New amp smoking - HELP

My bad. No, the front channel wires on the PnP were also snipped and taped. So all speaker signal going to truck-side PnP harness connector comes from the speedwire/amp.
Got it. To be honest, all looks spot on. You tested with a multimeter and all came out good. Now I lean towards you having a bad amplifier. Before connecting the speakers, turn on the amp. If the genie stays in the bottle, then connect fronts and test again. Then the rears.
I re-read your posts and did not see a mention of the radio. Is it OEM?
 
Got it. To be honest, all looks spot on. You tested with a multimeter and all came out good. Now I lean towards you having a bad amplifier. Before connecting the speakers, turn on the amp. If the genie stays in the bottle, then connect fronts and test again. Then the rears.
I re-read your posts and did not see a mention of the radio. Is it OEM?
Again, really appreciate all of the time spent. It is OEM, yep, in '22 F150. I've been over all of this in head and on paper a million times, and seems like everything should be correct. Just hate to repeat the attempt, as I realize the odds are that I've done something wrong vs manufacturing defect, but plausible the amp was faulty I suppose.
 
It is more common than you think.
So, I just went out to install the replacement amp, and figured I'd check all visible connections one more time beforehand. Found one of the speaker wires disconnected/pulled loose from the PnP harness connector that leads to the LC2i. In other words, of the two channels leading to the LOC, one of those channels effectively only had the positive wire connected. Would this have caused the first amp to fail, assuming it was in that condition when I powered up?
20230702_131448.jpg
 
So, I just went out to install the replacement amp, and figured I'd check all visible connections one more time beforehand. Found one of the speaker wires disconnected/pulled loose from the PnP harness connector that leads to the LC2i. In other words, of the two channels leading to the LOC, one of those channels effectively only had the positive wire connected. Would this have caused the first amp to fail, assuming it was in that condition when I powered up?
View attachment 49985
Pulling around on the other connector wires, a second one just effortlessly pulled out also, to the other channel, meaning the other/second channel had a spotty negative connection.

(Would I be able to pull those connector pins out with needlenose, to get wires properly crimped in?)
 
Would this have caused the first amp to fail, assuming it was in that condition when I powered up?
No, erratic input signal will not damage the amp. If anything, it would damage the source if those touched ground.
Would I be able to pull those connector pins out with needlenose, to get wires properly crimped in?)
Yes, just make sure you identify the holding tab. I have damaged pins by pulling hard thinking the tab was depressed.
 
No, erratic input signal will not damage the amp. If anything, it would damage the source if those touched ground.

Yes, just make sure you identify the holding tab. I have damaged pins by pulling hard thinking the tab was depressed.
Was hoping that would be the smoking gun, for smoking amp.

K, thanks @1aespinoza
 
Well, just smoked a second amp. As soon as I turned the ignition, heard a low pitch tone, couldn't turn volume up from zero for some reason, and I disconnected the power wire as fast as I could, but amp was already smoking. Very frustrated....

At this point, I'm quite sure of my wiring logic and connections. Process of deduction would seem to suggest a bad PnP harness or bad LC2i/LOC? Can anyone suggest the odds of LOC contributing to amp failure, vs the harness maybe being wired wrong? Determined, and will again attempt to replace amp, but something is obviously wrong.

Thanks all.
 
Well, just smoked a second amp. As soon as I turned the ignition, heard a low pitch tone, couldn't turn volume up from zero for some reason, and I disconnected the power wire as fast as I could, but amp was already smoking. Very frustrated....

At this point, I'm quite sure of my wiring logic and connections. Process of deduction would seem to suggest a bad PnP harness or bad LC2i/LOC? Can anyone suggest the odds of LOC contributing to amp failure, vs the harness maybe being wired wrong? Determined, and will again attempt to replace amp, but something is obviously wrong.

Thanks all.
Damn, sorry to hear that. Did you reconnect without the LOC to see what happens or does it no longer turn on?
If the LOC were a culprit, it would have to be internal. Like signal positive touching ground and affecting amp. I have seen bad LOCs cause havoc in the audio quality but not smoking an amp.
 
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Damn, sorry to hear that. Did you reconnect without the LOC to see what happens or does it no longer turn on?
If the LOC were a culprit, it would have to be internal. Like signal positive touching ground and affecting amp. I have seen bad LOCs cause havoc in the audio quality but not smoking an amp.
I didn't try without the LOC, no. I do still have the failed amp though, prior to return, that I guess I can do some troubleshooting with. Wouldn't be able to hear any tonal indicators, but would just watch for smoke. I will hook up today, with just power/ground, and proceed to connect more, and see if i can isolate or reproduce.
 
