So what happens when you wire the power into the ground terminal and the ground wire into the power terminal of an amp or crossover or something? I did this once and blew a fuse, but what happens if the fuse does not blow right away? Is it instant damage to the amps or other electronic pieces??

Thanks.

 

depends on amp, some amps have a protection against that. For instance my friend accidentally hooked the power and ground wrong on his pg tantrum 1200.1 and it didn't even blow a fuse, another friend did the same thing with his mmats amp and it blew.

 

I've did it with an audiobahn amp and it just blew a fuse put a new one in and it was fine

 

I did that with my Ultra Linear. It blew all three fuses. But the amp was fine once I swapped the cables around, and changed the fuses :P

 

Most amps will (and should) have a big diode across the power terminals. Diodes only let current flow one way. So if the input voltage goes negative it will just act as a short stopping any voltage from going on to the amp's powersupply. A simple safety feature. Another good reason to always use a fuse!

 

all i would say is dont do that on a deck ;p i still cant believe i got warantee on that hahaha

 

That is exactly why a lot of companies don't warrantee thier stuff unless it is installed by a professional instal shop.
Protects them from having to replace stuff installed by stupid people...

 

^^Unfortunately for guys like me that do their own installs, and know what they're doing, it leaves me with no option but to avoid those products or buy online since I have no warranty anyway. I Understand the situation from both sides, but in the end it's my money and my car and I don't trust most shops. I'm forced to buy either, other brands that do offer waranty for self installed, or, if I really want that product, to buy it online for a reduced price to lower my risk. I'll knock on wood right now, because in 20 years I've yet to have a warranty return, or, a poor install related problem...knock! knock!