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wierd ground makes car not start


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klctexas 
Copper - Posts: 111
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Joined: March 10, 2008
Location: Texas, United States
Posted: July 02, 2008 at 8:42 AM / IP Logged  
So about a month ago, I was driving and the power and ground wires came out of my cap, and touched each other. It did something to the spot where the cap was grounded, because now if I ground my amp there (it was previously grounded there), my car does not start. i recently had a fuel pump problem, had to replace that and run a new ground for it. What's wrong with my amp's grounding spot?
Soldier: This is the worst part. The calm before the battle.
Fry: And then the battle is not so bad?
Soldier: Oh, right. I forgot about the battle.
KPierson 
Platinum - Posts: 3,527
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Joined: April 14, 2005
Location: Ohio, United States
Posted: July 02, 2008 at 9:31 AM / IP Logged  

What happens if you ground the amp somewhere else?

I don't see a connection between grounding the amp and the car not starting - there has be be something else going on.

Kevin Pierson
DYohn 
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Joined: April 22, 2003
Location: Arizona, United States
Posted: July 02, 2008 at 10:10 AM / IP Logged  
If you shorted out your electrical system, are you sure something elsewhere in the vehicle is not fried?  Did your fuse at the battery blow?  How is the fuel pump problem related to the audio system?
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klctexas 
Copper - Posts: 111
Copper spacespace
Joined: March 10, 2008
Location: Texas, United States
Posted: July 02, 2008 at 10:34 AM / IP Logged  

Yes, my main line fuse blew. The fuel pump problem and this are related because right after these wires touched, my car refused to start for about a month, till we got the new pump and determined that it needed a new ground wire. i have not been able to try and ground the amp somewhere else.  https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp~TID~105207~PN~1

So the car is running fine again, except no subs.

Soldier: This is the worst part. The calm before the battle.
Fry: And then the battle is not so bad?
Soldier: Oh, right. I forgot about the battle.
DYohn 
Moderator - Posts: 10,741
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Joined: April 22, 2003
Location: Arizona, United States
Posted: July 03, 2008 at 9:09 AM / IP Logged  
What is the "amp grounding spot" you used and how is it related to frying your fuel pump?  Did you ever get a multimeter?
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klctexas 
Copper - Posts: 111
Copper spacespace
Joined: March 10, 2008
Location: Texas, United States
Posted: July 03, 2008 at 9:39 AM / IP Logged  
The ground for my amp is under one of the seatbelt bolts, underneath the back seat. It was working fine as a ground for over a year, now this happens. how is it related to frying my fuel pump? That's the answer I'm looking for, why does it make my fuel pumps ground not work when I ground my amp there?
Soldier: This is the worst part. The calm before the battle.
Fry: And then the battle is not so bad?
Soldier: Oh, right. I forgot about the battle.
KPierson 
Platinum - Posts: 3,527
Platinum spaceThis member consistently provides reliable informationspace
Joined: April 14, 2005
Location: Ohio, United States
Posted: July 03, 2008 at 9:41 AM / IP Logged  

If the amp is hooked up does it work without the car running?

What happens if you start the car then ground the amp?

I'm guessing the problem here is your amp, not your grounding spot.  You should verify that the amp actually works and then go from there.

Kevin Pierson
klctexas 
Copper - Posts: 111
Copper spacespace
Joined: March 10, 2008
Location: Texas, United States
Posted: July 03, 2008 at 9:45 AM / IP Logged  
I'll try all of those things today when I get home, I'm at work right now. I hope nothings wrong with the amp, it just sat in my room for a month whlie the car was out of commission, and it was truckin it before that...
Soldier: This is the worst part. The calm before the battle.
Fry: And then the battle is not so bad?
Soldier: Oh, right. I forgot about the battle.
DYohn 
Moderator - Posts: 10,741
Moderator spaceThis member has made a donation to the12volt.com. Click here for more info.spaceThis member has been recognized as an authority in Electrical Theory. Click here for more info.spaceThis member has been recognized as an authority in Mobile Audio and Video. Click here for more info.spacespace
Joined: April 22, 2003
Location: Arizona, United States
Posted: July 03, 2008 at 9:59 AM / IP Logged  

I too suspect the amp is fried, mainly because of the major short you describe in the initial post.  Plus, your seat bolt ground location is really a bad idea, and I suspect the reason it is related to the fuel pump is because you inadvertently cross-connected the amp through the fuel pump via a high-resistance ground location.  That's why when you shorted out your system the fuel pump also fried.  The two failures are related.  Did you let the car repair shop know what really happened when they told you that you needed a new fuel pump?

Take the amp to a reliable shop for bench testing to see if it is fried.  Then either install it correctly (and get a multimeter so you can measure your ground return resistance) or get it installed by that reliable shop.

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klctexas 
Copper - Posts: 111
Copper spacespace
Joined: March 10, 2008
Location: Texas, United States
Posted: July 03, 2008 at 10:31 AM / IP Logged  
How do I measure the ground return resistance? So hooking up a fried amp in a vehicle makes it not start? I've never heard of that.
Soldier: This is the worst part. The calm before the battle.
Fry: And then the battle is not so bad?
Soldier: Oh, right. I forgot about the battle.
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