car audio of death

I once saw speaker wire inserted into the fuse holder in the amp to complete the circuit. I've also seen the no ring terminal power wire but it was at least duct taped to the battery lol! I've seen 0awg power stuffed into 4ga power terminal with 8ga ground and other crap like that. I love watching the faces of people when they ask what my store charges to install things, and then they say, "oh so and so knows how to hook up music! I'll get them to do it..." then they call asking why their stuff isn't working and want to get it swapped out for a new one... All I can say is ship it to the maker!

How is "safe mode" and "no fuse" related?  The amp going in to safe mode is a thermal or load protection and would have no effect on the current draw.  The fuse is to protect the wire, not the amp.

That being said, there is absolutely no reason why there shouldn't be a fuse.  It is a fire hazard, but only in the event that it grounds to metal (whether it be from a pinch in the wire or a collision where the wire gets pinched).

One of the worst I saw was the day after I installed a head unit in some guys Toyota his "buddy" hooked up his amp.  He wanted a toggle switch inline so he could shut the amp on and off, but instead of putting the switch in the remote wire, which is what a real installer would do, they put a heavy duty toggle in line with the main power wire.  They didn't even bother insulating the contacts on the switch!  To top it off, the plastic sill plate was missing and the switch was just laying next to the seat.

Well, he brings it back to us because something wasn't working correctly.  I was sitting half in the car, half out (butt in the seat, feet on the ground) trying to get the ready out.  I somehow bumped the toggle switch and before I know it the car is full of white smoke.  Luckily, my manager was on his way out to look at the car and he was able to pull the power cable off the battery before it did any damage (luckily it was just wrapped around the top post, no real connection).  My boss looked at the two kids and told them to leave because their warranty on our installation no longer existed.

I've seen that! The guys fuse (MAXI) at the battery blew, so he took a 16g wire and used that in place of the fuse. I actually traded his amp from him and he forgot to remove the wire from the fuseholder (I told him not to use it to begin with!). The next day (or so...) at work his car burned down.

Or, I don't know, putting the switch in the remote wire?  haha

I love it! I also enjoy when they have 30ft of power wire/ground/remote/rca in the trunk of a yugo all tapped into a basket ball sized wad.