A few weeks ago I posted this...

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So I am doing my own install for the first time, and I can't get my
amp to turn on. Any suggestions would be much appreciated because at
this point I am clueless. Here are the clues, and to me they seem
contradictory.

1) The amp does turn on when I touch a small wire from the power input
to the remote turn on input on the amp (WHEN THE REMOTE TURN ON AND
POWER ARE CONNECTED TO THE AMP).

2) THe amp DOES NOT turn on when I do above but I disconnect the
remote turn on lead from the amp.

3) The first clue makes me think its the remote turn on wire.. but I
measured the remote turn on with a multimeter and when the radio is
off it measures 0 and on it measures around 12V just like it should.

4) I have measured the power wire.. its getting a little less than
12V.. like 11V.. seems like it should be enough.

5) I have checked the ground wire.. it is grounding the same amount of
voltage the power is feeding.

6) I have another amp... connected it.. same thing.. no power. I had
this amp connected initially and have not monkeyed around with it like
the other one. So I haven't tested it with the little wire between
the remote and power on the amp.

So if it isnt the power, isnt the ground, isnt the remote, isnt the
amp then what the hell is it. Obviously it has to be one of the
above, but right I am out of ideas. Thanks in advance.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

After this I put the amp in another car and it also didnt work. I
replaced the amp and cool everything works. I have a 2 amp system..
running on 4 gauge split to 8. Everything was working fine for a
week, I drove somewhere and everything was fine.. got in the car to
leave and now neither amp will turn on. EXACT SAME SYMPTOMS AS OTHER
AMP! REM is fine, power is fine, ground is fine, all measured with
multimeter, and it powers when i touch the power to REM.. no changes
to system! It just stopped working in that half hour time span that
my car was off! Did I just fry 2 amps? What the heck could be
causing this? I think I am going to cry now, as I have no other ideas
of what to do

Here are some specs...

Phoenix Gold 500 W mono amp
Pioneer 480W 4 channel amp
4 gauge power split to 8 gauge with Stinger fused distro block
8 gauge ground wire maybe too long? one piece is 4 ft and one is 5
honda accord v6 100 amp alternator

What head unit are you driving it with?

Are you driving the amps from high level or low level inputs, and if
with high level, are the amps designed/configured to accept high level
inputs?






On 4 Sep 2004 17:36:48 -0700, (Tony)
wrote:

A few weeks ago I posted this...

---------------------------------------------------------------------
So I am doing my own install for the first time, and I can't get my
amp to turn on. Any suggestions would be much appreciated because at
this point I am clueless. Here are the clues, and to me they seem
contradictory.

1) The amp does turn on when I touch a small wire from the power input
to the remote turn on input on the amp (WHEN THE REMOTE TURN ON AND
POWER ARE CONNECTED TO THE AMP).

2) THe amp DOES NOT turn on when I do above but I disconnect the
remote turn on lead from the amp.

3) The first clue makes me think its the remote turn on wire.. but I
measured the remote turn on with a multimeter and when the radio is
off it measures 0 and on it measures around 12V just like it should.

4) I have measured the power wire.. its getting a little less than
12V.. like 11V.. seems like it should be enough.

5) I have checked the ground wire.. it is grounding the same amount of
voltage the power is feeding.

6) I have another amp... connected it.. same thing.. no power. I had
this amp connected initially and have not monkeyed around with it like
the other one. So I haven't tested it with the little wire between
the remote and power on the amp.

So if it isnt the power, isnt the ground, isnt the remote, isnt the
amp then what the hell is it. Obviously it has to be one of the
above, but right I am out of ideas. Thanks in advance.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

After this I put the amp in another car and it also didnt work. I
replaced the amp and cool everything works. I have a 2 amp system..
running on 4 gauge split to 8. Everything was working fine for a
week, I drove somewhere and everything was fine.. got in the car to
leave and now neither amp will turn on. EXACT SAME SYMPTOMS AS OTHER
AMP! REM is fine, power is fine, ground is fine, all measured with
multimeter, and it powers when i touch the power to REM.. no changes
to system! It just stopped working in that half hour time span that
my car was off! Did I just fry 2 amps? What the heck could be
causing this? I think I am going to cry now, as I have no other ideas
of what to do

Here are some specs...

Phoenix Gold 500 W mono amp
Pioneer 480W 4 channel amp
4 gauge power split to 8 gauge with Stinger fused distro block
8 gauge ground wire maybe too long? one piece is 4 ft and one is 5
honda accord v6 100 amp alternator

snip
REM is fine, power is fine, ground is fine, all measured with
multimeter, and it powers when i touch the power to REM.. no changes
to system!

Huh? So when you touch the power wire to the remote turn on input on the
amp, the amp powers on? Well then your head unit's remote output is somehow
faulty.

