JBL 75.4 nightmare!!

flipsyde · 24th October 2008, 23:27

Guys I had an issue with my JBL 75.4 amp today. Turned on my HU as usual in the morning and the amp started tripping. It was almost like a nightmare. I had this amp tripping problem with an earlier amp which I promptly got exchanged from the seller since it failed just as soon as I got it installed. What happens is the protect (red) light on the amp stays on for like 5 secs or so and then the power (blue) light tries turning on but fails and the protect light comes back on again. Turned the system off. Panicked and ran to office.

Prayed to all the gods I know and when I came back to the car at around 6 in the evening and turned the HU on again......TA DA!! It works like nothing ever happened. I am relieved now but I am really curious as to what was happening and what caused the amp to trip like that.

Audio gurus please tell me what the possible reasons could be. I would like to make dead sure everything is alright. The last electrical item installed on the car was a pair of Roots Windtone horns. After the horn was installed I could hear disturbance thru the front component tweeters when I honked. The car electrician told me I needed to install a condenser. So I got this dainty looking aluminum cylinder about 2 inches tall for Rs.85/- and this was installed from one of the leads on the horn relay to the negative terminal of the battery. Though the disturbance when honking has greatly reduced there is still a tiny evidence of the noise.

So what do I do about it. Electrician asks me to get the audio installation checked. Could that be a problem?? Can I get a bigger condenser installed?? Gurus please advice.

speedzak · 24th October 2008, 23:42

It seems like a wiring issue in the ICE. Get it checked as soon as possible.
The horn interference can happen due to poor wiring/wiring issues. So, the first step is to get the wiring checked.

flipsyde · 24th October 2008, 23:46

@Speedzak : By wiring I am assuming you mean the power cable right. The positive, negative and remote. I will post a pic of the existing wires tomorrow morning. They seem pretty solid by the look of it. Are there any preliminary checks that I can do myself before I go to an installer??

s0uljah · 24th October 2008, 23:59

These buggers are known to clip but its most likely an issue with the power cable. Does it happen when the car is parked (still) ? What was the issue with the first amp? Can understand a problem with one amp... but 2 of them one after the other indicates something else.

1) Throw away the condensor!
2) Are you using a Pioneer HU ? If so it will need grounding.
3) What car? Some cars you have to lay the wiring extremely carefully(power one side, RCA's another)
4) Lastly check the RCA cables (interconnects that have been used), if they are some bakwas then invest in some better ones.

O/T : You could take it to the 75.4 King of the South aka Nitrous Anna

flipsyde · 25th October 2008, 01:56

@Souljah : Throw away the condenser?? Are you sure?? To be honest it did stop some of the noise. The HU is a JVC AVX 800 in a Toyota Corolla. The install was done by Satya aka Blueraven and I am sure he wouldn't have made too much of a compromise though I have had some doubts about the RCA cable which he was ready to change for me if I could send them to B'lore.

LOL!! Nitrous anna has been by ICE godfather. I shall once again bother him to take a look at my amp.

greenhorn · 25th October 2008, 06:23

you and ibm_jennifer should join forces to find a good amp repairer in chennai. both your 75.4's seem to be having issues

s0uljah · 25th October 2008, 09:01

Oh if its Satya then its easy just give him a call. Maybe re-routing the wires will help. Its a workable problem really, quite common in the SX4 (Well Iv seen more than 3 people with the issue of noise and with re routing it was fixed).

jkdas · 25th October 2008, 09:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by flipsyde

Guys I had an issue with my JBL 75.4 amp today. Turned on my HU as usual in the morning and the amp started tripping. It was almost like a nightmare. I had this amp tripping problem with an earlier amp which I promptly got exchanged from the seller since it failed just as soon as I got it installed. What happens is the protect (red) light on the amp stays on for like 5 secs or so and then the power (blue) light tries turning on but fails and the protect light comes back on again. Turned the system off. Panicked and ran to office.

Prayed to all the gods I know and when I came back to the car at around 6 in the evening and turned the HU on again......TA DA!! It works like nothing ever happened. I am relieved now but I am really curious as to what was happening and what caused the amp to trip like that.

Audio gurus please tell me what the possible reasons could be. I would like to make dead sure everything is alright. The last electrical item installed on the car was a pair of Roots Windtone horns. After the horn was installed I could hear disturbance thru the front component tweeters when I honked. The car electrician told me I needed to install a condenser. So I got this dainty looking aluminum cylinder about 2 inches tall for Rs.85/- and this was installed from one of the leads on the horn relay to the negative terminal of the battery. Though the disturbance when honking has greatly reduced there is still a tiny evidence of the noise.

