trouble with my jl audio 500/1 amp

[vaiboy 10+ year member]

The amp didn't work with my ipod...but I got the dmm and there is 12v from the remote and amp still doesn't turn on

Disconnect the remote wire and speaker wires

Turn the "Signal Sensing" switch on.

Connect your Ipod to the inputs, play a track with a lot of midrange, and crank the volume.

Does the amp turn on?

 

[jm25 10+ year member]

i changed the fuse box and all just incase and they all work ...i tested the amp in my friends car and it works and he has the same set up im thinking its the radio outputs but there giving me good signals from what he said ...maybe it can be something as small as the rca wires theres probably a short somewhere ...idk

 

[vaiboy 10+ year member]

You can use the DMM to check the head unit outputs and RCA cables. Your original post has me thinking the white plug wont show any voltage, but that doesn't really explain why it wouldn't work with the Ipod.

Disconnect the RCA cables from the amp.

Play a 60HZ test tone at about 1/2-3/4 volume.

Set the DMM to test for AC Voltage.

Check the RCA cables at the amp, probe the center post with the + and the outer shield with the -

Both red and white should have about the same voltage.

If one of them doesn't have a signal, then check the RCA outs behind the head unit.

Same procedure, probe the hole with the + and the shield with the -.

If you have voltage at both then the RCA cable is bad. If you only have a signal from one the headunit is the problem.

 

[jm25 10+ year member]

Funny thing my friend was selling a jl audio 1000/1 of course he tested it before I bought it but I hooked the amp up to it and its giving me a blue light which means low V now I plugged it in ground batt remote but I didn't plug in the rca and the light stays on now how can that be ..when I've knowen the guy fpr a long time n his system works just fine.....

Ok I get .04 at the rca ends by the amp both red n white and the rca inputs behind the radio also give me numbers but different the red gives me .04 and white gives me .05

 

[jm25 10+ year member]

Ok I get .04 at the rca ends by the amp both red n white and the rca inputs behind the radio also give me numbers but different the red gives me .04 and white gives me .05

 

[vaiboy 10+ year member]

Funny thing my friend was selling a jl audio 1000/1 of course he tested it before I bought it but I hooked the amp up to it and its giving me a blue light which means low V now I plugged it in ground batt remote but I didn't plug in the rca and the light stays on now how can that be ..when I've knowen the guy fpr a long time n his system works just fine.....
Fyi...ill try what you said

You probably have a bad ground. The 500/1 doesn't have a Low V light so it just doesn't turn on.

Just to be sure though check the voltage at the Power, if it's below 10V the amp will not power up.

To test the ground set the DMM to test resistance (Ω).

Disconnect the power from the battery.

Disconnect the ground wire from the amp.

Place one probe on the loose end of the ground wire and the other probe on the floor pan near the other end of the ground wire.(be sure the paint is scraped off of the spot and you are touching bare metal)

A good ground should have a very low resistance, the closer to 0Ω the better.

If the resistance is high or the DMM displays an open circuit redo your ground connection.

BTW It sounds like your RCAs are ok, if you can get the amp to turn on it should work.

 

[jm25 10+ year member]

You probably have a bad ground. The 500/1 doesn't have a Low V light so it just doesn't turn on.
Just to be sure though check the voltage at the Power, if it's below 10V the amp will not power up.

To test the ground set the DMM to test resistance (Ω).

Disconnect the power from the battery.

Disconnect the ground wire from the amp.

Place one probe on the loose end of the ground wire and the other probe on the floor pan near the other end of the ground wire.(be sure the paint is scraped off of the spot and you are touching bare metal)

A good ground should have a very low resistance, the closer to 0Ω the better.

If the resistance is high or the DMM displays an open circuit redo your ground connection.

BTW It sounds like your RCAs are ok, if you can get the amp to turn on it should work.

well i tried it and it jumps around and ends at 0 so since you said the closer to 0 the better then im guessing its good

?...i also put the tip of the negative post on the dmm on the door jam and i put the positive post of the dmm on the wire to see what it would read and it read 54.4 just being curious... but like i said it read 0 when i tried it

fyi ...i bought the 1000/1 from my friend he gave me a good deal amps only 5 months old very mint it worked when he took it out i put it on mine but the Low V light comes on

 

[vaiboy 10+ year member]

well i tried it and it jumps around and ends at 0 so since you said the closer to 0 the better then im guessing its good?...i also put the tip of the negative post on the dmm on the door jam and i put the positive post of the dmm on the wire to see what it would read and it read 54.4 just being curious... but like i said it read 0 when i tried it

fyi ...i bought the 1000/1 from my friend he gave me a good deal amps only 5 months old very mint it worked when he took it out i put it on mine but the Low V light comes on

Well I think the 500/1 and 1000/1 are having the same problem so hopefully we can solve it.

It sounds like the location of the ground may be a problem.

You will need a long wire, 18ga-14ga and long enough to run from the amps location to the battery.

First test the resistance of the wire, + probe at one end of the wire and - probe on the other, and remember that number.

Attach one end of the wire to the negative on the battery and disconnect the positive side of the battery.

Now attach one of the DMM's probes to the loose end of the wire.

Use the other probe to test the location where the ground is bolted to the floorpan and the door jam where you read 54.4.

You should get a reading about .5Ω higher than testing just the wire, but it's another situation were lower is better.

If the area your ground is bolted to gives you a much higher reading than the doorjam you will need to move the ground.

