Amp Problems
 

I currently bought a Boss Audio R1004 4-channel amp brand new and i installed it on my Pioneer DEH-p3200ub, i ran all the speakers positve and negative to the 4 channels on the amp. i speaker per channel nothing more. I then ran the rca cables to the back of the radio, after installing all the stuff for the amp i then turned on the radio, and all the speakers sounded great. i left it on for at least 5 minutes and after that i shut it off. everything worked great, i then started my vehicle up and then it made a light popping kind of sound from the front speakers and they stopped playing, so i checked all of my wiring and it was all good, but channel 1 and 2 on my amp do not work. channel 3 and 4 do though however. i checked the speakers and they work went hooked up to channel 3 and 4 but not 1 and 2. what could this problem be? i need help this is so frustrating!!

When you checked the front speakers, you just changed the terminals they were wired to on the amp?
I'd suggest you also take the FRONT RCA outputs from the head-unit, and switch them into where the REAR output was plugged in. This will eliminate the possibility that the FRONT output from the deck isn't the issue - when you do this, your rear speakers should start to play (assuming you've wired them back to the original terminals).

Also make sure you havent fade off the front speakers unknowingly.

Check that you havent damaged the RCA's when you pulled them out from the amp when you were troubleshooting. Some people will pull the RCA out from the amp by the cable portion of the RCA and do damage to the cable. If this is the case always pull the RCA out by the head of the RCA. Hopefully this makes sense.

Start checking fuses and make sure all grounds are tight (may be what have popped the fuse in the first place)

I checked both RCA cables and the both work fine. Since the front speakers which are on channel 1&2 stopped working I decided to see if putting one of the front speakers on channel 3 (which channel 3&4 work and they are the rear speakers) so i put one front speaker on channel 3 and moved the rear speaker that was on 3 to channel 1, after doing this only channel 4 played music. The front speakers won't work on any of the channels and the rear speakers will only work on 3&4. So I ran a new speaker with new wire straight to all of the channels one at a time and only 3&4 worked. This is really confusing me, I even switched the RCA cables around reach time i did this and the front ones still won't world

Seems like a problem with the front speakers/wiring which could have possibly damage ch 1&2 on the amp.

Check and see if the speaker terminal of the front speakers are grounding out, that will cause you to have no output through the front speakers.

I'm going to re-wire the front speakers all the way out to the amp and see if that works, maybe they are grounded out and I can't see it. Will 16 gauge wire be good enough to use for the speaker wire?

16 will be fine

16 guage is fine, before you start your install take your 16 guage speaker wire and temporarily attach it to the speaker and just set it on the ground do not attach it to the speaker opening in your door, then take your other end and put it on the front speaker outputs on the amp. Turn it on and see if the front speakers are working. If they are, great, then re-route your wire permanently and your in business. IF by chance this does not solve the problem check your speakers, get a multimeter and see if you have an impedance reading at the speaker leads on the speaker. If there is no reading unfortuantely the speaker is the problem.

Got the problems figured out with the front speakers, the left one was just unplugged, and the right one I forgot to connect the ground. So all 4 speakers work now, but I'm still having trouble with the amp, channel one and to still don't work at all, I tried all 4 speakers on them and got nothing. Channel 3&4 work great. Does anyone know what this could be? It has to be the amp that's the problem, I have went over everything else, any ideas on what it could be?

yes it sounds like the amp is the problem. Is this a new or used amp? If its new return it to the shop you bought it from and get them to bench test it, then if there is a problem you will get it covered under warranty. If it is used, well ........... maybe see if a buddy has a 4 channel amp you can test on your system.

Whenever t-shooting speakers / amps / etc. Start at the speaker and work back to the head unit. At the speaker test for shorts or opens. Use a known good source to test the speaker ONLY. Then re-connect speaker and check the speaker wiring for shorts/ opens, then test w/ a known good source. Connect a known good speaker to the amp and buzz test by using a known good rca and tap the tip to your finger and listen for the buzz (or connect to a known good source for music- get a test tone generator, etc. work your way back to the head unit, using a known good speaker, or source, or amplifier, etc every step of the way, until you find the problem link in the chain.


This is when its nice to have a smaller speaker w/ short leads, a small amplifier (or tone generator w/ speaker and rca outputs) sitting on the shelf for t-shooting. You should also get a decent multi-meter (VOM) to aid in testing. a good RCA source before the amp will register AC volts and will fluctuate w/ the music source. An amp that reads DC on the speaker leads is blown and will take a speaker with it. Spend some time on google and you can learn alot. It's easier and more satisfying to learn what you need rather than rely on others to tell you whats wrong with something they cant put their hands on to t-shoot. This is just a short and sweet incomplete list of test methods and such.

Good luck