Amp Caught on Fire last night... Help?
 

Hey, guys, I got into my car this morning and it smelled faintly of roasted marshmallows so I started getting worried. I haven't opened my trunk in a long time since I only really have it for my subwoofer. From the looks of it I have a serious moisture problem and a burning amp. Looks like I'm in the market for some new equipment or tips on where to go from here.

Link to pictures.

Well, I say you are lucky that you haven't burned your car down. Looks like the water got in and short circuited your system.

Only help we can give is to get new lining and maybe box up your amp next time like you should have? Or run it to bare metal like the stock Bose am is?

Holy Crap man! Glad you're ok. Go buy a lottery ticket, then go get the seal to your trunk replaced pronto!

NO KIDDING!

You're very lucky bro. Make sure you have the leak fixed before you try to install something else. Just imagine how you'd feel if you half-assed the repair, installed another amp, then the entire car burned to the frame.

i thought of your username when i saw this thread. :lol:

Quit turning it up to 11! :)

Thats a terrible place for an AMP and any type of electrical component were high current is involved, if your taillight gaskets are not perfectly sealed which is a very common problem with our cars that area is always subjective to moist and damp conditions.

How do you think I got the name? I worked for a pet store and was making a delivery of cockatiels while driving the company Ford Pinto. I was rear-ended and the car burst into flames. Luckily I was able to escape with only minor burns, but the same could not be said for the birds. That evening, I poured out some bird seed for my homies.

I think I've located and stopped the source of the leak. For now I'm not installing anything else. I have a few more pressing purchases that have to be made. Hopefully my bass will be bumping again soon.

I have had some amps pop but nothing like that! It looks like someone just blow torched the side of that amp! I am curious where your leak was do you have a pic?

The bolt circled fell out and left a gap that let water in. I tightened it and haven't seen any more moisture since.

Hmmm interesting. I'm not quite sure how that bolt would matter. It's simply attached to the trunk lid's inner skin. There's plenty of other openings to this. And the rubber weatherstripping should keep any water from getting in the trunk lid to begin with.

Most audio related fires ive heard of were wired without an inline fuse....
Did you have an inline fuse on the power wire going to the amp? If so, shouldn't it have blown on a short like that?
Crazy... Was always a fear of mine, so I don't skimp out on my wiring and connections.