I installed an amp yesaterday and already have blown 3 fuses. This is what I dont understand.... its not blowing the amp fuse (power wired directly to the battery), but the clock/interior light/cigarette lighter fuse. What the heck does that fuse have to do with my amp? It doesnt even matter if there is a load on the amp... it blew the first time without any subs in. This is all in the past 24 hours.

Thanks

 

where did you tap the power for the remote turn on?

 

From the head unit... it has an amp remote wire.

 

you may have a short somewhere

 

Sounds like you tapped into the wrong wire somewhere, perhaps for the dimmer\illumination lead on the stereo wiring harness.

 

I dont use the dimmer/illumination wire with my headunit. I think it could be my ground for the amp isnt good enough and it is feeding back through the remote wire. I added a second ground, gotta see if this helps. do you think Im on the right track?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Skitals &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I dont use the dimmer/illumination wire with my headunit. I think it could be my ground for the amp isnt good enough and it is feeding back through the remote wire. I added a second ground, gotta see if this helps. do you think Im on the right track?</TD></TR></TABLE>


second ground? umm.. no.. why not just fix the first one?

If your system is wired properly, you have a short. I would review all your connections first though.

 

Are you sure the amp is still good??? Try and find a different remote wire, maybe tap into your acc. one.

 

Well, how do you fix a "short"?

I just added an inline fuse at the battery (had just put this off), added a second (shorter) ground, and changed the fuses. Blew after about an hour of use.

Im really puzzled here. I have everything wired correctly. Why would there be a problem with my head units remote wire?

Im also out of 15amp fuses now. Would it be a big no-no to use a 20amp fuse?

Thanks for your help.

 

Don't put a higher rated fuse, you may fry something else. The fuse is to protest your equipment. Is there another amp you could try and use???

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Skitals &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well, how do you fix a "short"?

Im also out of 15amp fuses now. Would it be a big no-no to use a 20amp fuse?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Either by testing the wires to make sure they are carrying a current and the proper amount.. or by rewiring everything..

do NOT upsize fuses.. you will be defeating the point of having the fuse there in the first place. Just go pick up some 15amp ones..

 

Assuming everything is installed correctly I would look to see if maybe you pinched a wire when you put your head unit back into the dash or if one of the wires is shorting to ground back there.

 

I checked it out and the last time the fuse blew after i made those changes it was the inline fuse behind the head unit. I replaced that one and gave it another go. Its been so weird, this is what's happened the last two times. The stereo shuts down for a second or two, and then turns back on. Within a minute the fuse blows. I dont understand these symptoms at all. I will check everything one last time to make sure nothing is exposed or pinched.

thanks again for everyones help, and any more input is appreciated.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by underrated &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Don't put a higher rated fuse, you may fry something else. The fuse is to protest your equipment. Is there another amp you could try and use???</TD></TR></TABLE>

thats a common misconception about fuses. it's not there to protect the equipment, its there to protect the wires.

 

okay, well i took your advice and hooked the amp remote into the ACC wire. I spliced into the acc wire that goes into the headunit. Now the fuse STILL blew but it was just the headunits inline power fuse. The only connection the amp has to the headunit now is the pre-amp outs. I dont see why the fuses keep blowing since this only started when i hooked up the amp. Luckily i found they sell the right fuses at the radio shack right next to where i work for like 50 cents a piece.

I really dont see any problems with the wires going into the headunit. No pinched wires, no exposed wires, etc.

ARGGGG.

 

its could be a number of things that make you blow fuses.....

bad amp, lose conections, sloppy conections on the terminals.... power surge... how many watts is the amp and how big is your power line?.... how did you run the power line? is it going thought the firewall or doorjam.... i have customers who install there own amp and come back all the time cause they messed up some where..... most of the time its just sloopy

 

amp is only 65wx4. 12 ga power run through the firewall to battery with 20amp fuse inline at battery. my ground is about 18" long.

 

umm well...

when i was installing stereo's back about 3 yrs ago everyday, we always used at least 8 gauge pwr wire and a 40amp fuse

did u buy your amp new or used???

or u might have your speakers hooked up wrong which is making the amp go into the overload protection and popping fuses

i dunno stereo trouble shooting is hard....i would just start from stratch and reinstall it over again even though it sounds like a pain in the ***!!!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Skitals &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">amp is only 65wx4. 12 ga power run through the firewall to battery with 20amp fuse inline at battery. my ground is about 18" long.</TD></TR></TABLE>

dude get atleast 8 guage wire.. and make the ground as short as possible... make sure the fuse is no MORE than 18 inches away from the car battery and you have all the wires connected good w/ a good ground and power source... what kind of 65wx4 is it??