[turbo]

i bought a used amp and it arrived in the mail today. how can i test it to make sure its not DOA? it has indicator lights on the front, but when i hook up the power, ground, and remote wire to it and turn on my headunit, no lights come on the amp. is this a correct way to test it? i don't know much about car audio and will probably bring it to a stereo shop to get it installed. this is a bigger amp than the one i'm replacing b/c my old one was having problems.

 

[KyleScha]

Are you sure you are hooking it up correctly? Have you hooked up the speakers to see if it makes sound? If the power, ground, and remote are hooked up correctly it should turn on. I'd get it looked at by a shop though.

 

[turbo]

i did hook up the speaker wires, but no sound and no lights. i thought maybe i hook up the wires wrong. if i don't use the amp, sound does come out of the speakers fine. i'll give it another try in the morning.

 

[mikeym]

did you put the fuse back in your power wire?

i had that problem... i couldn't figure out why my amp wouldn't work.... then DUH

~mikeym

 

[turbo]

yes, the fuse on the amp and the fuse near the battery are fine.

 

[Stephen M]

If you have access to a voltmeter, check that you're getting +12V at the amp + input and at the remote turn-on lead. If you're not sure if the turn on lead from your head unit is working, you can jump the the turn on lead to the +12 input with a short piece of wire and check that way.

If you have a power, ground, and turn-on leads hooked up properly and it doesn't turn on, it's likely something is wrong with it, unfortunately.

-Stephen M

 

[turbo]

ok, took it to the stereo shop and had them test it. they said they did a bandpass test on it and the amp was fine. after the install, they told me my wiring was bad and had to replace some of the old wires.

 

[mikeym]

yea.... u can use a test light... see if you get power through your 12 volt and your remote wire... that'll save you from buying a voltmeter, but the light obviously won't tell you if you don't have 12 volts exactly...

~mikeym

 

[monopolizedinc]

most amps only need 8v to operate now they will not touch there advertised power output but it will operate. check the fuses in the amp its self too somtimes when you hook the ground up its enough to pop the fuse dependong on how drained the stiffing caps are inside the amp

 

[mikeym]

^ turbo already said the fuse on the wire and on the amp is fine...

I would try the test light and see if you get a light from remote and pos. bat wire...

is your bat. wire running to the positive on the battery?? not the negative???

~mikeym