So what do I do about it. Electrician asks me to get the audio installation checked. Could that be a problem?? Can I get a bigger condenser installed?? Gurus please advice.

Which amp was repalced with 75.4? Is the gain set to high?

And were the amps just swapped without changing the old wiring?

manojgautham · 11th November 2008, 12:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by flipsyde

@Souljah : Throw away the condenser?? Are you sure?? To be honest it did stop some of the noise. The HU is a JVC AVX 800 in a Toyota Corolla. The install was done by Satya aka Blueraven and I am sure he wouldn't have made too much of a compromise though I have had some doubts about the RCA cable which he was ready to change for me if I could send them to B'lore.

LOL!! Nitrous anna has been by ICE godfather. I shall once again bother him to take a look at my amp.

Flipsyde, I had the same problem with my JBL mono amp. My install was also done at Evo. I don't think there would be a problem with the wiring, change the fuse of the power cable. At least that solved my problem and I haven't faced the problem again.

navin · 11th November 2008, 12:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by flipsyde

Guys I had an issue with my JBL 75.4 amp today. Turned on my HU as usual in the morning and the amp started tripping.

Prayed to all the gods I know and when I came back to the car at around 6 in the evening and turned the HU on again......TA DA!!

The last electrical item installed on the car was a pair of Roots Windtone horns. After the horn was installed I could hear disturbance thru the front component tweeters when I honked.

Check all wiring see if any wire or speaker terminal is touching the body.
Change the hron relay to one that does not arc

esteem_lover · 11th November 2008, 14:01

Check & recheck the wiring (Power, RCA & Speakers). Please get the RCAs changed if you can.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkdas

Which amp was repalced with 75.4? Is the gain set to high?

And were the amps just swapped without changing the old wiring?

This was a fresh install.

ibm_jennifer · 11th November 2008, 22:56

Quote:

you and ibm_jennifer should join forces to find a good amp repairer in chennai. both your 75.4's seem to be having issues

I have repaired my Amp successfully and its working very fine now. If you need to source an electrician, I can help you in Chennai. I have seen this same problem(the auto-protection problem), when my amp is in repair process, but I dont know how he solved it.

And I have seen another 75.4 amp last week in the same workshop for repair, is it yours?

vishnuvijay · 11th November 2008, 23:11

buy a good electronic relay for the horn. that will take care of the disturbance while honking. i had the same issue and it was solved after installing the relay.

flipsyde · 12th November 2008, 08:29

Hi everyone. Been using the car as it is all this while and guess what.....no AMP auto protect problem. I don't know how the problem started but its gone now. Just that I had this problem after a long drive on a rainy day. Anyway so far so good.

About the RCA cables, I am frankly not too happy with them. They are alright but wires seem kinda thin. I should get them replaced sometime soon.

Now about the disturbance while honking, Should I -
1) Get an electronic relay?
2) Change RCA cables?
3) Check if the speaker terminals are touching the body?
4) Change fuse in the power cable?

or all of the above?

@ibmjennifer : No buddy I haven't given my AMP to anyone to fix. It fixed itself miraculously! Lets hope I don't have any further issues.

Sam Kapasi · 12th November 2008, 08:36

Check the thickness of the power cable
Check your grounding point at the chassis, if need be, remove, sandpaper and reconnect to chassis.
Check the connection to battery and check battery terminal.
Last, but not the least, check for water/moisture leakage around the amplifier area.

24th October 2008, 23:27	#1
flipsyde BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Chennai Posts: 644 Thanked: 84 Times	JBL 75.4 nightmare!! Guys I had an issue with my JBL 75.4 amp today. Turned on my HU as usual in the morning and the amp started tripping. It was almost like a nightmare. I had this amp tripping problem with an earlier amp which I promptly got exchanged from the seller since it failed just as soon as I got it installed. What happens is the protect (red) light on the amp stays on for like 5 secs or so and then the power (blue) light tries turning on but fails and the protect light comes back on again. Turned the system off. Panicked and ran to office. Prayed to all the gods I know and when I came back to the car at around 6 in the evening and turned the HU on again......TA DA!! It works like nothing ever happened. I am relieved now but I am really curious as to what was happening and what caused the amp to trip like that. Audio gurus please tell me what the possible reasons could be. I would like to make dead sure everything is alright. The last electrical item installed on the car was a pair of Roots Windtone horns. After the horn was installed I could hear disturbance thru the front component tweeters when I honked. The car electrician told me I needed to install a condenser. So I got this dainty looking aluminum cylinder about 2 inches tall for Rs.85/- and this was installed from one of the leads on the horn relay to the negative terminal of the battery. Though the disturbance when honking has greatly reduced there is still a tiny evidence of the noise. So what do I do about it. Electrician asks me to get the audio installation checked. Could that be a problem?? Can I get a bigger condenser installed?? Gurus please advice.
	() Thanks

