Wiring / Fuse help

[Seven71ne 10+ year member]

ok, so i just got this new, 500.1 Rockford Fosgate Prime

i read the manual and all that jazz, you know

Now, i didnt have the negative terminal off, and i tooke the wire that goes to the fuse out (i have a tube fuse under the hood, that goes to the amp) and un did all my old amp, put the new one in, then i touched the wire and it sparked. undid the negative terminal, hooked the fuse up (it wasent blown) and while putting the negitave terminal back, it kept shocking the metal band. finally got it on, and the speakers hooked up, turned on car, and nothing. I looked at my fuses in the amp (plastic ones) and both were shot. Can any one tell me the right way to do this without ruining my amp? Thanks!

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[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

Leaving the neg connected is fine as long as you pull your fuse at the battery.

Unhooking the negative terminal could be worse because when you connect the (+) first the amp "looks" for a (-) return wherever it's available. Sometimes that can be the rca wire which can damage the low current rca's.

Anyway - my only guess is the spark when you tried to replace the fuse is due to a small amount of capacitance in the wire -- I've had the same thing happen but it's never caused a problem down the line.

I would replace the amp fuses, hook the neg back up, then replace the front fuse as you were doing originally. Expect a spark, if you don't get one it's just a plus.

 

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

You should always remove the fuse from under the hood before doing any work. It should also be the last thing you reconnect. There are other ways to do it, but this is the safest way to do it. It will prevent you from making big mistakes. With the fuse out of the POS+ wire, there will be no current flowing until it is replaced. You need to buy replacement fuses for the ones that blew. Might want to buy a few spares as well just to have them on hand. I like to keep a few in the glovebox just in case I am on the road at night and the store is closed.

 

[Seven71ne 10+ year member]

Well i found my problem out... and im a very very lucky person.. in all my years of electronics, i read the B+ and GND wrong.... i just accidentally miss placed the wires... luckily everything is good, and working now. boy... that's the first time anything like that has ever happened to me. Has it happened to you guys? lol it would deff make me feel less of an idiot.