help..newb

[mikedp13 10+ year member]

so i bought my p400-2 rockford fostgate amp, and i installed all the wires clean. i just need help with connecting the battery wire from the amp to the battery. everytime i try to put the end of the wire which goes to the battery,(which is connected by the hook thingy at the end, with an opening for a screw..forgot the name of it..) sparks always go off when i try to screw it on..is that normal?

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[brtnboarder3241 5,000+ posts]

so u are trying to gonnect the power wire to your amp terminal your saying?

 

[mikedp13 10+ year member]

yea, basicly the wire from the battery to the amp, but wen i try to connect the wire to the battery, sparks shoot out. little ones, not a lot

 

[morotorium]

Just make sure that your positive lead on the other end is hooked to your well grounded amp, or disconnected and not touching any metal. Also ensure that when you ran your cable you didn't cause an cuts in the wire; its common to happen where you ran the wire through the firewall/cab, which is why they always suggest using a grommet. Last and not least, hook up the wire with no fuse in and it shouldn't spark. Pop in the fuse and as long as your cable isn't shorted and blows the fuse, you're good to go.

 

[95BlackGA 5,000+ posts]

DISCONNECT YOUR GROUND FROM YOUR BATTERY!!! Do not try to hook up that power wire to your battery unless the battery's negative terminal is disconnected. At the very LEAST make sure your inline fuse holder doesn't have a fuse in it while hooking it up too.

 

[mikedp13 10+ year member]

well, if i unplug the ground from the battery, which is the negative correct? then i should have no problem when i screw on the wire to the positive? what would happen if i dont unplugg the ground from the battery, and i just screw on the wire to the battery with a few sparks coming out when i make contact with it? can it still work? i seen my uncles friend connect it like that, wasnt shure if there was no sparks or not, but i know the ground wasnt unplugged. is that possible to do in my situation?

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

Disconnect the negative

Make sure fuse is out of inline fuse holder

Connect positive.

Done.

 

[mikedp13 10+ year member]

why would i want to take the fuse out of the holder when im connecting it?

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

because it keeps the current spike from traveling to your amp.

 

[jco1385 5,000+ posts]

agreed. just take the neg off. not hard to do and wont risk your amp.