Contest: Just Try to Figure This One Out...

[Mattman00969 10+ year member]

If anyone can solve this problem, they are the GOD of all car Audio. This is a big thread because I have a lot of info to throw out. So, Here we go:

I can't get 'constant' power to my amp. Here are the details of the operation:

I am putting an amp in my 2000 Subaru Impreza. My dech is a Pioneer DEH-F24. The amp and deck worked perfectly when removed from my previous vehicle.

When I first installed the amp up, it wouldn't power up. The first thing that came to mind was the remote wire. I tried many different combinations to see why the remote was not sending a signal. I decided to see if it was the ground. I tried many different places on the car, drilling holes, removing paint, trying everything that I could think of and still no power. I then tried something out. I hooked the ground cable to the ground on my friends car because I know that his ground is functional. The amp powered up when I attempted this, but the 'protected' light came on immediatly. I figured that this was due to the fact that I was using a ground from another vehicle. Because the amp did turn on, The remote wire is correct. So it had to be ground. I took the amp out of my trunk, took all the wires to the front of the vehicle and connected the ground wire directly to the negative terminal of the battery, obviously the best ground of any vehicle. Tried it again and still no 'constant' power. When the deck turned on, there was a slight blink of the 'power' LED on the amp. thaty is the closest to power that I have got it, but still no luck. Then I concluded that the amp is faulty. To test this, I hooked it up in my friends setup, turned on his deck, and lo and behold my amp turned on and worked beautifully. I then checked all fuses, and they are in perfect condition.

So here are the final details:

1. Remote wire works because it turned the amp on when the ground was connected to another vehicle, but only the protected LED came on.

2. Ground also is not the case because I connected it directly to the negative battery terminal and still no power.

3. Amp is not faulty becasue it worked in my friends car.

4. Fuses are in perfect working order

5. Amp flashed power LED for a quick second and never flashed again.

So if it's not the remote, not the ground, not a fuse...WHAT IS WRONG?????

PLEASE HELP ME!!!! Whoever can figure this out is the SUPREME CAR AUDIO GOD!!!

Click to read more...

 

[MikeofTulsa Moderator]

1. Remote wire works because it turned the amp on when the ground was connected to another vehicle, but only the protected LED came on.

2. Ground also is not the case because I connected it directly to the negative battery terminal and still no power.

3. Amp is not faulty becasue it worked in my friends car.

4. Fuses are in perfect working order

5. Amp flashed power LED for a quick second and never flashed again.

So if it's not the remote, not the ground, not a fuse...WHAT IS WRONG?????

PLEASE HELP ME!!!! Whoever can figure this out is the SUPREME CAR AUDIO GOD!!!

ok....so you have checked all the fuses....have u used a volitmeter or a 12v test light to verify that all the power wires are receiving a 12v signal to them? my guess is that there may be something wrong w/ the h/u.....jus spendlike 3 bucks to get the test light and test all the connections....

 

[Mattman00969 10+ year member]

ok....so you have checked all the fuses....have u used a volitmeter or a 12v test light to verify that all the power wires are receiving a 12v signal to them? my guess is that there may be something wrong w/ the h/u.....jus spendlike 3 bucks to get the test light and test all the connections....

I'll go buy one first thing in the morning, I"ll let you know if you are for sure a god or not //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif .

 

[MikeofTulsa Moderator]

I'll go buy one first thing in the morning, I"ll let you know if you are for sure a god or not //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif .

hello....look at the title under my my name.....geesh....kids these days.....no respect.....heh...

 

[Mattman00969 10+ year member]

hello....look at the title under my my name.....geesh....kids these days.....no respect.....heh...

You may be a know it all, but we will soon find if you are truely a god, then you can have it say: " God of Car Audio: The know it all expert"...lol

 

[MikeofTulsa Moderator]

You may be a know it all, but we will soon find if you are truely a god, then you can have it say: " God of Car Audio: The know it all expert"...lol

would never claim godlike status.....thats taken by loyd....i think i'll stick w/ know it all for now.......maybe i should go back to my old title...... "Official Smart ***"

 

[B&R Innovation2 10+ year member]

Listen do this crazy little test.

Have the amp running in your car with power, ground and rca's connected. Then connect another car's remote line and be sure that his car is on and his HU is opperational. If your amp turns on then, then you know it is your amp. If it still doesnt turn on put your friends remote line back on his amp and runn the RCA's from your car on to his amp. Remember his car must be on for his amp to turn on, but his radio should be muted. If his amp plays your music then your RCA's are alright.

If neither your RCA's nor the Remote are fine then it gets slightly more complicated. Have you ever deep cycled your battery? And what is the RMS voltage on the battery when its off and then on?

You can check that with a simply Digital Multimeter just let is sit on the terminals for about a minute and watch the current fluctuate and take the average of each.

Off is should hold around 12v on it should be between 13.6 and 14.4.

 

[RFmustang 10+ year member]

get a digital multimeter, that way you can see if you amp is gettting power and if its got a good ground.

make sure your power wire isnt grounded out somewhere.

did you try hooking up what you're amping to something else?

 

[MikeofTulsa Moderator]

any news yet?

 

[B&R Innovation2 10+ year member]

If his power line was grounding out...well his fuse would be blown or a nice electrical fire would be burning his car rather rapidly

 

[SPLThunder 10+ year member]

Please dont get a test light. you are more likely to screw things up from the high current they draw. Always use a DMM or analog if you got one. Radio shack has some cheap ones that i dont like but they are better than test lights. Or ask a friend im sure somebody has to have one

 

[MikeofTulsa Moderator]

Please dont get a test light. you are more likely to screw things up from the high current they draw. Always use a DMM or analog if you got one. Radio shack has some cheap ones that i dont like but they are better than test lights. Or ask a friend im sure somebody has to have one

test light.....they make those for cars man....its like a screwdriver w/ a tiny light in it and a ground on it......doesnt draw a massive amount of current......sigh..... a dmm is nice...but usually like 10 or 15 bux.....

 

[RFmustang 10+ year member]

test light.....they make those for cars man....its like a screwdriver w/ a tiny light in it and a ground on it......doesnt draw a massive amount of current......sigh..... a dmm is nice...but usually like 10 or 15 bux.....

hey if you want to replace his computer or airbag then he can go ahead and use a test light. test lights are no longer in most auto shops due to that

 

[B&R Innovation2 10+ year member]

MECP does not suggest the use of test lights as they have a quick strong draw and can screw up sensitive computer equipment. But if your testing an amp at the amp it isnt goign to cause a problem. If you are diging out a board and slamming the test light into...then you'll run into problems. Generally a dmm is the way to go but for the tests were asking him to perform a test light will be just fine

 

[RFmustang 10+ year member]

MECP does not suggest the use of test lights as they have a quick strong draw and can screw up sensitive computer equipment. But if your testing an amp at the amp it isnt goign to cause a problem. If you are diging out a board and slamming the test light into...then you'll run into problems. Generally a dmm is the way to go but for the tests were asking him to perform a test light will be just fine

Yeah, but i was talking more so about the use of it on the car in general and how the little light has the potential to do serious damage

anyways hows it coming along Mattman00969?