Smoking amp but no visual burns

[Superdummy69]

So not one of my proudest moments but let me explain. Today I was installing a new five channel amp in my Jeep Wrangler and I some how confused the ground for the power wire. I realized this as soon as I turned my car on and immediately turned it off. I definitely saw and smelt smoke but I opened the amp up and I can’t see any visual burns. All three fuses blew and I’m going to get new ones in the morning but I want to know if it will still be usable. It was a gift so a return would be a hassle but is possible. Sorry for any typos it’s been a long day but thanks.

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[Popwarhomie 5,000+ posts]

Sometimes they will work fine after swapping fuses. Most of the time they are dead.

 

[llebcire]

I don't know about newer designs, but "back in the day" amps had a "dummy diode" in the power supply that was designed to fail if the polarity was reversed. Designs may have evolved to just blowing fuses, but I agree with @Popwarhomie - if the fuses don't bring it back from the dead you'll need to swap it. Most manufacturers will deny warranty as this is operator error.

Good luck!

-Eric

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

If smoke came out of it I'd say it's unlikely it will work without a visit to an electronics repair shop. Some amps will survive that but most people over-fuse and even small fuses and "protection circuits" can pass very high currents for enough time to hurt things. Semiconductors can fail in the tiniest fraction of a second.

 

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

You're just going to have to see. You may have gotten lucky if the fuses blew.