Hey,

Was finishing hooking up the amp for my subs.
Connected the power and everything else but the amp power light isnt coming on and the subs dont hit.

Even if the Wiring of the subs wasnt done right...power should still come on if ground and power are done right, correct???

So I took a couple pics of the ground to see if its a good ground source and the power terminal thats connected to the batter seems to have rusted or something...this the cause??

The ground is hooked up in the back where the latch hold the coupe roof in place. I took out the piece and took out the bolt and installed the wire and put the bolt back in...

anyways heres the pics

 

The ground is your problem. I would run your ground all the way to the negative of the battery. These cars really do not have a very good ground point. You can also find a decent ground on the passenger seat frame. Get a meter and check continuity. I bet you do not have a ground at all where you are at now.

Run it to the battery and your problem should be solved.

 

There's an excellent ground behind the passenger panel where the passenger seat belt is.

 

Thanks guys...I will try them both out.

Love the forum!!!

Let you guys know tomorrow if it all goes

 

Not meaning to insult your intelligence...but since you didn't mention it...you do you have the remote turn-on wire connected to the amp, right?
(switched +12v wire from head unit to amp). If you do, I would also verify the voltage of the remote wire @ the amp when system is on.

Even with a weak ground, it should still power the amp up. A quick test (before going through the trouble of relocating the grounding point) would be to connect a voltmeter from your current ground bolt to the positive (battery) connection on the amp. If you show 12v or more, the amp should definitely power up, assuming a +12v signal on the remote wire (system on).

On these cars, I agree it would be best to run the ground to the - battery terminal, with the same gauge wire as the positive.


:cheers:

 

Yea I do that remote connected to the amp.

Ill check and see with the voltmeter

Thanks

 

I would like to add my .02 cents here.......


You should not run a ground all the way back to the battery.......

Grounds for stereo systems inparticular should be NO more then 18" long. If you run it over 18" you take a chance of hearing "road noise" through the subs or system speakers.

If you absolutely have to run a longer ground...do so....but know that you may have sound quality issues down the road.

For the record,
When I installed radios, and came across a Corvette, I would drill a hole through the fiberglass floor and connect it directly to the frame, or sway bar, etc.....

 

I agree with the 18" but not for C5's. Unfortunately the best ground you will get is directly to the battery. I have 3 friends who own a total of 5 audio shops and every C5 they do is grounded to the battery. I have mine that way also and there is 0 noise. As long as you use high quality wire and run the rca's away from the power wire you will be fine. The key is to use the correct gauge wire for the application.

 

Absolutely. There is nothing wrong with running the ground back to the engine or battery, provided it is of equal or larger size to the power wire. Chances are, a 4 ga or better copper conductor from the amp directly to the - battery post will be of lower resistance than the path through the car's framework. It is this resistance that causes potential noise issues. This also alleviates potential substandard (factory) grounding connections between engine/frame, as well as engine/battery. Both of which should be upgraded with any amp installation utilizing a frame ground point.

Usually a full ground run back to the battery is done to CURE noisy grounding issues as a last resort. It is normally not recommended just due to the hassle and cost of the large ga. cable.


:cheers:

 

Well I tried another ground...Behind the panel where the passenger seatbelt is.

Didnt work :confused:
I took pics of the remote wire blue/white that came with the OEM1 than the red wire is the one I used to connect to the blue/white remote wire and ran it to the amp.

I have no clue whats wrong...guess ill have to take it to a shop and see whats wrong :mad :confused:

 

Before you take it in....if you have a voltmeter, troubelshoot in this order:

1. At the amp terminals (or closest point to the amp if it only has wire leads). Put the meter leads between the ground and the main (heavy) power wire. Stereo does not need to be on. If you have +12v (or more)between those, good...if not, you have a fuse out, a really bad ground, or another wiring issue. If you do have voltage, go to step 2.

2. Turn the stereo on. Now put your meter leads between the ground @ the amp, and the remote turn-on lead. If you have 12v (or more) there, and you had 12 or more on step 1, your amp is bad, or check to see if there is a fuse on the amp itself. If you do not have voltage on the remote wire, your amp isn't getting the signal to turn on, and you have a fuse or wiring issue between the amp and the head unit with the remote on wire.

If your amp has any power indicator lights and they light up, your amp is powered up. If no sound, check the connection between the stereo and amp (RCA cables), and the speaker wiring.


This is about all I can suggest. Good luck with it.


:cheers:


[Modified by Y2Kvert4me, 3:43 AM 10/30/2002]

 

Also forget the ground point you are using. Go ahead and run it to the battery and be done with it. I would do that before I took it to a shop b/c they will end up doing it for you and charging you for labor.

What kind of amp and how much wattage(rms/peak)? What type of subwoofer, if any, and what size.

 

FWIW....my entire system is grounded via the rear mounting bolts for my passenger seat (it's a good metal-to-metal contact point). I tried a couple of other places but they didn't work out too well.

It was the closest convenient usable ground for my amp and DVD processor, meaning minimal wire length. I don't get any noise, hiss or other racket in my system.

 

Your definitely in a bad spot... I ran mine down into the passengers rear wheel well area right onto the frame, then ran he same gauge wire from the battery neg to the frame.

 

Dont have a voltmeter...but tried running the ground to the passenger seat frame.

When I touched it to the metal...a big spark came and I took it off...a couple seconds later I put it back on an no spark and the amp still didnt work :confused: Did I fry the amp? :confused:

 

Now it is sounding like something else is wrong. If you got a big spark that was the Capacitors charging in the amp when you attached the ground. That means you probably had a good enough ground to atleast make the light on the amp turn on. No, the sparks you saw had nothing to do with ruining the amp, that is normal.

Do this before you take it to a shop. Go to radio shack or walmart and buy a cheap multi-meter. Put it on 12v DC and check the remote lead for atleast 12v. Attach the positive of the meter to the remote lead and the negative of the meter to the new ground wire you just ran. You can test right at the amp. I assume the power and ground lead has voltage b/c of the sparks you saw.

I think it is two things now, the amp or the remote wire. Are you sure you had the key on when you connected the ground?



[Modified by C5-VERT, 3:25 PM 10/30/2002]

 

I had the same problem when I bought an amplified bazooka from Car Toys. I tried to install it myself and it wouldnt work. Took it back and the amp was fried, from when I bought it, I didnt do it. They replaced it for free AND installed it. What a country! :cheers: Good luck man.

 

Here's a observation for what it's worth. Since you provided such enoumus and beautiful pictures,(third picture down) your connection to the positive side of the battery is absolutely 100% crap. :U If it isn't trouble now, give it a week or two and it will be. :mad That connector and the wire in it is full of acid and corrosion. :eek: It's possible that you don't have 12V at the amp. to power it up. Personally I don't like the way you put the connector behind the wire that goes to the starter, that's just asking for trouble, but that's just my opinion.
I think the most important thing to look for here is one of those GM batteries that leaks acid at the battery post. Since the wire appears to have so much corrosion on it, it may not be making a connection and there has to be a leak there somewhere.
Didn't mean to flame you too much, but if you don't get that acid problem cleaned up at the battery, you are going to have continous problems, not only with the amp, but also getting the car started. Electrical connections must be clean and kept clean for good performance.
If you find your battery is leaking, take it out and look below it for more acid. Some members have had their computer ruined by leaking battery acid.
Good Luck :D