Did I fry my amp? or is it just a fuse?

[sepenator]

Well last night I was re installing my subs in my trunk after fixing my shock mount, and I accidentally touched the ground and the power wires together creating a spark... and now my amp isn't getting power. (which makes no sense because the wires weren't connected to the amp at all, so that makes me think it has to be either an amp fuse, an inline fuse, or a fuse in the car) Did I fry my amp? I replaced the inline fuse in the power line from the battery to the amp and checked all the amp fuses, and reconnected all the wiring again... and nothin! I really hope I don't need a new amp, but it was on my list anyhow, just not right now.

Any suggestions, tips or advice would be appreciated, thanks!

[01bonne]

Check to make sure the inline fuse is tightened all the way

[sepenator]

I tightened it nice and snug before I connected it to the battery, I almost stripped the screws I tightened it so much =\.

[Bugsi]

A voltmeter would be very useful at this point.
Check for +12VDC on the cable supplying power to the amp, at the end that connects to the amp. Have Voltage?
No = fuse blown somewhere on that line.
Yes = Check for +12VDC on amp-turn-on wire (often blue) when you turn on radio. Have voltage?
No = Check amp-turn-on circuit connections & fuses.
Yes = troubleshoot amplifier.

Troubleshoot amplifier:
Check amp fuse, make sure it's good.
Connect known good +12VDC to amp power and turn-on connections (remove amp from car if necessary to do this.) Amp turn on?

[sepenator]

How much does a voltmeter cost?

[01bonne]

You can get them for less than 20 bucks at most auto parts stores

[sepenator]

I found the problem, I had a bad ground... so now the question is, where do you all ground your subs? i'd rather not solder or weld anything if I don't have to, and pics would be appreciated if needed, thanks guys for your help so far!

[Bugsi]

I found the problem, I had a bad ground... so now the question is, where do you all ground your subs? i'd rather not solder or weld anything if I don't have to, and pics would be appreciated if needed, thanks guys for your help so far!

You don't ground speakers. Speakers have two connections, and the go directly the the amplifier's speaker outputs. You ground the amp. If you have more than one amp your should attempt to ground them to a single point. From the trunk, you generally find a piece of metal where you preferably have access to both sides (so you don't drill into the gas tank etc.) -drill a hole, grind the paint in that spot down to bare metal, secure the grounds with a bolt, lockwashers, and a nut. Use good quality ring terminals properly crimped to preferably short ground wire from amp ground to your grounding point. Your ground wire should be at least equal to the gauge of your amplifier's +12vDC power wire.

[sepenator]

Sorry i meant the amp, not the subs. Ok so basically drill a hole, get some washers, a bolt, and a nut and bolt it through the trunk?

[psburtis]

i attach my ground cable to the back seat bolts. they are great grounds, and there is no drilling/paint grinding involved. also, there are at least 2 of them, depending on what year you are putting the sub/amp in. the best place to ground an amp is the negative terminal on your battery, and seeing as you have a 2000+, i believe your battery is located towards the rear of your car, but i could be wrong.

if you don't want to run groud wire all the way to the battery, the back seat anchors are always a safe, and effective, bet.

[sepenator]

What's the easiest way to reach them? from the back seat or from the trunk? I'm gonna assume backseat but just wanna make sure.

[rmac694203]

I got a pretty good ground on one of the bolts for the rear shocks. Just sand/scrape off all the paint so your ring terminal can make good contact with bare metal.

[Bugsi]

. . .seeing as you have a 2000+, i believe your battery is located towards the rear of your car. . .

Oh yeah, you're 2000. Your battery is under the back seat, isn't it? You can ground directly to the negative battery terminal. You'll need a longer bolt and maybe a couple lockwashers. That would be a very good location to ground to. Others also mentioned using existing bolts. That's a good option too. But still grind the paint away to bare metal.

[psburtis]

i literally JUST got back from checking my brothers 2000 SSEi (not even 2 min ago) and if you don't want to get to the battery (i wouldn't know how to, i have a 96), i would suggest grounding to one of the 2 bolts holding the amp in place, or one of the three large bolts sticking out of the upper cross bar (they are just hid by the black plasic cover, if you still have that). that would be my best guess. otherwise, as i stated before, the battery is the best bet.

[wake]

IMO use the extra wire to ground the amp directly to the batter..then you have a perfect circuit..and youll get a little cleaner notes..not to mention less voltage drop

i would suggest grounding to one of the 2 bolts holding the amp in place

this is NOT a good idea...at all..you can fry your amp by grounding it to itself..

also seat belts can be used yes..but its better to go for something a little stronger...also depends on the wattage of the amp..if its anything under 500 your usually pretty good with the seat belts...but i still dont use them

[psburtis]

i would suggest grounding to one of the 2 bolts holding the amp in place

this is NOT a good idea...at all..you can fry your amp by grounding it to itself..

i was talking about grounding it to the Bose amp in the back. it'll be grounded to the frame, easy to get to, and reliable. you wouldn't fry anything because the amps fuses would blow before any serious power got thru to the ground.

[wake]

i didnt know we were discussing stock bose amps...OOPS

[psburtis]

i didnt know we were discussing stock bose amps...OOPS

haha, don't worry about it. i guess i wasn't very specific, thanks for pointing that out so sepenator didn't REALLY fry his amp.... haha.

[sepenator]

Haha, that would have sucked! Although, I have enough common sense to not ground something to itself... cuz that'd just cause a short. Well I found a bolt in the back right of the trunk that might work, but I'm thinking I might try and get a little bit longer of a ground and just go right to the battery, as wake stated, it'll cause less noise in the system and voltage drops, unless ofcourse my ground can reach as it is now, then I'll just wire it to the negative. Any precautions I should take when I got to ground the amp to the battery, as in make sure such and such is unplugged or such and such is turned off?

[psburtis]

personally, i'd go for the negative terminal for the ground. i didn't have much of a choice as my battery is aaaallllll the way in the front of my car, and didn't want to buy a 20' long ground cable just to get it to the battery, which is why i chose the back seat anchors.

anyway, as long as the car is turned off and your power wire to your amp is unhooked you should be fine. just make sure you're not touching the power cable while you try and attach the negative.... that can result quite the shocking experience, if you get my drift....