Can someone please tell me whats going on with my amp

[suteman 10+ year member]

when the amp was still connected to the battery it was reading 2.4v and when i disconnected the power wire from the battery it was sitting at 2.37 and this is at the dmm set at dcv. this is also with the car off and the remote wire disconnected. i'm about to check again right now and i dont have another amp but i might be able to borrow one from my friend since his system isnt being used right now so ill try that

 

[mast240 10+ year member]

what kind of DMM are you using? sounds like it is giving you false measurements

 

[suteman 10+ year member]

its a innova 3320 and i just measured again and with the power out it just jumps around in mV and with the power connected it does the same thing with the car either on or off but i think i need to reconnect the remote and then try

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

when the amp was still connected to the battery it was reading 2.4v and when i disconnected the power wire from the battery it was sitting at 2.37

Explain this part, what is "it"? You disconnected the amplifier then measured the voltage on it's terminals? Why?

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

its a innova 3320 and i just measured again and with the power out it just jumps around in mV and with the power connected it does the same thing with the car either on or off but i think i need to reconnect the remote and then try

This makes sense, it sounds like your not getting any power at all to the amp. Check your fuses and connections. A DMM will usually read in mV and jump around a lot when it has nothing to measure (i.e. no voltage in the wire)

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

It's possible the logo's LED's are powered from the 12V REM wire and you just have a blown fuse somewhere...

 

[suteman 10+ year member]

iv checked all the fuses multiple times none are blown and with all the wire connected its reading 2.4v again for the amp. could it just be that the amp is dead?

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

iv checked all the fuses multiple times none are blown and with all the wire connected its reading 2.4v again for the amp. could it just be that the amp is dead?

If you disconnect the amplifier does the voltage reading on your power wire return to 12V? (note I said on the power wire itself, not the amplifier, I'm interested in what kind of voltage the amplifier is seeing but want you to remove the amp in case it's shorting.

 

[suteman 10+ year member]

sorry but how exactly do i measure the power wire iv never done that before

 

[mikelaubach 10+ year member]

Wow, we be all over the map here! LOL

You have the amplifier in the car, and there are three power lines going in - one for hot (red I hope), one for ground (black I hope), and one fore remote (blue I hope). I like to follow convention if its not obvious. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

My understanding of the above is that with the amplifier installed, you see 2V between the red and black wire? If that is the case, as already stated, something is bad in Denmark. Or Piscataway as the case may be. That should read battery voltage. If it does not, it is because something is on fire (I'd think that oyu'd report that), or because the main fuse is bad, and you are reading back-fed voltage (which means something else is bad).

What they want you to do is to slide the red wire out (do NOT let it touch anything), and then read the voltage from the end of the now-exposed red wire and the black wire in the amp. Is it still 2V, or do we have 12V now?

Next, test using a known good ground (body panel somewhere with a clean exposed bolt. Put the black lead from the multimeter on the bolt, and the red lead on the end of the red wire. Still 2V? Or maybe now 12V? Or maybe millivolts?

If 12V, you have a bad ground.

If millivolts, you have a bad fuse in line with the main power lead (yes, you checked them, that's greaaat). ;-)

Report back.

 

[suteman 10+ year member]

yea when i checked the voltage of the wires it was in mv and jumping around, so that means i have a bad fuse?

 

[Bassin Buick]

surprised this thread is still going. I can tell you exactly whats wrong with your amp. The problem is it was built by maxxsonics. LOL. I couldnt resist.

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

yea when i checked the voltage of the wires it was in mv and jumping around, so that means i have a bad fuse?

Yes, use your DMM and start working your way back toward your battery with the red lead. Start closest to the amp, so go to the first fuse and put the red DMM lead on the side that goes toward the amp (it will probably still be in mV) then try the other side. Eventually as you work your way back to your battery you'll find a spot where you you have 12V, that's where your problem is (most likely a fuse). Fuses can go bad/blow without showing ANY visual indications so if you spares (which you should) try swapping them out.

 

[suteman 10+ year member]

yea the voltage is 12v before the fuse so i think it is blown, didnt kno it would be without any visual indication tho. Im going to switch it out hopefully it works

 

[Vossy 10+ year member]

How was a blown fuse not obvious in this thead?