Amp running very hot - will adding another sub just make the problem worse?
 

I have an MTX TC3001 mono amp, Infinity 1050w Reference 10" sub with 8 gauge wiring and the amp runs very hot at times going into protect mode. Will adding another sub increase the heat output by the amp and possibly cause it to go into protect mode more often when being run hard?

what is the impedence of the sub?
if you add another sub and raise the final load to the amp in theory it would run cooler..
but you may want to upgrade that 8awg to 4awg for the sake of doing something right

Sub is 250w RMS, 4 ohm
Amp is 200w @ 4 ohm, so I'm assuming 400w @ 2 ohm

Reading the forums here, its been suggested that going from 8 gauge to 4 gauge would have nothing to do with heat build up in the amp , but in another forum its been suggested to go to 4 gauge as well. The shop that installed the another amp in the car a year ago said upgrading the wiring would do nothing as they've seen some pretty crazy setups running fine on 8 gauge. I know it wouldnt hurt going to 4 gauge, but would it really be doing anything to help the heat? Thanks.

My first thoughts are, How are the grounds, A power supply is only as good as the ground, I know from experience I ran a 0ga system, and a poor ground, my amps heated up, just by running a BEtter ground it solved all my problems!! OTher then that 4ga is the way to go!! The added wire size will help dramatically, Good luck on this!!

First thought is that you are running too low of an impedance to your amp. You said you are running a 4 ohm setup off a 2 ohm stable amp so that shouldn't be the problem.

As stated above, could be some connections. Check your connections. How long have you had this amp for? Could be a dud possibly?

Probably the connections. My old amp (Old 4 channel Blaupunkt V450 from 1997) was doing the same thing in this car. I wanted to upgrade slightly to get a better sound and a bit more power. Just swapped out the amps, so the connections are still the same ones.

The Blaupunkt was in a different car back in '99 running 2-10s and 2-6x9s and it would rarely overheat. Usually doing it when pushed really hard in 30 degree heat. Last year I dusted off that amp and put in my current car just powering one 10". Underpowering it was more the right word and running just the one 10 it overheated all the time like the MTX.

As was mentioned adding a 2nd 10 may help with the heat also, as my old amp worked great when hooked to 2-10s and the 6x9's, but I agree now that it could be the connections with the same problem happening to both amps.

Just to add to the topic... again... adding a second sub would decrease your impedance in this scenario. This would cause your amplifier to put out more power. Putting out more power means more thermal loss in the amp (due to inefficiencies in the amp). This would mean your amp getting even hotter.

All this is in theory obviously.