Need some help from the experts...

[AZhitman]

OK, here's the deal:

System in my vert is as follows: Kenwood head unit, Sony passive EQ, a Lightning Audio 4-ch amp driving 6.5" Infinity components and a Majestik 2-ch amp bridged driving an 8" Bazooka, all Monster Cable. Works great, loud as hell, pretty clean (for an acoustically-disastrous car).

I pulled the whole setup apart this week, to swap in a better amp (replacing the swap-meet 2-ch amp with a Sony unit).

I labeled EVERY wire, put everything back as it was.

As luck would have it, NOTHING works now.

Head unit and EQ turn on fine, I hear a very faint "thump" when the amps kick on (a split second after turning on the head unit). All lights on the amps indicate they have power.

No audio.

If I turn the volume WAAAY up on the head unit, I can hear some music coming through the speakers, but it is staticky and faint (sounds like a bad AM radio).

Thought it might be the grounds, but I have them grounded RIGHT where they were before.

I have checked fuses and everything, I am tempted to rip it all out and start over. I HATE electronics (when they don't work).

Please help?

[audtatious]

If you are getting nothing on the sub nor the front speakers, which are two seperate amps, then the problem would probably be further "up stream" from there.

You mention the Sony EQ. Make sure the RCA outputs are connected appropriately and that the EQ is working properly. Validate the connections at the EQ and the amps from a RCA standpoint. Make all switches on amps and such are where they should be.

[AZhitman]

Gah, that's the frustrating part, I didn't mess with anything up there...

Looks like I'm tracing everything back to the source...

[Florida240sx]

So your running 2 amps?Only thing I can think of is your ground isn't good enough or amp is bad.Make sure ll connections are good maybe rca cable came out of head unit.Also if you are running 2 amps the remote signal might not be strong enough to power both amps.I can't run 2 amps in my car no more but i got a 1500watt rockford amp and tried using a 100watt along with it.There is a way to wire it but haven't had time to search for the solution.So no speakers are running off your HU?Just running off your amps?

[Simmsled]

I'll get back to ya tomorrow evening.

[e_c]

unplug the new sony amp only, see if your front speakers still work.... maybe its the amp.... then work from there

[Simmsled]

call me crazy, but I think you may have hit a (defeat) switch on your eq. it is most definitely a "signal" aka... RCA problem. check and see, we'll go from there. BTW, I am going to get a 240 conv. I love those things. After 243,000 miles on my faithful Altima... time for something different.

[AZhitman]

Hmmmm.

EQ has one switch (on/off), so that's not it...

I'll double-check all the RCA's, maybe swap em to see if it changes (weird that all 3 would go bad though).

Gonna re-do the ground also, and triple-check my connections (for the 80th time...)

[Florida240sx]

Explain your setup if oyu can I'm a bit lost now...You got a HU and you are not powering any speakers off your deck?You got 2 rca cables going to 2 different amps or you got a split in the one. same thing just signal won't be as strong.Hooked up new amp but nothing.You unhook it and still have nothing?

[Florida240sx]

Wondering if you blew the amplifier inside your HU somehow.But don't know if that will affect your RCA signal.My friend hooked up my amp backwards and smoke came out of mine.Still lite up and could adjust but no sound.

[PoorManQ45]

GReg: Scroll through the settings menu on your HU. If you are getting very little sound when you turn the volume very high tha tmeans that you ARE getting a signal there. Check for a setting labeled "FPIE", or something like that, make sure that it is off. That sometimes causes the problem you are describing.

Also, check to make sure that the pre-out settings(if there are any), are turned on and at a reasonable level.

Keep us updated.

Also, exactly what HU do you have?

[AZhitman]

PMQ - Did those... The fact that there's *something* getting to the speakers leads me to believe it's after the HU / EQ. Not sure of the model of HU, it's old. Pretty sure it's Kenwood, has a cassette and serves as my 10-disc controller (I need to really swap the HU out, it sucks).

Fla - HU is not powering any speakers, as it's not really powerful enough to do so (to my liking). 2 pairs of RCA's from HU to EQ, 3 pair of RCA's to the rear (2 to the 4-ch, 1 to the 2-ch). 4-ch drives the seperates (F &R), and 2-ch is bridged and drives the sub.

I was thinking my sub was incorrectly bridged, but I double-checked it and it's fine...

I'm beginning to think I have a bad ground (perhaps a seperation inside the wire)...

The pisser part of this is that nothing changed (connection-wise) on the 4-ch, I just R&R'ed the 2-ch. Labeled everything on the wires and the amps so I wouldn't get lost in the spaghetti...

[onosqv]

What happens when you put the old amp back in? .

