable on the other side separate from your power cable 2 A poor ground cable connection can cause your amp to clip because improper power is getting to the amp Check your ground connection and make sure that the cable is securely tightened 3 Engine nois...

Page 21: ...our crossover setting on your amplifier You may need to filter out more high frequencies which your sub is not meant to play So make sure it s on low pass mode and then you also should try lowering the frequency of that low pass crossover and see if that helps 6 On your receiver it is very common to have a volume level control for the pre amp outputs separate from your master volume control To fix...

Page 22: ...e doesn t blow with the power wire disconnected from your amp then you have an internal amplifier problem Internal Amplifier Fuse If the fuse blows when the amp is turned up then you likely have subwoofers that are either incompatible or that are wired at too low of an impedance Rewire to achieve proper impedance or replace the subwoofers with compatible ones Check and make sure the power and grou...

Page 23: ...ble that is plugged into your receiver Make sure you plugged the amplifier into the pre amp output that is red and white In many cases we have seen customers plug the RCA into the RCA video of their receiver which is yellow If this is the case just plug the RCA into the proper connections and your problem will be solved 3 There is a setting on your receiver that can disable your RCA outputs The se...

Page 24: ... Features and specifications are subject to change and or improvement without notice Though we tried our best to ensure that this manual is free and clear of errors please don t hold us responsible for printing errors ...

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