24th October 2008, 23:42	#2
speedzak BANNED Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: India Posts: 4,347 Thanked: 27 Times	It seems like a wiring issue in the ICE. Get it checked as soon as possible. The horn interference can happen due to poor wiring/wiring issues. So, the first step is to get the wiring checked.
	() Thanks

24th October 2008, 23:46	#3
flipsyde BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Chennai Posts: 644 Thanked: 84 Times	@Speedzak : By wiring I am assuming you mean the power cable right. The positive, negative and remote. I will post a pic of the existing wires tomorrow morning. They seem pretty solid by the look of it. Are there any preliminary checks that I can do myself before I go to an installer??
	() Thanks

24th October 2008, 23:59	#4
s0uljah Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: BLR Posts: 2,222 Thanked: 26 Times View My Garage	These buggers are known to clip but its most likely an issue with the power cable. Does it happen when the car is parked (still) ? What was the issue with the first amp? Can understand a problem with one amp... but 2 of them one after the other indicates something else. 1) Throw away the condensor! 2) Are you using a Pioneer HU ? If so it will need grounding. 3) What car? Some cars you have to lay the wiring extremely carefully(power one side, RCA's another) 4) Lastly check the RCA cables (interconnects that have been used), if they are some bakwas then invest in some better ones. O/T : You could take it to the 75.4 King of the South aka Nitrous Anna
	() Thanks

25th October 2008, 01:56	#5
flipsyde BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Chennai Posts: 644 Thanked: 84 Times	@Souljah : Throw away the condenser?? Are you sure?? To be honest it did stop some of the noise. The HU is a JVC AVX 800 in a Toyota Corolla. The install was done by Satya aka Blueraven and I am sure he wouldn't have made too much of a compromise though I have had some doubts about the RCA cable which he was ready to change for me if I could send them to B'lore. LOL!! Nitrous anna has been by ICE godfather. I shall once again bother him to take a look at my amp.
	() Thanks

25th October 2008, 06:23	#6
greenhorn Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: KL-01 Posts: 7,745 Thanked: 4,401 Times View My Garage	you and ibm_jennifer should join forces to find a good amp repairer in chennai. both your 75.4's seem to be having issues
	() Thanks

25th October 2008, 09:01	#7
s0uljah Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: BLR Posts: 2,222 Thanked: 26 Times View My Garage	Oh if its Satya then its easy just give him a call. Maybe re-routing the wires will help. Its a workable problem really, quite common in the SX4 (Well Iv seen more than 3 people with the issue of noise and with re routing it was fixed).
	() Thanks

11th November 2008, 23:11	#13
vishnuvijay BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Cochin Posts: 173 Thanked: Once	buy a good electronic relay for the horn. that will take care of the disturbance while honking. i had the same issue and it was solved after installing the relay.
	() Thanks

12th November 2008, 08:29	#14
flipsyde BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Chennai Posts: 644 Thanked: 84 Times	Hi everyone. Been using the car as it is all this while and guess what.....no AMP auto protect problem. I don't know how the problem started but its gone now. Just that I had this problem after a long drive on a rainy day. Anyway so far so good. About the RCA cables, I am frankly not too happy with them. They are alright but wires seem kinda thin. I should get them replaced sometime soon. Now about the disturbance while honking, Should I - 1) Get an electronic relay? 2) Change RCA cables? 3) Check if the speaker terminals are touching the body? 4) Change fuse in the power cable? or all of the above? @ibmjennifer : No buddy I haven't given my AMP to anyone to fix. It fixed itself miraculously! Lets hope I don't have any further issues.
	() Thanks

12th November 2008, 08:36	#15
Sam Kapasi Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Mumbai (but wat Posts: 6,997 Thanked: 2,378 Times View My Garage	Check the thickness of the power cable Check your grounding point at the chassis, if need be, remove, sandpaper and reconnect to chassis. Check the connection to battery and check battery terminal. Last, but not the least, check for water/moisture leakage around the amplifier area.
	() Thanks