Currently im using the stock head unit and im sure you all know there is no rca outputs. I was just prewiring my car with rcas to the amp under my seat so im ready for my new head unit which im getting for christmas. I had to reroute the red power wire and remote turnon thru a different hole, so that I could use the large whole under the seat mound for the rcas. So I disconencted the remote turnon from the amp and the power wire from the amp (Not sure if i should have disconnected it from the battery, but I didnt). Anyhow after I was done running all the wires, I put my car back together and now the blue light on my alpine amp signifying power, isnt turning on and of course there is no sound... What could have happened to the amp? Could one of the wires from the remote turnon got damaged (could restrippeding the sleeving a bit fix it?) Could the power wire have gotten messed up because I didnt disconnect it from the battery?

 

If you have a inline fuse for your power wire check it cause if you didnt disconnect it from your battery and it touched your chassis it couldve just blown out the fuse. What you shouldve done is if you had an inline fuse for your power, pulled that and then disconnect your amp to make sure theres no place for the power wire to ground and spark. Other than that i would just trace your remote wire and see if its pinched anywhere. Same goes for your power wire. If you know how to use a multimeter check the output of the power wire and remote wire(with your stereo turned on) to see which one isnt getting the proper voltage.

 

Ill tell you this... When i was fishing thw power wire I did have a spark, so when u mentioned something about a fuse, I was pretty excited... Its kinda dark outside, But there is a fuse on the power wire under the hood over my car. I just checked and didnt look like it popped.. What would it look like if it poppped? If it popped should I pull the fuse out and put it back in? It appears to be as far in as it should be, but I cant know for sure. If I pull it out will I get shocked?LOL Everything went really well today running rcas and this just sucks

 

You will not get shocked by taking out the fuse. Considering you arced it you'll probably have no problem telling if it's blown or not. If the glass is darkened then it is gone. If you can see that the metal strip inside is split, it is blown. It's almost a given that it is blown. Just go get a new one and replace it. Always, always, always disconnect the main power wire when doing install work.

I'm going to throw in a little suggestion here becuase I just love mine. Buy a circuit breaker to replace the main fuse. I like it for 3 reasons: 1. it's super easy to cut power to the system when you need to work on something, 2. it's super easy to cut power to the system when your having someone else work on your car and you want to ensure they don't tinker with it, and 3. if you forget to cut off the power when you work on the system and you arc it, you don't have to worry about getting a new fuse.

 

Well I just pulled out the fuse from the power, is it safe to keep it plugged into the amp now withouth a fuse? It definately has some black around the metal inside the clear plastic. the fuse says "30" on the top, where can I buy a new one?

 

That depends on the type of fuse. I made an assumption on my last post that you had the glass barrel kind. If it is in fact the barrel kind, you'll probably have to go to a car audio shop and buy one. If it's the blade type similar to the ones in your fuse box, just go to any auto parts place and pick some up.

It is fine to leave the power wire connected to the amp. Without the fuse there is no power to it.

 

replace that and all of your problems will go away you should be able to get them at your local hardware store. Just bring it in and tell them you need one of those.

 

I just tested my bad fuse with a multimeter and there is no continuity, so Im rteally happy now Magicaly my dad somehow had one fuse that is the same as mine, and like a million there are diferent Now im gonna go try this. Ill let u guys know, u are life savers if this works

 

well, lol I just went to pop the fuse back in on the monster power cable and "zzzz" lol! freakin big ___ blue spark and the fuse went flying out of my hand and almost fell like in between the engine crap... I guess I have to disconnect the power wire from the battery before I put the fuse in? And how do I go about doing this before I get another joly.

 

Sounds like your power cable is grounding out somewhere otherwise it shouldnt have completed a circuit and cause that big ___ blue spark. Before you do anything else you should disconnect the power going to your amp to prevent any damage to the amp. Then you should probably check your wiring and if it looks right then try the fuse again and plug it in without the power hooked up to the amp. If it sparks then you know something is wrong with the power wire.

 

hmmm.. I know for a fact even though im not the one who ran the wire, that it goes straight from the amp to the battery.. Just the one red power wire.. you sure it doesnt have to be unplugged from the battery as well? If its unplugged from the amp is there any chance of it sparking? Im kinda scared cause I dont want the fuse to fall in side the hood somewhere,.

 

you might get a spark when putting a fuse back in sometimes but if its really huge you might have other problems. Double check to make SURE that your power wire isnt grounded out somewhere. Do a continuity check on the power wire to ground and see if its reading ground. Do this with the wire unhooked from the amp.

 

I may be exagerating, I think it just scared me seeing a spark.. I have the power wire disconnected fromt the amp now, so is there still a chance it may spark? Its kinda hard to see a spark and still push in lol... Im 99 percent sure the power line is a direct run from amp to battery..

 

make sure the car is turned off and the negative terminal disconnected... no offense, but if you don't know what you're doing, for the love of God, take your car to someone who does.

 

im just trying to learn.. How do u disconnect the negative terminal? I gotta learn sometime... Is it just a matter of using a wrench or will I get electructed..

 

you'ge going to get shocked taking the negative terminal off you're battery. just use a wrench of a rachet and losten the nut on the terminal.

as for your amp power wire.

someone already said exactly what to do.
disconnect the power wire from your amp ( the wire that runs from battery to amp)
then take your multimeter, set it on OHMS ( the greek omega sign)
put one of your two terminal leads on the end of the power wire that you removed from your amp. put the other meter lead somewhere on the frame of your car with no paint. ( you want somewhere that makes good conductivity)

look at your meter, if it reads close to zero OHMS or resistance, than your amp power wire is grounded out somewhere. in otherwords, somewhere between the battery and your amp, the wire must be cut so that the plastic insulation is no longer there and it is touching your car.

if the meter reads OPEN, OVERLOAD, OL, or INFINTY that means that your amp power wire should be good and is not grounding out, in that case come back and post

 

SH*T SORRY! I MEANT TO SAY, you arent going to get shocked taking the negative terminal off of your battery.

 

My multimeter dint have long enough cables, so I just took off the wire on the negative terminal put the fuse in (didnt shock me), put the wire back in the amp, and then put the wire back in the negative terminal.. Amazinly the amp is working So I guess this means the wire is good right? I cant wait to get rid of my high level input, i cant stand the interference..

 

When I bought my car it already had a system installed in it, but it is using the stock 6 disc changer. I have a low hissing noise, barely audible unless the radio is off. So I'm guessing that since they used the stock head unit, my amps don't turn off when the radio is off while the ignition is still on. Does anyone know of a quick and easy way to wire a remote wire so my amps turn off when my radio is off? I know I could wire one up to a switch on my dash, but I was hoping for a more integrated solution.

 

yeah I wish there wsas a way too, but im getting a new head unit so it doesnt matter to me anymore