Just wire up a toggle switch from radio shack..



"MZ" wrote in message
...
snip
REM is fine, power is fine, ground is fine, all measured with
multimeter, and it powers when i touch the power to REM.. no changes
to system!

Huh? So when you touch the power wire to the remote turn on input on the
amp, the amp powers on? Well then your head unit's remote output is
somehow
faulty.

Just wire up a toggle switch from radio shack..

Bad idea. People often forget to turn it off when they leave the car. Just
use the ignition wire instead.

Actually, I have my system wired to a switch that also controls my fog
lights, this way, i never forget to turn the lights off.

"MZ" wrote in message
...
Just wire up a toggle switch from radio shack..

Bad idea. People often forget to turn it off when they leave the car.
Just
use the ignition wire instead.

I am using a Pioneer DEH-P6400. I don't see how it can be the remote
turn on wire considering it WAS working fine and I measured the
voltage with the multimeter. And its doing the same thing as my old
amp that I replaced that didnt work even in another car. Something in
my system seems to be just frying stuff or something.

I am using a Pioneer DEH-P6400. I don't see how it can be the remote
turn on wire considering it WAS working fine and I measured the
voltage with the multimeter. And its doing the same thing as my old
amp that I replaced that didnt work even in another car. Something in
my system seems to be just frying stuff or something.

You said the amp works when you use the power lead as the remote turnon.
That means that the radio is unable to supply the current needed to turn on
the amp. That means that either the amp's remote input draws too much
current or that the head unit's remote output doesn't supply enough current.
You can't make this determination based on the voltage of the remote output
alone!

Take your meter and do two things:

1) Measure the input resistance of the amp's remote input. Put the meter on
the kohms setting, use the amp's ground terminal for one meter lead, and the
remote terminal for the other. The resistance should be quite high -
several hundred ohms or more. I suspect this isn't the problem since the
same thing happened with your second amp.

2) Try to turn on the amps with another head unit. I bet it works.

Thanks for your help, but it seems to me it can't be these factors
given that the radio worked in this configuration for a week. Is it
possible that an amp will function on a bad ground point for a time?
Im pretty sure its not bad because I had it professionally installed
with the first amp and they used the same groundpoint. And the fact
that the original amp didnt work in someone elses car makes me feel
like there is actual damage to the amp. Thanks!

If the damage is to the amp, then why does it work when you power the
remote input with 12v from the battery? The only explanation for this is
that the input resistance of the remote input is too low. Did you measure
it as I suggested?

Otherwise, you're doing something wrong or you haven't told us everything.
You've clearly stated that the problem is with the remote turn on.

On Tue, 7 Sep 2004, Tony wrote:

Thanks for your help, but it seems to me it can't be these factors
given that the radio worked in this configuration for a week. Is it
possible that an amp will function on a bad ground point for a time?
Im pretty sure its not bad because I had it professionally installed
with the first amp and they used the same groundpoint. And the fact
that the original amp didnt work in someone elses car makes me feel
like there is actual damage to the amp. Thanks!

On 5 Sep 2004 17:29:27 -0700, (Tony)
wrote:

I am using a Pioneer DEH-P6400. I don't see how it can be the remote


I have owned Pioneer head units for the past 15 years or so, and are
you trying to turn on all your amps using the remote turn on lead? If
I remember correctly, that has a spec of like 250 or 500 mA, which is
about enough to turn on nothing. The first time you try, you'll blow
up the CD player and have to have it fixed if you ever want it to work
again, or it will do EXACTLY like you describe. Although I have never
owned anything as new as the P6400 that you have (I have been using a
DEH-P520 for the past 5 or 6 years or so, and I haven't had a need to
replace it..)

I have always used a relay w/ the remote turn on lead from the pioneer
head unit, or just use the ignition to turn everything on.

Had similar problem with a DEHP 550MP, intermittant when turning on the
amps, also lost 2 front channels (RCA out)
"Tony" wrote in message
om...
A few weeks ago I posted this...

---------------------------------------------------------------------
So I am doing my own install for the first time, and I can't get my
amp to turn on. Any suggestions would be much appreciated because at
this point I am clueless. Here are the clues, and to me they seem
contradictory.

1) The amp does turn on when I touch a small wire from the power input
to the remote turn on input on the amp (WHEN THE REMOTE TURN ON AND
POWER ARE CONNECTED TO THE AMP).

2) THe amp DOES NOT turn on when I do above but I disconnect the
remote turn on lead from the amp.

3) The first clue makes me think its the remote turn on wire.. but I
measured the remote turn on with a multimeter and when the radio is
off it measures 0 and on it measures around 12V just like it should.

4) I have measured the power wire.. its getting a little less than
12V.. like 11V.. seems like it should be enough.

