amp nightmare

Spent hours and hours today on what should have been a simple install. My buddy has an 02 Tahoe with an Alpine deck. He bought a USED amp and he already had the subs. 2 10" DVC 4 ohm subs kicker cvr's 120rms each MTX JH300 mono amp Wired everything up. Subs are 4 ohms at the amp. It works, kinda. Power led on amp is not on, ever. But the amp is sending bass to the subs. Also this amp has a lightning bolt led. It's off when car is running. But the light is on when the car is off. Any ideas? Bad amp? Bad wire or short? Pretty sure that's not enough power for those subs anyway.

Have you checked voltage at the amp??Gary Sather

I will have to get a meter. Should have had one on hand but I didn't at the time. Thanks

Thoughts on if this amp is even powerful enough? Doesn't seem so to me. Especially at 4 ohms. JackHammer Class D Monoblock Car Amp RMS Power Rating: 4 ohms: 200 watts x 1 chan. 2 ohms: 300 watts x 1 chan. Max power output: 600 watts x 1 chan. Subs Two CVR's power range 50-300 watts RMS (150 watts RMS per coil)

Yes it's underpower for the subs. But you should still have listenable bass.Gary Sather

Figured as much, thanks. Oh yea the bass is there. even though the power led isnt lit up. It's just very low/weak at proper gain and boost settings.

It's been awhile so before I mess anything up... How do I check the volts at the amp again using a meter?

Measure on 20VDC range between the amps +12V input and its GND terminals.

Awesome, thanks oldspark.

Another thing worth checking is your fuse if you are using an AGU fuse(glass). A lot of AGU fuses have an issue with the solder joints on the inside failing leading to poor or no connection. You will need to check resistance across the fuse. The resistance should be negligible. When this type of failure occurs, the fuse will not appear blown. You may also show power at the amp with a meter, do to the lack of load on the circuit if the system is off. Having this happen is often symptomatic of having an insufficient wire gauge for your amp wiring.