Amp help

[petey]

the other day i tried to install an amp. i connected all the wires correctly and the amp didnt seem to work.
so i tested it with my oms and theres power getting to the amp but its not enough to power the amp.
i bought the amp from a wreckers so i dunno if thats my 1st problem LOL.
but the little protection light isnt even comming on...
so could that mean that my inline fuse isnt strong enough...
thanks in advance

[JelloBello]

make sure you have a good ground, and a nice thick ground cable.

What gauge is the power wire to the amp, what brand amp, power rating, model etc?

[petey]

i connected the ground wire to the seatbelt buckle at the bottom.. but the wire i used was about the same size as standard speaker wire.
the power wire is 10-12 gauge i think..
its a kenwood amp.. but its got a ford logo on it
it hasnt got a power raiting on it and im not sure of the model?
but im trying to run a pair of 1500 watt subs from it

[Robbd]

If anything your earth wire should be largest in your system, or at least equal to your power cable.
Speaker cable size is severly undersized

[petey]

ok thanks for that..
ill replace the ground wire with 8-9 gauge wire. hopefully that fixes the problem LOL
if it doesnt ill just buy a new amp cos the one i got from the wreckers was only $40 so that might explain why its not working

[sxtacy]

i connected the ground wire to the seatbelt buckle at the bottom.. but the wire i used was about the same size as standard speaker wire.
the power wire is 10-12 gauge i think..

The power cable needs to be thick, the one I have is about the size of my finger; Otherwise the power won't make it all the way to the amp. The same goes for the earth, it should be about the same size, 4 gauge perhaps?

Standard speaker wire is about 14-16 gauge if I remember correctly, should only be used for speakers.

if it doesnt ill just buy a new amp cos the one i got from the wreckers was only $40 so that might explain why its not working

If you buy a new amp you will need good thick power cables anyway so check out an amp wiring kit.

[Jono]

If you have that little knowledge about audio installs you shouldn't be doing it yourself. You'll blow something up or it'll catch fire or something.

Do some reading on install theory, or get someone else to do it for you.

[S1NN3R]

sorry to bring up an old thread..but im having hte exact same problem!!! is it down to where u put the ground wire? there waws definately power cause i accidently touched it with the screw driver and it sparked..lol and the fuse didnt blow thank god.....any ideas?
did u end up figuring why the amp wasnt working?

[Mackdaddy]

What model is your amp? Amps are picky bits of circuitry. a good amp will have overload and short circuit protection and usually have a 'protection mode' led that lights up if its not happy. Wire it to power before you start hooking up speakers. You need good sized cable for the power positive and earth leads especially if its a high power amp. Generally a 4 gauge wire from the battery with an in-line fuse and a 4 gauge strap to earth to a metal point in the boot or wherever you're installing.

Amps should also have a remote input. This one only needs a small gauge wire coming off 12v accessories or the remote output on your headunit if it has one. This lets the amp power up only when it need to be... when your headunit is on to make some music.

Without this signal the amp wont turn on at all.

I ran into this issue once, the wire we ran for the remote input must have been damaged somewhere as it was only showing ~2V at the amp end so the amp wasn't turning on. We ran a new wire and all was sweet. Bass for the masses :p