what happened?
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=11304
Printed Date: July 20, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Topic: what happened?
Posted By: rick_21_69
Subject: what happened?
Date Posted: March 22, 2003 at 10:00 PM
HI. I just installed a kicker IX404 amplifier. I hooked everything up prperly, and when I turned it on my ground, on the prouts shorted and burned right through the wire. I then unhooked it and when the rca came in contact with metal it sparked. what measures could I take to detemine the problem for this??? any help would be appreciated...thanks
Replies:
Posted By: rick_21_69
Date Posted: March 22, 2003 at 10:01 PM
PS....it was hooked up to an alpine cdm-7874 head unit
Posted By: themagicone
Date Posted: March 22, 2003 at 11:03 PM
so you grounded your preouts? Exactly how did you have it wired and did it start melting before or after you turned on the amp or was it when you grounded the amp? It could be that you pinched the rca so the inner wire was touching the ground wire and when your ground the amp voltage running threw the rca went to ground -- but for that to happen your radio must of been on.
Posted By: esmith69
Date Posted: March 22, 2003 at 11:05 PM
Check all the fuses, at the head unit, on the amp's power cable, and on the amp itself (if it has any). What metal did the RCAs touch? Was it just bare metal of the vehicle (i.e. something that might work as a ground)? This is a silly question but are you sure you didn't hook up the RCA ground to a power wire or something? Trying to figure out how it would burn through the wire... Did this happen immediately after you finished installing the amp, or had it been working for some time before this problem occurred?
Posted By: rick_21_69
Date Posted: March 22, 2003 at 11:16 PM
I hooked the amp up with 8 ga wir to the battery....10 inch bar metal,solid ground......all speakers work when on the head units amp......sound great..... I had the rca's hooked up to the amp, and the head unit...as soon as I turned on the head unit....I could smell a burned wire..it eneded up being inside of the head unit....running from the rca out put to the main curcuit board....it was when when I hurd the speakers popping I unhooked the rca'a at the head unit... and touched the steel and saw a spark
Posted By: vseven
Date Posted: March 23, 2003 at 9:41 AM
The speakers were disconnected for the HU when you wired them to the amp, right? You didnt run the wire to the speakers and leave the HU still attached?
Allan.
Posted By: djfearny2
Date Posted: March 23, 2003 at 9:47 AM
if you grounded the rca than you should take it to a friend or something that knows what there doing cause hooking up an amp the right way , this does not happen. i dont think i have ever seen rcas burn up . and since it did dont right in your posts i wired everythign up properly.
-------------
Jon
Installer/Help Technician
---coral springs florida---
mecp certification is not always needed. I have it and it has not helped me out at all. my experience out shines it.
Posted By: rick_21_69
Date Posted: March 24, 2003 at 9:34 PM
I brought the amp back to the store I purchased it from, turns out theres an inner short that sent a power surge through my rca's..........and what do you mean, by don't post that I wired everything up properly....this is pretty forward simple sh*t....if you can tie your show laces you can wire a simple audio system
|