20 Most Recent Rockford Fosgate Punch P5002 Car Audio Amplifier - Page 2 Questions & Answers

Doesn't sound like anything is wrong. If the thermal light is on before you have the ground hooked up then the amp is probably getting a small amount of electrical ground from the shielding on the RCAs or its mounting to the chassis of the vehicle allowing the amp to "barely turn on" (not enough ground). I can imagine this would make the amp think something is wrong (ie: thermal light) . May I suggest that you do not try to turn any amplifier on without ALL appropriate wires connected correctly.

Your amp is rated at 500 watts. Here is the break down of your wattage.

125x2 at 4 ohms
250x2 at 2 ohms
500x1 at bridged 4 ohms

When hooking up the amp make sure to use 4 gauge power and ground wire.

If you disconnect your speakers and input and the problems remain it means you've blown your end-stage and the amp needs repair.

if the problem disappears when disconnecting the speakers you may want to check if the impedance of your speakers is within tolerance of the amp.

Either one or both of your channels maybe going bad. It sounds like your amp is about dead BUT there is hope. If you have had it just on one channel then that channel maybe burnt up and if you have had it bridged then your channels are about gone. It all depends on what fuses you have had in the amp. And from the age and use its not going to last much longer with constant use.

keep the rca cords away from your power wires( +) and the remote lead. The rca cords have a tendency to pick up and reproduce alternator noise if you run them too close together. Generally you should run them on opposite sides of the car when wiring. hope that helps.

did you check to see if your remote wire for the amp as connected to the ignition wire thats the most common mistake. the ignition wire is the one to tell the radio and amp when to turn on and off it sounds like you have it hooked up to a constant 12 volt which is the battery wire. the ignition wire is the one that is 12 volts only when the car is turned on.

rem means remote on the amplifier which means your amp will turn on when ur radio turns on the remote wire goes from the back of the stereo usually always a blue wire to the rem on the input to the amp

make sure your power hasnt found its way in the the ground and vice versa

It might just be an easy fix at your local electronics repair shop. May be cheaper than buying a new amp. Was for me.

how many speakers r u running tht would make a diff.

check all wires .... make sure your speaker wires arent in the wrong order or shorting ...

did this just start of was it always going on ... if it just started its probly a short in the wires

Hi unbridge the subs and run them sterio your overloading the amp and its going into protection mode. if you have anymore questions about car audio feel free to ask me...

if you have one that you can compare to another, go to home depot with that and match it up. If not, take the amp to home depot and get someone to help you find the right one.

THE ONLY OPTION YOU HAVE IS TO PURCHASE ANOTHER 8 OHM SUB AND PARALLEL IT WITH THE ONE YOU HAVE SO THAT THE AMPLIFIER WILL SEE THE 4 OHM BRIDGE THAT IT NEEDS. AT 8 OHMS YOU ARE ONLY GETTING HALF OF THE POWER TO YOUR SUB. BE CAREFUL AS WHEN THIS OCCURS, MOST PEOPLE WILL ATTEMPT TO COMPENSATE BY TURNING THE AMPLIFIER UP INTO CLIPPING WHICH WILL EASILY DESTROY THE VOICE-COIL AND POSSIBLE DAMAGE THE AMPLIFIER. IF YOU WANT TO USE ONLY OHM SUB, THEN YOU SIMPLY NEED TO REPLACE IT WITH A 4 OHM SUB. MAKE SURE IT CAN HANDLE AROUND 500 WATTS RMS. LET ME KNOW IF YOU NEED FURTHER ASSISTANCE....V

Going from what you have explained...If you have a blown fuse, the amp will not work at all. A fuse is either good, or bad, and these are tested with a ohm meter, or a test light if you have it installed and power going to it. Your amp needs three things, a good ground, positive voltage, (12 volts power) and a signal from the stereo. The fuse is made to "blow" or not let power through if it encounters too many amps, or an overload. Once bad, it needs to be replaced. If you amp has any kind of lights on it, and they are working, your input power and ground are working.
The only other possibility would be if you have output protection to your subs as a fuse, or even a thermal fuse, which can reset itself.

Call rockfor fosgate and ask if they sell component parts to public, if not, ask who the their component manufacturer is, maybe you can get it directly from them.

eyp, most of the time speaker connections blow and fuses wont stop that from happening. They are there to stop the mainboard from frying and not working at all. try running rca splitters to the operational side of the amp. run the sub on 1 channel. you will start hearing a difference but both sides will work. if not, run the splitters from the head unit and bridging it. these are the cheapest solution i could provide

Radio Shack has many types of screw boards available. If they don't have what you need, try Allied Electronics at http://www.alliedelec.com/Default.aspx

I have found parts at Allied, that the dealers couldn't even find. Allied handles component parts for machinery and electronics controls.

replace the fan in the amp, sounds like the amp is overheating and the cut off is kicking in... you can try the amp while not driving and the car parked, put a fan, like a desk fan where the amp is so it flows over the amp fins, and run the amp turn it up and let it work, see if it still shuts off after that, if so then it could be something internal nut sounds like it is the fan to me... and i have worked with many an amp and system in cars and trucks... hope this helps you