You can use this setup to probe other areas to find a better location for the ground.

 

[jm25 10+ year member]

Well I think the 500/1 and 1000/1 are having the same problem so hopefully we can solve it.
It sounds like the location of the ground may be a problem.

You will need a long wire, 18ga-14ga and long enough to run from the amps location to the battery.

First test the resistance of the wire, + probe at one end of the wire and - probe on the other, and remember that number.

Attach one end of the wire to the negative on the battery and disconnect the positive side of the battery.

Now attach one of the DMM's probes to the loose end of the wire.

Use the other probe to test the location where the ground is bolted to the floorpan and the door jam where you read 54.4.

You should get a reading about .5Ω higher than testing just the wire, but it's another situation were lower is better.

If the area your ground is bolted to gives you a much higher reading than the doorjam you will need to move the ground.

You can use this setup to probe other areas to find a better location for the ground.

The ground were its bolted to now doesn't give me anything as I explained before it jus jumps from .1 to 0 and it stays at 0

 

[vaiboy 10+ year member]

The first test I described tested the connection between the ground wire and the floor (or whatever part the ground is bolted too) The second test checks the ground all the way to the battery. If the panel you bolted the ground to doesn't have a solid connection with the chassis it's not going to work for the ground. When you checked the resistance from the ground wire to the door jam and measured 54.4Ω, it's an indication of a possible problem. If both the door jam and ground location were solidly connected to the chassis you would not have a 54.4Ω reading. The only way to be sure the ground location is good is to check it all the way to the battery.

 

[jm25 10+ year member]

i understand what your saying but i think you got me wrong ...where the wire is bolted to its giving me a reading of .1 and it jumps to 0 and it stays at 0....i tested the negative probe of the tester on the metal part on the door jam and put the positive on the loose end of the wire and thats how i got the reading 54.4 just to see what happens but if im not mistaken you said the closer to 0 the better .....

 

[jm25 10+ year member]

this is giving me a really big head ache i would take it to a local shop but there charging way to much to check it over it ridiculous!!!

 

[Bass911 10+ year member]

I need a lil help ...i just purchased 2 12 inch alpine type r subs and a 500/1 jl audio amp i kno this amp has more than enough power to push em i witnessed the same amp power 3 10 inch alpine type rs but im having a lil trouble everything is hooked upbattery wire remote ground but the rca wirse seem to be acting a bit funny....the amp hase 2 sections a pre amp output section and a amp input section ....the pre amp output section is were you woulr run another pair of RCA wires if you were attatching second amp and the input section is were the RCA from the headunit to the amp would connect but when i do that the amp doesnt turn on now when i connect it to thepre amp out put section it turns on but i get no sound... now if i take the red part of the RCA wire and connect it too the input section and connect the white to the output section i get bass....im trying to figure out is it the RCA wire or the headunit or the amp itself? .....I NEED HELP ASAP IF ANYONE CAN HELP ILL APPRECIATE IT

That Jl amp is not that strong, and will not push two 12 R's good. I've installed a few 500/1's on W3's, W6's, and W7's. I've also owned a total 6 Type R's. You probably haven't heard enough real systems if you were impressed with the 500/1? It's a great amp if that's all the power you need. You could have got a Hifonics Brz2100.1d for about the same price or lower and it would have gave the R's all they could handle. A Crescendo BC2000 amp is about the same price to and would totally destroy the 500/1 in output. I just hate to see people spending all that money just because it's JL.

 

[vaiboy 10+ year member]

i understand what your saying but i think you got me wrong ...where the wire is bolted to its giving me a reading of .1 and it jumps to 0 and it stays at 0....i tested the negative probe of the tester on the metal part on the door jam and put the positive on the loose end of the wire and thats how i got the reading 54.4 just to see what happens but if im not mistaken you said the closer to 0 the better .....

I know it's frustrating but I really think this could be the problem.

If you have a piece of 4ga wire long enough to reach from the battery to the amp you could verify that the ground really is the issue. Just connect one end of the wire directly to the batteries negative and the other end to the amps ground. That will bypass the chassis ground and the amp should turn on without the Low V light.

I totally understand what you are saying. When you test the resistance through the ground wire to the panel the ground is bolted to you get 0-.1Ω and that is good. It means the current shouldn't have any problem passing between the amp and the panel the ground is bolted to, but that test only shows that the connection from the amp to that specific panel is good. It doesn't verify that the current is able to pass between that panel and the battery to complete the circuit though. When you put one probe on the door jam and the other on the loose end of the ground wire it showed that the door jam and the panel the ground is bolted to do not have a good connection. The door jam is structural and likely has a very good connection to the battery. So, if the panel you connected your ground to doesn't have a good connection with the door jam, it likely doesn't have a good connection with the battery. The only way to verify that is to test the connection all the way to the battery.

 

[jm25 10+ year member]

That Jl amp is not that strong, and will not push two 12 R's good. I've installed a few 500/1's on W3's, W6's, and W7's. I've also owned a total 6 Type R's. You probably haven't heard enough real systems if you were impressed with the 500/1? It's a great amp if that's all the power you need. You could have got a Hifonics Brz2100.1d for about the same price or lower and it would have gave the R's all they could handle. A Crescendo BC2000 amp is about the same price to and would totally destroy the 500/1 in output. I just hate to see people spending all that money just because it's JL.

everybody has there own opinions but thanks 4 the advice