Yes I'm sorry, but I've got another question about an amp not powering up. I just got a brand new Profile CA200 and it won't turn on at all. The protection light doesn't even come on.

Voltage at the battery is 12.4v. Voltage at the amp is 12.4v with car off; so thats fine. Ground is secure and attached to shiny metal with paint sanded off; that should be fine. Remote terminal has about 12V. I've tried using a jumper wire from the power terminal to the remote but still no use. So thats not it. Same thing happens with or without rcas/speakers connected so its not a blown sub or anythng like that. Amp is not mounted yet so its not touching metal or anything.

Similar thing happened to my previous amp (usx-4065) which I just unhooked because I thought it was fried. Only difference was the protection light would come on for a couple seconds then shut off. On both amps, after turning the head unit on, the voltage at the power terminal would drop way down to 1.5ish volts and would gradually climb back up to 12v. So now I'm thinking if a BRAND NEW straight out of the box amp isn't working, maybe my old amp is still fine too. It must be something in my install.

Any ideas? Any input would be greatly appreciated. I'm getting SOOO FRUSTRATED!

 

Look at your underhoot fuse. It may look unblown but change it anyway. Epecially if it is a AGU fuse. They could still be screwed. If that doesn't work then i am not sure what to tell you. Anyone else??

 

Is there anyway to actually check the fuse other than just visual inspection?

 

Your fuse is fine if the power can be read at the amp. Power and ground are probally fine, if you jump constant power into the remote and it still will not turn on the problem is in the amp.

is the amp itself fused? If it is check those fuses.

Does the amp get warm or make any sound (popping or squealing) when you power it up. If it does these are sighns of a blown transistor.

Take your amp to a shop let them check the install, most places will do this for free or very cheaply.

 

I think this here indicates that the problem is NOT in the amp, but in the wiring. If the amp has a problem it shouldn't cause your voltage to drop so drastically, not without starting a fire.

Slowly work through the system trying something new.
Make a new connection at the battery - try the system
Run a new wire from the battery to fuse - try the system
New fuse - try again
New wire from fuse to Amp.
Try again -
New ground wire grounded at a different location - try again.

It sounds like you know what you are doing and have done everything right, but If you have a bum fuse or wire and don't know it that could really mess you up.

Is there a possibility that the shiny piece of sanded metal that you have grounded to might not be grounded itself to the rest of the car's electrical system?

Hope you figure it out

 

I disagree with this. Sometimes cheaper fuses do not blow when they should. Instead they heat up intensely, causing an increase in impedance cause more heat, causing an increase in impedance etc. etc. (I think I am quoting DWVW on that [img]smile.gif[/img] )

If this is the case, a volt meter will read a good amount of voltage because a volt meter does not require much current. But as soon as the amp fires up it draws more current than the connection can handle/provide. The amp doesn't get the current it needs to fire up, so it doesn't. I think a symptom of this would be the voltage drop you mentioned - but why the voltage climbs back up I cannot explain.

In regards to my earlier post, try all the connections again -especially the bat terminal, fuse, and fuse connections before replacing the wiring. That's the cheapest and easiest route to go, and hopefully that would find the problem for you.

Good luck [img]graemlins/thumb.gif[/img]

 

Thanks so much guys; I got it figured out. Turns out it was the underhood fuse. Now I feel like an idiot for not realizing it sooner. This was my first install and after checking the fuse and seeing that it wasn't blown, I just assumed that it was fine. Still learning as I go....... [img]smile.gif[/img] Thanks again.