ZX500 v1 help

Need help with your car stereo system? Have a technical question? Post here.
Post Reply
imo1
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2013 11:12 am

ZX500 v1 help

Post by imo1 »

Hi Guys

I need some advice on what the possible problem with my ZX500 could be.

It intermittantly loses output to the sub, and the fan doesnt spin. (The fan just flicks continuously, but doesnt spin.)

The amp doesnt go into protection. The green light stays on.
I turned on the HU and got a loud humming noise from all the speakers. (almost like whan RCA's are touching)
switched it off and on again. the noise was gone and music played normally from my other amp (ZX450 driving focal K2P), but there was no sound from the sub.

I checked the RCA, speaker and power/ground - all fine.

Then suddenly, there was sound from the sub, but the fan on the ZX500 was not spinning.

Checked this morning again - green light on ZX500 is on, but no sound from sub.

The problem only started last night.
The current setup was playing perfectly in my car for 2 years now. nothing changed on the system either.

Any ideas/suggestions on what i can try?

Thanks

Setup:
Alpine 117
ZX450 and 500
JL 12w3v3 (2ohm SVC,)
Focal 165 KR2
zeropoint0.5
Posts: 593
Joined: Fri May 13, 2011 12:03 am

Re: ZX500 v1 help

Post by zeropoint0.5 »

the fan is done and need to be replaced....

the problems you hear will probably be caused by a bad green quad pot.

replace the fan, replace the quad pot or the whole crossover board if you can...........
imo1
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2013 11:12 am

Re: ZX500 v1 help

Post by imo1 »

Thanks, so i'll definitely need to book it in for a repair.

I was hoping there were some home trouble shooting tips that could help, like when my gain pots were dirty and just needed to be loosened up.

lol, ok maybe that was just wishful thinking. but i need to get it repaired soon. i love this amp.
imo1
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2013 11:12 am

Re: ZX500 v1 help

Post by imo1 »

A small update...

The sub has been playing normally for the last 2 days. The fan on the ZX500 still didnt spin from sturtup but started when the amp warmed up.
The temperature on both amps feels the same, and no protection kicked in yet.
listened to the system for about 30 mins earlier and when i checked, all was working and both fans spinning, and

Is this a feature of the amp for the fan to be temperature dependent?
The ZX450 fan spins up from startup.

@zero...the green quad pot you mentioned, would that be on the 450 or the 500? Since the noise i heard came through my front speakers, but played perfectly immediately after.
imo1
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2013 11:12 am

Re: ZX500 v1 help

Post by imo1 »

Hi Guys

I know this is an old thread, but i wanted to post a reply so that it could possibly help a fellow user with the same dilemma in the future.

The problem was actually the remote turn on wire not making proper contact. That's why it worked intermittantly.
Turns out the remote screw hole's thread was stripped. not sure how it happened.

After i secured it, the amp is back to playing perfectly again.

Thanks again to the guys that tried to help :D :D :D
zeropoint0.5
Posts: 593
Joined: Fri May 13, 2011 12:03 am

Re: ZX500 v1 help

Post by zeropoint0.5 »

imo1 wrote:Hi Guys

I know this is an old thread, but i wanted to post a reply so that it could possibly help a fellow user with the same dilemma in the future.

The problem was actually the remote turn on wire not making proper contact. That's why it worked intermittantly.
Turns out the remote screw hole's thread was stripped. not sure how it happened.

After i secured it, the amp is back to playing perfectly again.

Thanks again to the guys that tried to help :D :D :D

i'm glad for you that it's just such a little issue and you're back fine now..

it is difficult to solve a problem from distance, only thing i noticed with some zx and zpa series were the same with the fan, after

putting another fan in place it was clear that sometimes the fan itself fails....

having strange noices is mostly caused out of the crossover board, especially the green quad pots are known to be the cause....

have fun with the amp..........
imo1
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2013 11:12 am

Re: ZX500 v1 help

Post by imo1 »

Yeah the corroded pots were an issue before, but the tip to turn them a few times to the left and right worked great.

when troubleshooting my zx500 isue, i did notice that my zx450 fan has become noisy.
Didn't notice it before cos the amps are in the trunk.

Do you think a fan replacement is the only solution, or can the fan maybe use a bit of oiling to quieten down?
Post Reply