Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Help with cooling amplifier please

I have a RPA-1 and it shut down the other day. I wasn't in the room at the time so it was playing fairly loud, but I have played it many times at this level, and for far longer durations. The power button was solid red. Has anyone else experience this? In the manual it states the following possible causations-

"The RED light (on solid, not blinking) indicates a fault condition for the power modules. A fault condition is one or more of the following:
• Excessive Operating Temp
• Excessive Current (Short Circuit)
• DC on the Outputs
An excessive temperature fault can be reset by allowing amp to cool and cycling power on/off button on the front panel. Excessive current (short circuit) can be reset by removing the cause of the short and cycling power on/off button on the front panel. DC at output is a possible fault condition that is equipment related and requires technical assistance. Please contact Emotiva if you have repeated problems causing the RED front panel light to illuminate that are NOT thermal or short circuit related."

I turned the amp off for a while and it went to standby (no red light). I haven't fired up my stereo since then, but it seems to be a temperature problem as per the manual. In the manual it recommends to use computer fans to aid in cooling the amp, but I don't have a clue how to do this. Are there fans specifically made to cool amplifiers?

Thanks a lot guys

Interesting, I had an Emotiva MPS-1 amp that kept shutting down when driving my 80's at no so loud levels, at least loud my my definition for monoblock amps to shut down. I ended up sending my amp back to Lonnie at Emotiva.

I don't think the RPA-1 has the same limiter switch my MPS-1 had, so it may not be the same problem. Is your amp sitting on a well ventilated shelf, or is there no ventilation. Do you have other equipment right above it, or are you allowing for air movement.

If memory recalls, you need at least 4 or more inches around/below/above the unit so it won't overheat. What is behind the equipment, is it open or in a closet with no air flow?

Thanks sirquack, I had a feeling that you would comment on my problem :). The amp is in a shelving unit. There is sufficient room for cooling above the unit, and the back of the cabinet is open to allow for venting, but there is only about an inch of airflow on each side.

Top/Bottom ventilation is pretty important. In looking at the inside of the RPA-1, there are holes on the sides top/bottom near the heat sinks. The heat sinks are on the sides, like many amps, so it could be related to limited airflow on the sides.

Would it be difficult to rearrange to amp to a different location to see if more airflow helps? If the problem persists, I would call Lonnie or someone at Emotiva's phone number to report the problem.

Even though I ended up sending my amp back to them, they did go out of there way by sending me replacment amps on a few occasion to isolate the problem.

Cam, it may be premature to be thinking about more cooling. If what you say in the first paragraph is correct and you've run it as loudly and for a longer period in the past, it indicates that the temperature explanation is less likely. My first thought would be in the second category, i.e., a possible short. Although you apparently changed nothing before it shut down, there'd be some possibility of a loose strand of speaker wire that made contact at some point because of vibrations from the sound. Even if it looks good it'd be worthwhile to very carefully reconnect the speaker wiring. A more remote possibility is that an internal short developed in one of the speakers because of the sound vibrations.

If the circuit in the amplifier that protects the speakers from being damaged by DC shut it down, there are a lot of parts in the amplifier that might have failed and allowed the DC offset, and this wouldn't be anything that can be remedied at home. You should turn it back on to see if it shuts down almost immediately(with program material playing, not just on standby), which would also indicate that it wasn't a temperature problem.

Thanks John. I just turned it on and there is music playing, although I'm playing at a very low level. I would assume this would suggest that it is a cooling problem? If someone could reply with their thoughts ASAP, it would be appreciated as I have someone here to help me out if needed.

Thanks guys

I just called Emotiva and they said that if everything is up and running now that it might have been the amplifier going into "protect mode" because of the speakers heating up, but most likely it was just a fluke. They said it probably isn't a temperature issue. I was told to keep using it and if it happens again to give them a call because if it is a fault with the amplifier it will be reoccurring.

Thanks for your guys help

My speakers tend to get very hot. Wait, what?

Yeah, they tried to blame my Axiom m80's for shutting down the MPS-1 as well. I really like some of the products Emotiva is introducing, but I think there something to say why they can't drive the efficient 80's that don't dip below 4ohms. There was another guy on the AV123 forum with Rocket bookshelfs which were 4 ohms at the time having the same problem.

There is one thing for sure, it is not the 80's getting hot, can't believe they would tell you that. I can tell you since I've gone to Odyssey monoblocks, and since Tharkun went to Halo Parasounds, we've never had a problem.

Think about it, a solid state amp rated at 300 watts into 4ohms, should not be shutting down at moderate levels, even higher levels. Something is just wrong with this picture.

Yes I definitely hear you. If that happens again I will definitely be making a phone call. It's had very little use which also causes it to be quite alarming. Also I've never had any problems with any of my other equipment.