Yes, this procedure should help isolate. I would do the LOC last.
K, so the Amp does not smoke with just power/ground connected. I unfortunately don't have a way to isolate the PnP harness from the LOC, as the one powers the other. I did think to change out the RCA's this time, to eliminate that variable, to no avail. With different RCAs from LOC to amp, and with LOC connected, but with speakers not yet connected to the amp (note, I did have the two channels connected from PnP harness to high input on LOC), I powered on the radio to reproduce smoke immediately. I could actually see orange flame through the cracks of the amp housing, to the far right in pic, behind the speaker terminals-
20230703_092556.jpg

So, with each speaker wire/speed wire pair previously tested (okay) via multimeter, it would appear the issue is either with the LOC or the PnP harness. Please correct me if I'm thinking incorrectly here. Should I repeat, with high input disconnected from LOC, from PnP harness? Would that make a difference, or help to further isolate issue, between LOC and harness?

Question is, assuming above thinking is correct, and with no desire to fry a third amp, do I go ahead and replace the LOC and the harness (with my own manually run speaker wires, with the OEM wires snipped and spliced behind the head unit instead of using a harness, and with LOC powered from fuse panel), or just replace one or the other? I bought harness and LOC together, from here: https://plugnplaykits.com/products/...audio-harnesses-kits-1?variant=41430559948990

I guess the other possibility still exists that I've wired something wrong (wiring logic explained on a prior response, on this thread).
 
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Should I repeat, with high input disconnected from LOC, from PnP harness? Would that make a difference, or help to further isolate issue, between LOC and harness?
So no speakers were connected at the time of initial startup or during this test?
With just Power & Ground, jump a wire from amp positive to amp Remote to turn on the amp (screwed in at one side for quick removal). Any smoke? If you saw flames, then amp may already be gone but for testing purposes we shall try to proceed.
If no smoke, power down then connect your phone to the amp via 3.5mm to RCA cable. Power up. If no smoke then touch one speaker at a time to it's spot to see if that affects the amp.
Screenshot_20230703-090727(1).png

You may find one of these at Autozone or Bestbuy.
 
Sounds to me like you have a 12v /hot wire connected to the speaker section on your pin harness. If it were a power issue /supply for powering the amplifier and not supplied and grounded properly, you should have blown an onboard fuse. Double check your Speaker connections at the Harness. You are frying the speaker section on the board of the amplifier. Thats my thinking/2 cents
 
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I know it sounds like a PITA, but you should pull each speaker in the door and see what color is Poss and Neg for each speaker and take a pic and write and or draw on a piece of paper so you dont forget. This should help you
 
Sounds to me like you have a 12v /hot wire connected to the speaker section on your pin harness. If it were a power issue /supply for powering the amplifier and not supplied and grounded properly, you should have blown an onboard fuse. Double check your Speaker connections at the Harness. You are frying the speaker section on the board of the amplifier. Thats my thinking/2 cents
Really appreciate the review and the input. I've put everything (paneling) back together for now, got pretty frustrated with it, but as soon as I have time, I'll pull everything back apart and check. I should have just grabbed a spare length of wire and checked harness continuity, end to end on all connections, with a meter while I had everything apart. I'm pretty convinced, at this point, that the harness has an issue, from the manufacturer - a wire mislanded, or maybe a short somewhere.

If the above scenario is the case, with hot to speaker, would I have damaged the inline LOC, upstream of amp, in the process? Definitely want to eliminate all possible defects prior to a third attempt.

Thanks again!
 
Really appreciate the review and the input. I've put everything (paneling) back together for now, got pretty frustrated with it, but as soon as I have time, I'll pull everything back apart and check. I should have just grabbed a spare length of wire and checked harness continuity, end to end on all connections, with a meter while I had everything apart. I'm pretty convinced, at this point, that the harness has an issue, from the manufacturer - a wire mislanded, or maybe a short somewhere.

If the above scenario is the case, with hot to speaker, would I have damaged the inline LOC, upstream of amp, in the process? Definitely want to eliminate all possible defects prior to a third attempt.

Thanks again!
Im pretty certain that having that much power12v/would also damage that LOC on the speaker section. It may be melted by this time hit twice with power
 
Im pretty certain that having that much power12v/would also damage that LOC on the speaker section. It may be melted by this time hit twice with power
I could be wrong, but it wouldnt take much to take the LOC apart and view the small board inside. It more than likely damaged though. Its like taking a plastic bag and throwing it into a fire.
 
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