Car Audio: Fuse keeps blowing on the Amplifier

[bmacd]

A friend installed an amplifier and two 10s in the back of my gf's jeep. It was working fine for a few days, and then we noticed it wasn't playing. After replacing the blown fuse on the amp (note: NOT the fuse on the +12v line from the battery), it blows the second you put it in.

I'm no electrician, but i've installed plenty of stereo systems, and if i had to guess, i'd say that it's grounding out somewhere along the vehicle. The +12v line is run directly from the battery, runs underneath the carpet and seats, and reappears in the trunk. The ground comes from a seatbelt bolt attached to the frame. The remote is a simple 20ga wire that comes from the HU.

Where should I start? The fuse under the hood for the +12v wire coming off the battery is perfectly in tact.

-=bmacd=-

 

[dmcowen674]

It was working before and now all of a sudden blows the fuse immediately???

Either sounds like you've had the 12 volt wire insulation melt somewhere and contacting ground or your Amp blew. When a Power Amp Transistor blows it may cause a short condition.

 

[bmacd]

-=bmacd=-

 

[Howard]

Bad fuses.

 

[Fireball77]

change your ground wire and location

 

[pmoa]

i would check to see if the round and 12V are touching by the AMP. Where they connect into the AMP. Mine did the same thing cause a few strands were touching

 

[Hankerton]

I had the same problem when I still had my truck. Had an amp pushing 4 10's. Always blowing fuses.

Solution: Go from 8 guage to 4 guage wiring and install a circuit breaker instead of using fuses. Save you a lot of time and aggrevation. Plus with the 4 guage, you have the option to add additional subs, amps, etc. if you choose.

 

[Capone]

Are you sure the subs are wired correctly? Maybe your sending a 1 ohm load to an amp that can only handle 2 or 4....

 

[bmacd]

the subs are wired correctly and i trimmed the wires going into the amp so that no excess wire is exposed. I'll try your other suggestions later on today. Thanks

-=bmacd=-

 

[ThisIsMatt]

What amp? How are the subs wired?

 

[bmacd]

2 channel amp, one channel running to each speaker. Not sure on the exact name, but it was a cheapo one my gf picked up from Circuit City i think.

-=bmacd=-

 

[Scarpozzi]

Grab a multimeter and test it. You can do resistance continuity checks and see if you have a short somewhere on the + line. Also, maybe get some wire, another fuse, and test an external run....basically, replace the cable for the amp without installing it. That'll let you know if the amp itself is the problem without having to pull up all your carpet and going through the firewall.

 

[bmacd]

Originally posted by: Scarpozzi
Grab a multimeter and test it. You can do resistance continuity checks and see if you have a short somewhere on the + line. Also, maybe get some wire, another fuse, and test an external run....basically, replace the cable for the amp without installing it. That'll let you know if the amp itself is the problem without having to pull up all your carpet and going through the firewall.

that's exactly what i was going to do. Just waiting for my gf to stop by now.

-=bmacd=-

 

[Capone]

Are the subs single voice coil or dual? and do you know what ohm they are?

Does the amp have a place where you screw the wires to it or do you screw them into a plastic plug and push it into the amp? On my orion amp the place where you push the plug into the amp was loose causing it to short out and blow fuses, I had to take it apart and solder it back on.

 

[Mark R]

If the fuse on the battery is intact and the fuse in the amp blows immediately, then the problem is not in the supply wire leading from battery to the amp. The problem must be in the amp, speaker wires or speakers.

Disconnect the speakers completely, and try again. If the fuse blows with the speakers disconnected, the fault is in the amplifier.

 

[Capone]

also, most amps will push more watts by bridging the channels instead of running one to each sub. makes adjusting xovers and gains easier too.