3 weeks ago my 6 channel JL Audio amp suddenly decided to not power on.

Being a noob in the field of car audio equipment I went to a friend who used to do installation work at Tweeter to see what he thought the problem may be.

He informed me that the amp was more than likely dead and i should invest in a new one. Now 3 weeks later my new amp has come in, JL AUDIO A6450, and since it was only the newer model of my original amp, the original was over 4 years old, i mirrored all the original settings and installed the new amp.

Unfortunately the new amp is also not powering on. My friend who used to work at Tweeter has been conveniently preoccupied with moving into a new home. So i reached out to other friends who had experience with installing amps. They had suggested that i test the voltage going through the power line and the remote line.

After hooking both up the a voltage meter i find that the power line definitely has plenty of power going through it but the remote line seems deader than a door nail.

Back when I had purchased all my audio equipment from Tweeter I had paid a nominal fee to have them professionally install it all. They did an amazing job with cable management and the like. I'm aware that i could goto them once again for labor but since it is only a remote cable, and from my understanding this cable runs from my head unit to the amp, i thought it might be simple enough to install on my own.

I remember back on my old 96 Civic ex that the entire plastic panel had to be removed that ran below the glove box in order to get to the head unit. Im sure i could figure out how to access the head unit but my main concern is properly running the remote cable from the head unit to the amp. I'm unsure on what type of cable to use, are there specific ones?.

If anyone would be able to shed some light on my predicament i would greatly appreciate it. There are several stores located near by that carry wiring, Lowes, Home Depot, Wal-mart, Tweeter, Circuit City, etc... If anyone would be able to suggest a type or brand of wire i would take that advice and run out to fix my car audio.

Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

Outline of car audio:

The amp is mounted to the rear right seat backing, it fold down, and there is a 12" subwoofer box mounted in the trunk. I'm currently using a clarion head unit, don't remember the model off hand but can go look it up quick if needed.

I was planning on copying the cable management system that Tweeter had original done.

 

Update: I just went to lows and picked up a 12 range cable and ran it directly from the remote in of the head unit to the amp remote in and it came up dead still.

Ive just about run out of ideas, so im tempted to just hit up Tweeter or CC for service.

 

First of all, the deck's remote lead is not an "in".

Second, have you checked the amp ground? Describe it in detail.

 

Disconnect the remote wire from the amp, and using a short piece of wire, connect the remote terminal to the power wire. If the amp is good, it should turn on.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 02 accord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Disconnect the remote wire from the amp, and using a short piece of wire, connect the remote terminal to the power wire. If the amp is good, it should turn on.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That too.

 

Thanks gang, im going to try splicing the power cable over to the remote in after i get off work.

Ill also take some detailed pictures of my current audio setup and cabling so you can get a better idea of whats going on.

 

Just don't leave the jumper in place on the amp, the amp will stay on.

It sounds to me like the amp control output on the HU, probably a blue or blue/white lead is defective, no output.

The other thing i would check is the amps power lead fuse, the one by the batt., replace it, even if it looks good and even if you read 12V+ at the amp, the fuse can be defective and not carry current under load. 94

BTW, if the problem turns out not to be the amp, and your original amp was the JL Audio "e" 6450, sell it and keep the new "A" 6450 although they are pretty much identical, the "A" is new. 94

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fcm &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Just don't leave the jumper in place on the amp, the amp will stay on.

It sounds to me like the amp control output on the HU, probably a blue or blue/white lead is defective, no output.

The other thing i would check is the amps power lead fuse, the one by the batt., replace it, even if it looks good and even if you read 12V+ at the amp, the fuse can be defective and not carry current under load. 94

BTW, if the problem turns out not to be the amp, and your original amp was the JL Audio "e" 6450, sell it and keep the new "A" 6450 although they are pretty much identical, the "A" is new. 94</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah im thinking its more than likely the Head Unit which is causing all my frustration but I will find out for sure tonight.

Also if the amp powers on and it was just the HU or the fuse i plan on testing my original JL Audio "e" 6450 because it was working fine before and if it still is i wouldnt mind making some kinda money back on the investment of a new amp, bloody $300 on ebay.