Sub and amp not working. Need troubleshooting help and tips!
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 4,293
Likes: 46
From: FL
Sub and amp not working. Need troubleshooting help and tips!
Sub stopped working today. Noticed the bass was lower in the car, sure enough, no sub woofer output. I just recently installed a Pioneer X930BT (did it myself I might add- very proud of that as I'm a noob with all of this stuff). Sub was working fine since day one but now I'm not getting anything from it and the amp light is also off.*
Can anyone familiar with this head unit setup and a JL 10in. sub/amp combo help me trouble shoot what is going on? What should I check first? Thanks!
Can anyone familiar with this head unit setup and a JL 10in. sub/amp combo help me trouble shoot what is going on? What should I check first? Thanks!
Tech Contributor
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 7,035
Likes: 134
From: North Augusta, SC
On the amp terminals, the power wires should be obvious. The big + wire and the big ground wire should have 12vDC all the time (check inline fuse near battery if not), and the small wire (usually between the other two) will have +12vDC when the radio is on (if that one isn't hot it could be the radio).
Amp fuses should have single digit ohms from spade to spade, pull them out to check them.
Amp fuses should have single digit ohms from spade to spade, pull them out to check them.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 4,293
Likes: 46
From: FL
Ok pulled both 30a fuses from my amp and both were blown. Replaced both fuses with new ones and: NOTHING!! Amp won't turn on! Checked the remote power wire and it didn't show any power, but my wire checker might be wrong. I guess I'll be digging into my center console area again 
Possibly the power wire came loose
Possibly the power wire came loose
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 4,293
Likes: 46
From: FL
The inline fuse by the battery is fine. I checked it when I replaced the fuses. I also pulled them out again and rechecked them. They were fine.
Last edited by forg0tmypen; Apr 17, 2012 at 06:51 PM.
Tech Contributor
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 7,035
Likes: 134
From: North Augusta, SC
That would explain why it's not on now, but doesn't really help with why you blew two 30a fuses on the actual amp. Only thing I can think of is if the wire was repeatedly making/breaking so fast that it overloaded the amp, but you prob would have noticed that.
Tech Contributor
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 7,035
Likes: 134
From: North Augusta, SC
NO! Get the power wires working right if you can, then see if you can figure out with some certainty why the fuses blew.
You may even want to disconnect the amp trigger wire at the amp while working behind the radio.
One thing you can do now to check the amp... Cut a short piece of wire (about 4"), strip 1/2" off both ends, connect one end to the trigger terminal and pull the original trigger wire. Using an INSULATED HANDLE pair of pliers touch the other end of the wire to the big B+ terminal. The amp SHOULD come on, if the HU is playing it should have sound at your speakers.
If the amp fuses blow, it's prob time for a new amp unless you can find something wrong with the speaker wire connections, but that's unlikely if it just up and quit. However, I'd disconnect everything from the amp and give it one more try with new fuses, or just ohm the sub wires to verify 4ohms.
You may even want to disconnect the amp trigger wire at the amp while working behind the radio.
One thing you can do now to check the amp... Cut a short piece of wire (about 4"), strip 1/2" off both ends, connect one end to the trigger terminal and pull the original trigger wire. Using an INSULATED HANDLE pair of pliers touch the other end of the wire to the big B+ terminal. The amp SHOULD come on, if the HU is playing it should have sound at your speakers.
If the amp fuses blow, it's prob time for a new amp unless you can find something wrong with the speaker wire connections, but that's unlikely if it just up and quit. However, I'd disconnect everything from the amp and give it one more try with new fuses, or just ohm the sub wires to verify 4ohms.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 4,293
Likes: 46
From: FL
Ok I'm getting power from the remote turn on wire, but nothing from my battery wire. All fuses are good. I tried jumping a wore from the battery hookup on the amp to the remote turn on and got nothing. I'm not getting any power from the battery. That's what this tells me.
Tech Contributor
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 7,035
Likes: 134
From: North Augusta, SC
Either a wire or connection is loose somewhere (very bad, car can burn down that way), or most likely the inline fuse near the battery is blown or not properly installed.
Use a voltmeter, start at the battery and check for 12v at each of the joints on that wire. Go all the way to the amp.
It could also be a bad ground, if you have gozintas without gozoutas there still won't be any flow. Check for resistance between amp - terminal and a metal ground on the car, should be single digit ohms.
Use a voltmeter, start at the battery and check for 12v at each of the joints on that wire. Go all the way to the amp.
It could also be a bad ground, if you have gozintas without gozoutas there still won't be any flow. Check for resistance between amp - terminal and a metal ground on the car, should be single digit ohms.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 4,293
Likes: 46
From: FL
Im going to check the ground wire today. that might have come loose and blown the fuses...Ill check for power at the battery as well...
Here is a picture I took yesterday. My light came on when put up against the remote wire, but not anything else...
Here is a picture I took yesterday. My light came on when put up against the remote wire, but not anything else...
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 4,293
Likes: 46
From: FL
Well, I grounded my light tester to other things and it still lit up with the remote wire but would NOT light up with the B+ wire when grounded to a metal screw on one end and put up to the B+ on the other. I just checked the ground, its tight and secure to the negative terminal of the battery. So is the power wire and in line fuse. Fuse is not blown. I was using my neighbors wire tester and hes not home now. Ill check to see if Im getting power from the battery positive terminal before the fuse...Could the fuse be bad even if it hasnt blown (metal strip in the middle isnt broken)