TwentyTen

UH OH.........

I was measuring my trunk for the new amp rack this afternoon but the amps were in the way and had to be temporarily disconnected & moved.

1.) I popped the hood and disconnected the ground on the battery.

2.) Disconnected the amps (12v, remote, ground) and took the measurements.

*** WARNING - BLATANT STUPIDITY - TRY TO HOLD YOURSELVES TOGETHER ****

3.) With measurements taken, I reconnected the ground on the battery, turned on the radio and only the sub came on (Nakamichi amp).

4.) I went around to the trunk to see what the problem was and there were NO GREEN LIGHTS on either amp. There were no RED lights either, signaling the protection circuitry was in effect.

5.) I checked my wiring and...........when reconnecting the amps I misread and connected the BLACK Ground wire to the amps 12V INPUT and vise versa ---> ON BOTH AMPS .

6.) I turned off the car, disconnected the ground from the battery and CORRECTLY wired the amps.

7.) I reconnected Ground on the battery, turned on the stereo and NADA! Nothing. Nill. Ziltch. Zipp. No power to the amps


Any and all help is appreciated. Here's a little info on the amps.

- They are both Kicker 600.4's with two 40 amp fuses on each amp.
- 4AWG wire from the battery to a distribution block in the trunk
- 8AWG wire from the distribution block to the amp. Each 8AWG wire is about 13-16 inches.

Everything worked beautifully until I miswired. I hope I don't have two $400.00 blocks of trash.

Is it as easy as going to Radio Shack and getting some fuses?

Please help.

Your's Truly,

Idiot Mechanic

RON430

Hopefully you will get some better information, might want to try pm'ing some knowledgeable folks. I don't know enough about those amps to say very much but I can tell you that protection circuits, fuses and circuit breakers, can be installed in a number of different ways. And a lot of the ways you can install them in the circuit will not protect much. Reversing polarity on DC devices is not unheard of but it really depends how the internal power supplies are set up, solid state devices are rather unforgiving. You can try the fuses but I would guess you are already prepared for the outcome..

Hope someone who knows your specific amps on the inside can give you a better perspective.

NoRyceGS4

there is a fuse under the hood and a fuse on the passenger side floor feet area thingy fuse box. check both. then if both are ok, PM LexusAudio, that guy is great and knows his stuff.

SoCalSC4

Do the amplifiers have their own dedicated power supply? (in other words, did you run a seperate wire from the battery to the trunk specifcally for the amps?).

If so, either:
1) The fuse at the battery is blown (provided you installed a fuse holder as the wire come off the battery- you shouls ALWAYS fuse the power at the battery!)
2) If no fuse is present at the battery, the amp fuses are likely blown. Most amplifiers use a 'spade' type fuse which is mostly transparent. You'll actually be able to check the status of the fuse by removing it from the amp and looking for the "U" shaped metal band inside. If there is a gap present in the "U", the fuse is blown. Just be sure to replace the fuse with on with the same amp rating (probably "15" or "20", they are marked and color-coded.

If you tapped into existing wires for power, you may have the following issues:
1) Individual circuit fuse failure (depending on the circuit, either in the passenger compartment kick panel or under the hood in the main fuse box)
2) Main ciruit failure (sometimes called a "fusible link" in the Japanese vehicles). If your other accessories (dome light, main radio, horn, etc.) are still working, this is unlikely.

I would STRONGLY suggest installing a "home run" power cable for the amps. This should consist of two individual 8-gauge wires (one for each amp) or a single 4-gauge wire with a power distribution block in the trunk to divide the current to each amplifier. Also, the wire(s) should have a Fuse holder or circuit breaker within 10" of where they connect to the main battery positive terminal.

If you are using the OE Lexus power/ground wires, it will be impossible to fully realize the aftermarket amplifier's power, as the Lexus wiring uses too small a "gauge" to deliver adequate current to the amplifiers. The amplifiers should be individually grounded locally, using the same gauge ground wire as the main power wire. This is very important- many people overlook this step.

Can you give us a bit more feedback about how this set-up is wired?

(Did I mention I am MECP Master Installer certified? Most people think of me as just a wheel & tire guy...)

SoCalSC4

I just re-read your original post... okay, check the fuse at the battery and the 40 AMP amplifier fuses. I am certain this is where your problem lies!!!

RMMGS4

iTrader: (5)

Darious

Check your PM

Call me if you still need more assistance after following the above advice.

AlphaJZS

iTrader: (2)

yeah I wouldnt worry TOO much...well...maybe a little, but yeah ur lucky theres such a thing called a FUSE but yeah as everyone else has said you may want to check all the fuses....im almost certain there isnt a postive wire in the whole car that goes directly to the battery....

RON430

Great help from you more knowledgeable types. Upon a little more thinking, if those amps didn't have protection for a reversed polarity somewhere, they probably aren't worth having anyway.

TwentyTen

*** UPDATE ***

The problem was a blown fuse under the hood. I went to Motor Music in Daly City to get a new 60A fuse and met the lead Technician. He gave me a quick lesson on amperes and current and explained what happened and how to prevent blowing a fuse in the future by calculating the current.......

He also explained that the amps have two 40A fuses each which equals 80A. I have a 60A fuse under the hood and with both amps running at full power (which they are nowhere close) that would be 160A. I replaced the 60A fuse with and 80A to cover 1/2 the current being drawn from the amps.

This is all new to me and I have NO ruler in which to guage what's true and what is *#&*%^$ (technical jibberish).

If you guys can offer some more info, I appreciate it Thanks again to everyone that responded!! I'll post photos of the trunk soon.

Lexkost

The fuse is used to protect the wire from burning ..........what size wire are you using?

TwentyTen

4 gauge to the trunk split into 8 guage to the amps.