Have you put a multimeter to the amp and see if voltage is getting passed through (the power, the rca, the speaker leds, the remote amp on)?

You can do a continuity check on your ground wires (I think you test it w/ continuity).

Good luck.

[PoorManQ45]

Don't mean to over simplify, but it's possible that you may have *accidently* changed the gain. DOn't know your exact amp, but I know that some of them have a knob that sticks out and can be easily spun, meaning very little resistance to movement.

You said you didn't change any connections up front, correct?

Oh wait, what gauge wire are you using to power the amps? It's possible that with the older(weak) amp you were operating right at the maximum capacity of the wire and now you've gone over that. THis would cause the wire to heat up, which in turn would increase the resistance, which in turn would lower the current.

^^^Just throwing that out there, probably not the case because you would be able to play/hear music at normal volumes for awhile.

I don't think it's a grounding issue. Normally it's an all or nothing thing with grounds and amp protection.

Question: 1: Did you unplug the battery before working on the system?

2: Is the situation the same the the car on and off?

3: Are you sure you haven't just gone deaf

[Florida240sx]

Hmmm.By hooking up the one amp he has fried his whole system now..Even after removing the new amp.Said his HU was old, maybe just kicked the bucket?Don't know about equalizers only dealt with it on my HU.Still doesn't make sense on why his 4ch isn't working unless ground but if new amp is disconnected it's not grounding...I'm lost...

[PoorManQ45]

I'm going to take a shot in the not so dark here and say that your HU preouts have/are failed. You're still getting some signal to the amps, but not much. Put a multimeter on the preouts

[Simmsled]

Check that both amps are turning on... That your remote turn on wire has been reconnected properly.

[Florida240sx]

He said his amps are powering up.And even after removing the new amp he still doesn't get sound.I say it's his old HU or his equalizer.Here's an idea to test.Unhook you rca's and hook them directly to the amp.Just the 2ch.See if you get bass.Remove fuse when doing this and then remove again and try other set of RCAS coming from your HU.This sound like a good idea slim and pmq?

[PoorManQ45]

Couldn't hurt.

THat'd eliminate the EQ from the loop.

[Florida240sx]

Yea that's what I'm getting at.He has signal from all sources because amps are turning on.However signal isn't strong enough to provide sound.So has to be somewhere along the RCA line.So either crossover is toast or HU is toast.IMO

[PoorManQ45]

AH, good point. Might be the EQ has failed and has gone into "bypass" mode which may limit the preout voltage.

[AZhitman]

Good plan... Will mess with it this weekend.

[Florida240sx]

When is your IAP kit coming in?Good luck on finding your problem.

[AZhitman]

Soon, should be a couple weeks.

No real rush now, since I have a TON of other stuff going on and it's too damn hot to drive the vert until September or so...

[Florida240sx]

Get system fixed?You bringing the vert to Florida in July? You are taking it to Atlanta aren't ya?

[AZhitman]

FIXED.

Well, I pulled the HU and EQ, ran the RCA's direct from the HU (bypassing EQ) and it worked.

Apparently I somehow cooked the EQ. Fortunately I had another passive EQ (Pioneer, not as nice as the Sony) that I could hook up.

Sub sounds much better, although I'm convinced a Bazooka tube is no match for an equivalent-sized sub in a sealed enclosure....

But there's simply NO room in this car for a sealed box enclosure, so....

Anyway, no sense getting all "audiophile" in a car as acoustically fubar as a 240 vert, so I'm just happy it pounds again.

[PoorManQ45]

SUre there is greg. Do you mind adeding a few hundred pounds of weight? We could fix that bad boy right up. Of course the top migh tbe too heavy to use, but it'd sound damn good in there

So you're saying the system sounds better without the EQ? If that's the case then there was probably a low quality DAC in it.

If this were your Q45 I would actually recommend a full size home EQ because the quality is SO much better.

About the Basstube: THey are pretty good for their size and low power requirements. I would recommend that you figure out the volume of the basstube and look for a "better" sub that will work with that volume. Then possibly upgrade the amp.

[Florida240sx]

Glad we could help.What you mean you can't put a sealed enclosure in there?I beg to differ.

[AZhitman]

Can't put a sealed enclosure in the space I have to work with.

I built a false wall that closes off everything from the bulkhead the trunk hinges mount to, forward.

In that space are the top motor, the Optima battery, and the bass tube (and all the wiring). It's cramped, and any extra airspace is filled with foam batting.

Amps are mounted to the outside of the "wall", facing the trunk.

I may replace the driver in the tube... It's an 8" Bazooka, gimme some suggestions.

[onosqv]

With all that crap in there, why not take out the spare tire? hehe -> perfect space for a sub.

Can you take some pictures of your setup? It sounds sweet - I'd really like to see it .