Amp is on but no sound question

[TupacThaDon1971 10+ year member]

had the system hooked up fine and then took out because was going to sell but decided to put back in. Anyways, the amplifier is the Alpine M-1000 or wahtever, it turns on but no sound all of a sudden...i'm thinking it may be my RCAs went bad or something, any other input???

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[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

Remote wire hooked up? Try a diff set of RCA's.

 

[TupacThaDon1971 10+ year member]

Yeah I don't have another set as of now and it's a pain in the *** getting behind the CD player lol, why I was sorta hoping maybe I was missing something else....guess I'll have to try it and see

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

Troubleshooting can be a ***** sometimes....or easy, depending upon what it is and what your getting yourself into.

 

[poolman966554]

easy mode) get a cheap 3.5mm to rca adapter, and use you phone as input. that will easily tell if amp is ok if you get sound.

normal mode) play a sine wave on head unit and use dmm to verify a signal is being sent. Set dmm to ac, while checking existing rca.

 

[TupacThaDon1971 10+ year member]

I think I'll just try some new RCA's sometime....I'm quite lost on the phone ordeal lol....thanksS though

 

[poolman966554]

I think I'll just try some new RCA's sometime....I'm quite lost on the phone ordeal lol....thanksS though

then try normal mode.. Do you have a Digital multimeter? Harbor freight sells them for $5. Everyone should have one imo. Testing the rca before replacing could save a bunch of time, and $$.

 

[TupacThaDon1971 10+ year member]

no i do not, but i'm positive there is one at work.....now say i have that in hand....i'm supposed to ''play a sine wave" (lost on that), as the rest of the steps in order to tell

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

Not sure how playing a sine wave is gonna help in this situation.

 

[TupacThaDon1971 10+ year member]

So what would I do with the Dmm once I have it regarding the rcas

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

easy mode) get a cheap 3.5mm to rca adapter, and use you phone as input. that will easily tell if amp is ok if you get sound.
normal mode) play a sine wave on head unit and use dmm to verify a signal is being sent. Set dmm to ac, while checking existing rca.

That ish don’t work with the new iPhones

 

[BOOMINGRANDPA 5,000+ posts]

check all wires and even amp fuses before pulling rcas.. maybe test sub too..

 

[poolman966554]

Not sure how playing a sine wave is gonna help in this situation.

Cmon bro, your smarter than that.

So what would I do with the Dmm once I have it regarding the rcas

Easy. playing a sine wave is just an easy way to test signal, as its a constant. You can play music too, but the dmm will jump all around with the bass.

To use a dmm on the rca, simply set meter to AC voltage. then, unplug an rca coming from head unit at the amplifier. Press one probe on dmm to center pin of rca, and other probe to the outer "skirt" of rca. you should read somewhere around 2-6v AC. if not, apply same test at head unit terminals to rule out a faulty rca, or head unit not sending signal.

 

[poolman966554]

That ish don’t work with the new iPhones

what have yall gotten yourselves into??! LMAO!!

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

Cmon bro, your smarter than that.


Easy. playing a sine wave is just an easy way to test signal, as its a constant. You can play music too, but the dmm will jump all around with the bass.

To use a dmm on the rca, simply set meter to AC voltage. then, unplug an rca coming from head unit at the amplifier. Press one probe on dmm to center pin of rca, and other probe to the outer "skirt" of rca. you should read somewhere around 2-6v AC. if not, apply same test at head unit terminals to rule out a faulty rca, or head unit not sending signal.

Maybe...but I would start with the simplest things 1st and in case OP doesn't have any test tones/sine wave tones on tap.