5) I have checked the ground wire.. it is grounding the same amount of
voltage the power is feeding.

6) I have another amp... connected it.. same thing.. no power. I had
this amp connected initially and have not monkeyed around with it like
the other one. So I haven't tested it with the little wire between
the remote and power on the amp.

So if it isnt the power, isnt the ground, isnt the remote, isnt the
amp then what the hell is it. Obviously it has to be one of the
above, but right I am out of ideas. Thanks in advance.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

After this I put the amp in another car and it also didnt work. I
replaced the amp and cool everything works. I have a 2 amp system..
running on 4 gauge split to 8. Everything was working fine for a
week, I drove somewhere and everything was fine.. got in the car to
leave and now neither amp will turn on. EXACT SAME SYMPTOMS AS OTHER
AMP! REM is fine, power is fine, ground is fine, all measured with
multimeter, and it powers when i touch the power to REM.. no changes
to system! It just stopped working in that half hour time span that
my car was off! Did I just fry 2 amps? What the heck could be
causing this? I think I am going to cry now, as I have no other ideas
of what to do

Here are some specs...

Phoenix Gold 500 W mono amp
Pioneer 480W 4 channel amp
4 gauge power split to 8 gauge with Stinger fused distro block
8 gauge ground wire maybe too long? one piece is 4 ft and one is 5
honda accord v6 100 amp alternator

sorry man but 11V dont sound right... make sure you have a good ground
connection.... my buddy did it to his bronco and it drove us nuts for 2
days.... ground must be solid to the chassis

kenny
"scott and barb" . wrote in message
link.net...
Had similar problem with a DEHP 550MP, intermittant when turning on the
amps, also lost 2 front channels (RCA out)
"Tony" wrote in message
om...
A few weeks ago I posted this...

---------------------------------------------------------------------
So I am doing my own install for the first time, and I can't get my
amp to turn on. Any suggestions would be much appreciated because at
this point I am clueless. Here are the clues, and to me they seem
contradictory.

1) The amp does turn on when I touch a small wire from the power input
to the remote turn on input on the amp (WHEN THE REMOTE TURN ON AND
POWER ARE CONNECTED TO THE AMP).

2) THe amp DOES NOT turn on when I do above but I disconnect the
remote turn on lead from the amp.

3) The first clue makes me think its the remote turn on wire.. but I
measured the remote turn on with a multimeter and when the radio is
off it measures 0 and on it measures around 12V just like it should.

4) I have measured the power wire.. its getting a little less than
12V.. like 11V.. seems like it should be enough.

5) I have checked the ground wire.. it is grounding the same amount of
voltage the power is feeding.

6) I have another amp... connected it.. same thing.. no power. I had
this amp connected initially and have not monkeyed around with it like
the other one. So I haven't tested it with the little wire between
the remote and power on the amp.

So if it isnt the power, isnt the ground, isnt the remote, isnt the
amp then what the hell is it. Obviously it has to be one of the
above, but right I am out of ideas. Thanks in advance.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

After this I put the amp in another car and it also didnt work. I
replaced the amp and cool everything works. I have a 2 amp system..
running on 4 gauge split to 8. Everything was working fine for a
week, I drove somewhere and everything was fine.. got in the car to
leave and now neither amp will turn on. EXACT SAME SYMPTOMS AS OTHER
AMP! REM is fine, power is fine, ground is fine, all measured with
multimeter, and it powers when i touch the power to REM.. no changes
to system! It just stopped working in that half hour time span that
my car was off! Did I just fry 2 amps? What the heck could be
causing this? I think I am going to cry now, as I have no other ideas
of what to do

Here are some specs...

Phoenix Gold 500 W mono amp
Pioneer 480W 4 channel amp
4 gauge power split to 8 gauge with Stinger fused distro block
8 gauge ground wire maybe too long? one piece is 4 ft and one is 5
honda accord v6 100 amp alternator

Well unfortunately I never did get this to work. I started a new job
where I work like 70 hours a week and havent time for anything. Oddly
enough, my stereo started working a week and a half ago, but only for
a day. So basically I am seeing if anyone has any last ditch ideas
before I take it to the pros. I have tested my ground point, I am
100% it is good.
I tried to test the resistance in my REM but it measured 0.. I am not
sure I was measuring it right. Is it possible that when I touch the
REM to the power with a wire and it turns on the reason is because the
REM is powering the amp and not the power cable? I know its
ludicrous.. but when I do turn it on that way the sound is very weak
and fades in and out.. maybe the amp doesnt have enough power? Thats
my only possible thought left really is that it has to be my power
cable. Of all my cables it is the cheapest quality and I did jump a
car with it connected to my battery like a month and half ago. I am
setting a deadline of this weekend.. no worky by this weekend.. take
it in and pray they know whats up. Thanks for your ideas!