Amplifiers have no power

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Aaron S

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Both of my Mono and 4 channel amplifiers have no power but they both worked perfectly fine the day before. I have checked continuity on all the ground wires and they are good. The REM wire for both amps have voltage and the power cables have power (only) if there not connected to the amps. When its just the power cord, I get around 11 voltage, as soon as I connect the power cords from the three way distributor block into the amps, I get .3 voltage. All the fuses are perfectly fine as well. I have no idea what the problem would be. If anyone has any ideas, im totally open for suggestions. 

Thank you.

 
You should try to isolate the amplifiers and test again. Only provide power to a single amp at a time, no distro blocks.

11v is low, where are you touching your leads to take the measurement?

 
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I have isolated the blocks and both give me a very low reading. Im taking my measurement from th power at the end of the wire where it attaches to the distrobution block. I have also touched leads to where the power cable is screwed to the battery cable and it give me a 14v reading.

 
So I was testing a little more and I think the ground wire for both the mono amp and the 4 channel amp might need to be replaced. When I unscrewed the ground from the frame of the vehicle, I went to turn the key on and then went to the back to touch the ground to the frame and I managed to get both lights to turn red for a brief moment and then they went out. Would this be a bad ground? I was also paying attention to the voltage coming through the power cord. I immediately lost voltage as soon as I touched the ground wire to the frame.

 
You have done a good job testing and taking measurements.  Thank you for your efforts to date.

Remember that a voltage reading with a DMM is a relative measurement looking at the potential difference between the two points being measured.   If the ground isn't making good contact with metal, you will get odd readings and low readings.  open voltage at the back should match the voltage at the front.  With no load, there is no voltage drop.  If it doesn't match, the ground is usually suspect.

Grounds will fail over time for two reasons:

1. they loosen unless you've bolted it with >1/4-20 and lock washers/lock nuts.

2. they will always corrode over time.  If you sand away paint, you expose metal to oxidation and it will rust.  Even if it stays "dry" there is enough moisture in the air to cause oxidation. 

Even if wires are touching ground, they may not be making sufficient contact electrically.

I recommend cleaning/sanding your ground point to expose bare metal again.  Clean/sand your ground terminal/lug.  When you bolt it (not just screwed) use locking washers or lock nuts and torque it down.  Lastly, silicone can help stave off oxidation (assuming it isn't already really humid when you make the connection). 

Additionally, make sure any ring terminals aren't loose around the wire.  you should be able to pull on your connections with reasonable force (5lbs or so) and they should remain tight.  Replace any ring terminals that are suspect.

The same rules apply for battery connections.

We usually remove amps and bench test when they are suspect.  We'll even direct wire them to the battery (with an inline fuse) to test function independent of the vehicle.  In your case I suspect connections.

 
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Aaron S

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