MrLeadFoot

I just installed a small Kicker CX series amp on the back vertical wall in my coupe. As recommended by Kicker for this amp, and because they extend their 2 year warranty for an additional year when you use their kit, I used their 8 gauge amp wiring kit.

Fished the power wire through the factory grommet behind the battery, and ran the wire down the passenger door sill. Like many other forum members have done, drilled a hole in the front of the right rear compartment, grounded to the factory ground on the right frame rail, and caulked the hole around the wire. (I sure hope it doesn't leak, because in the rain the spray of the back tire likely shoots water right onto that spot.)

Put the battery back in, connected the factory + and - wires to the terminals, and then went to attach the Kicker power wire to the B+ block at the bottom of the fuse center. When I touched the power wire to that block, I got a big spark. Of course, I stopped right there, and now am unsure of how to proceed. Here are the EXACT steps I did, in order:

1) Disconnected factory + and - from the battery.
2) Connected ring terminal of the ground wire in the wiring kit to a factory ground point on the frame at the rear of the car.
3) Installed fuse inline at recommended spot on power wire.
4) Ran power wire with fuse from battery location to amp location, but did not connect it.
5) Connected ground wire to negative terminal on amp, ensuring there were no stray wires at terminal.
5) Connected power wire to amp, again ensuring there were no stray wires at terminal.
6) Ran remote turn-on wire to stereo head unit location, but did not connect it.
7) Connected factory + and - to the battery.

Here's what happened next: I went to connect the power wire to the B+ block at the base of my under-hood fuse center, and got a decent spark, which surprised me. All I did was touch the amp power wire to the B+ terminal, and when I got the spark, I immediately pulled it away, so I do not know if any lights came on on the amp. Since the remote turn-on wire is NOT connected to a power source, the amp shouldn't be "on" and drawing power, so I don't know why I would get a spark. I checked the fuse and it appears to be fine, but I stopped right there, just to be safe. Is a spark normal, or is there something wrong somewhere?

If it matters, I have not yet connected the amp to a source signal, nor is the remote turn-on wire connected to anything. I am waiting for the remote bass **** to arrive before doing those parts of the install.

Any thoughts from anyone? Thanks in advance.

woodman300

recheck all your connections. is it possible there is a capacitor in the amp that got charged? maybe it discharged during the install.

R1 Rider

Same spark when hooking up my kicker system, I just tightened it on down.. Works fine, but you could try disconnecting the battery, hooking up the entire system: power, ground, and remote THEN reconnect the battery

73Corvette

MrLeadFoot

I have checked and rechecked connections, and everything (that I wired thus far) is indeed correct. Perhaps I should just continue on, BUT, when I'm done, connect the negative terminal on the battery as the last thing. Does that sound right?

scarecrowkc5

If your vehicle has negative ground, the positive cable goes back first.

R1 Rider

Right, the ground may spark a little too

MrLeadFoot

I assume you mean when I reconnect the factory negative wire to the battery I will get a spark, like normal. What threw me for a loop was getting a spark from the amp's circuit, when the amp is supposedly not even "on".

R1 Rider

You're still "completing a circuit" even though the amp isn't on

Sydwayz

How is your amp set to turn on? On most there is a switch:
-Always On
-Signal Detect Turn On
-Remote Power (relay) Turn On

Set it to the third if you have that setting, regardless of what your eventual plan for the amp is. Both of the first 2 settings will have the Amp drawing power as soon as you connect all leads. The 3rd will not.

R1 Rider

I think he said it was a remote wire, should just turn on when the stereo is on

Sydwayz

Right, but there is usually a dip or setting switch to match that configuration on the amp itself.

GCG

GCG

Instead of just caulking the hole around the wire, it would be better to insert a rubber grommet similar to the one you went through behind the battery. This way not only you'll get a better seal, but it would also protect the wire from being cut by the metal edges of the hole.

MrLeadFoot

There is no such setting.

MrLeadFoot

There is no metal in the rear compartments, only fiberglass. It's a Corvette, remember? ;-) Because I was concerned about leakage, I made the hole for the wire using a bit that was the same size as the wire. I then used a round file to enlarge the hole so that the hole is just large enough for the wire to fit snugly through. Now, that I've disclosed the details, do you think the caulking will work?

R1 Rider

It will be fine

MrLeadFoot

Yamerhaw, did you do the same thing I did, with the amp on the vertical wall and ground to the frame?

R1 Rider

Yeah, except I think I just grounded mine to one of the seat bolts

MrLeadFoot

I was going to use the factory ground under the passenger seat belt trim, but was advised against the 7 ft. ground lead I would've needed for that. So, I went for the rear frame ground using the 4ft. ground cable the kit came with. BTW, I caulked inside and out.