Wiring, Stereo & Electronics Audio Components | Radars | Alarms - and things that spark when they shouldn't

WTF Now?

Old Jul 12, 2006 | 09:57 PM
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Ok i have a kicker mono amp on a L7 10 in a stealth. Well the 10 starting crapping out so i sent it back for a replacement. I capped the ends of the power cables from the amp bc they were supposed to have me a replacement in a matter of a couple days and i dont drive the car alot. Well i waited forever for it and it came today. All along ive seen my green amp light(power indicator light) cutting on and off with the key like normal and tonight i stick the speaker back in the box, turn the key, no amp. It doesnt cut on at all. I pulled the speaker to double check that i had the coils wired right and the +/- right and of course they are. Checked the amp power wire and fuse, checked the ground. The remote wire is firmly in place on the amp, the amp fuses are fine. Also checked most of my fuses under the hood that would have had anything to do with it. Why the hell is this thing not cutting on now?
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Old Jul 12, 2006 | 10:23 PM
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voice coils shorted? blown sub can do the same ****
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Old Jul 12, 2006 | 10:25 PM
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Sub is brand new just pulled out of the box. I unplug the sub and the amp still doesnt cut on. Got me puzzled.
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Old Jul 12, 2006 | 10:46 PM
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amp prolly took a **** on you, might try and see if your amp is blown.
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Old Jul 13, 2006 | 06:42 AM
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Originally Posted by Z28LS1camaroguy
amp prolly took a **** on you, might try and see if your amp is blown.
na, kicker amps are pretty reliable. It's pretty rare for it to just die from sitting.

I would get out a meter and check the speaker just in case. Than check the to make sure the amp is getting power.
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Old Jul 13, 2006 | 03:21 PM
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Amp has gotta be missing power somehow. They are both brand new and the amp worked fine without a speaker a couple days ago. I guess ill try to retrace the +/- and remotes to make sure they are good to go..
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Old Jul 13, 2006 | 03:45 PM
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go to the store and spend $10 on a multimeter. makes things like this super easy to troubleshoot.

check for 12v at the amps positive terminal and ground, and then check for 12v at the amps remote turn on terminal and ground. report back with the results.

mike
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Old Jul 13, 2006 | 03:58 PM
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Ive got a little voltage checker thats a light that cuts on when powered, is that good enough?
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Old Jul 13, 2006 | 05:00 PM
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Ok someone pointed out that one of my taillights is out, is there anyway that could have anything to do with it? (dont see how)
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Old Jul 13, 2006 | 06:49 PM
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ok, take your test light.

with car off, radio off, connect the test light across the positive and negative power inputs of the amp. Does it light ? If so, move on. If not, check under hood fuse and connection to battery. Also check ground cable.

With radio on, connect test light across the remote turn on terminal and the negative power input of the amp. If it does not light, verify connection at head unit. If the connection is good, most likely, your head unit will need to be replaced.
If it lights up, then the amp is probably bad.

I doubt your tail light is anything more then a coincedence.

mike
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Old Jul 13, 2006 | 07:46 PM
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Now i cant find my damn light. Im gonna look about 5 more minutes then buy one on the way to work tmrw. My luck is super
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Old Jul 13, 2006 | 09:20 PM
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Ok found the light tested with radio off and got nothing. radio on i tested the - and remote and got light. tested + and remote and it flickered a little and the red amp protection light came on for a second. I pulled the deck out and all the wires were fine. I previously pulled out and looked at my power cable fuse by the battery and it looks perfect... Well i tested the end of the cable before the fuse and its hot, tested the piece behind the fuse and nothing. The fuse looks perfect and should have no reason not to work, its weird anyone ever had a fuse just not work out of the blue and not be blown???? It worked for 2 weeks before the sub went bad lol..
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Old Jul 14, 2006 | 07:13 AM
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fuses can look good and be bad .... replace the fuse ...after you check the wire to make sure it is not shorted ... I bet the capped end got to a ground and blew dat fuse
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Old Jul 14, 2006 | 07:20 AM
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yep, could be the fuse blew on the end where it's not visible. replace the fuse and see what happens.

Also, when testing and + terminal, such as the amp's main power, or the remote turn on, always put the other terminals of the test light to ground. This is where a multimeter is better, because if you go across 2 terminals that you shouldn't, the likely hood of something bad happening is much lower, as you are not actually driving a load like test light does. That's wmy almost all auto manufacturers now recommend against using test lights in cars that have computer controls.

mike
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Old Jul 14, 2006 | 03:59 PM
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I got my light test on last night and checked before and after the fuse and thats what it was, appeared to be flawless but wasnt making a connection so i picked one up today and its all good. Thanks alot everyone especially you mike!
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Old Jul 14, 2006 | 05:25 PM
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no problem.. glad it all works now. I know the frustration that can be had trying to track down stereo issues
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Old Jul 14, 2006 | 08:43 PM
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one problem I had with my kicker was I had to small of a fuse and it would cut in and out for no reason it seemed. the fuse never blow but it wouldn't allow enough juice to get to the amp. replace teh fuse with a 150watt and it work's great. my buddy has my old fuse on his amp and it works good for him but his is much smaller.
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Old Jul 15, 2006 | 05:33 PM
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another thing... you never want to power an amp and give it an RCA signal if there are no woofers connected... very bad thing..

glad your amp is okay though.
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Old Jul 15, 2006 | 05:47 PM
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I never even thought about it, i should have pulled the fuse when the sub went bad. It works fine now, im breaking in the sub to keep from frying this one like the other LOL. Need a little more airspace for it, the stealths are the minimum recommended sealed volume for the sub. Being as the box is small should i avoid lower freq? Like stick to 40+? I had a couple rap CDs that had really low bass 30/35 cycles that the speaker basically couldnt really replicate and i wonder if that had a part in it going bad? How integral is breaking it in? Any suggestions? I heard play it at 25% for a week then gradually go up to your prefered level over a few days. I mostly listen to rock but like to have some serious ear pounding from time to time
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Old Jul 15, 2006 | 05:55 PM
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I still think that the "break in" period is a bunch of crap...

even on a car, a lot of mechanics will tell you it really doesn't matter... especially on a brand-new car

to answer your question... it's possible that if you have enough power going to your stealthbox woofer, that yes, you can burn it up playing low bass... the woofer is hardly moving, which means it's not cooling off the voicecoil....
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