amp cuts in and out

[dgaf 10+ year member]

jrwalte, yea, the amp feels pretty hot

i don't keep track of the voltage, i do have an old capacitor that has voltage read out, but i never installed in, maybe i should throw that on just to monitor voltage?

 

[dgaf 10+ year member]

alright, i just went out and took everything apart, i noticed my ground connection from amp to car, at the point of contact on the car, the little rubber insulator thing over the ring connector was melted on the part touching the car, and the rubber was melted into the car, i took it all apart, started putting everything back in, and when i touched the ground wire to the metal of the trunk, it sparked...it shouldn't spark right? it's the ground...what does this mean?

 

[GearGuy2001 10+ year member]

Do you have a positive wire touching the frame anywhere? Also it shouldnt spark. Do you have a DMM check to see if there is voltage between your ground wire and the frame, If its +12v then your ground wire is hot (has power) and if its -12v then your frame is hot (has power)

The Positive of your DMM should be hooked to the ground and Negative to the Frame in both of the above tests

 

[dgaf 10+ year member]

hey gearguy, thanks for the input...

...but i already gave up on it, it's too **** hot outside for me, i just packed everything into the trunk, disconnected the fuse under the hood, and i'll take it to the shop on monday after work and let them take care of it...

 

[trebor 10+ year member]

If it was just one quick spark then it's probably just the capacitors inside your amp recharging when you completed the circuit by regrounding it again, this is normal.

 

[dgaf 10+ year member]

trebor, hey, makes sense, but the ground wire wasn't connected to the amp, the amp was out of the trunk, sitting alone, nothing connected to it...

...i'll post on monday evening after i get back from the shop and let ya know what it was

 

[trebor 10+ year member]

I'd say you got something else going on then. lol