Amp not getting proper voltage

[Wicks]

No such thing as too much wire

A fuse isn't going to "control" how much current goes through it.

The amp will pull what it wants, regardless of the fuse.

If the fuse is too small for that current, it will get hot and resistive. That extra resistance will cause a voltage drop which could negatively affect the amp.

Have you seen any heat damage on the fuse or fuse holder?

Load test the battery to make sure its OK.

Take a separate battery or other power source (separate wires too) and connect it to the amp (carefully) and see if it shows the same symptoms.

This will take all your wiring out of the equation.

With the amp disconnected, use your DMM on ohms and measure the input resistance at the power terminals.

Should be a rather high reading, if its in the ohm-range then there is definitely a short in the amp's power supply.

That sounds like a massive current draw if the amp is pulling your voltage down that far. Is the amp getting hot at all while doing this?

The amp was getting pretty damn hot while this was happening even with the vain that low. I re-hooked it up a few times in a few days just to troubleshoot and measure a few things and sometimes it read anywhere from like 2.4-6.6 over those few days.

So take a reading at my battery terminals with my dmm set to ohms? How high of a number should I expect to see?

I'll try your other suggestions this weekend..

If it's getting noticeably hot while just hooking it up then it's pretty safe to say it's blown...

Measure the amps input terminals with the ohmmeter, not battery terminals. Just making sure that's clear. Never measure resistance on a powered circuit.

You should be high kilo-ohms. If it's dropping your voltage to single digits then it's resistance must be just a few ohms.

Do you have a (dash) voltmeter on the amp terminals to monitor it as it plays?

I would highly suggest it if amps are blowing on you. Cheap insurance.

From all the signs above, your battery has taken a beating. Put a trickle charger on it to charge it up before any damage sets in.

[JakeMN]

No such thing as too much wire

A fuse isn't going to "control" how much current goes through it.

The amp will pull what it wants, regardless of the fuse.

If the fuse is too small for that current, it will get hot and resistive. That extra resistance will cause a voltage drop which could negatively affect the amp.

Have you seen any heat damage on the fuse or fuse holder?

Load test the battery to make sure its OK.

Take a separate battery or other power source (separate wires too) and connect it to the amp (carefully) and see if it shows the same symptoms.

This will take all your wiring out of the equation.

With the amp disconnected, use your DMM on ohms and measure the input resistance at the power terminals.

Should be a rather high reading, if its in the ohm-range then there is definitely a short in the amp's power supply.

That sounds like a massive current draw if the amp is pulling your voltage down that far. Is the amp getting hot at all while doing this?

The amp was getting pretty damn hot while this was happening even with the vain that low. I re-hooked it up a few times in a few days just to troubleshoot and measure a few things and sometimes it read anywhere from like 2.4-6.6 over those few days.

So take a reading at my battery terminals with my dmm set to ohms? How high of a number should I expect to see?

I'll try your other suggestions this weekend..

If it's getting noticeably hot while just hooking it up then it's pretty safe to say it's blown...

Measure the amps input terminals with the ohmmeter, not battery terminals. Just making sure that's clear. Never measure resistance on a powered circuit.

You should be high kilo-ohms. If it's dropping your voltage to single digits then it's resistance must be just a few ohms.

Do you have a (dash) voltmeter on the amp terminals to monitor it as it plays?

I would highly suggest it if amps are blowing on you. Cheap insurance.

From all the signs above, your battery has taken a beating. Put a trickle charger on it to charge it up before any damage sets in.

Thanks for clarifying. I actually just ordered one for when my SAE-1000d gets back to me from dbr. In the proccess of ordering a spool of shca 1/0 cca for the big 3 and power and ground runs. What am I suppose to fuse the power wire on the big 3 at? 250 amps?

[SIDE SHOW]

what does you amp/amps recommend?

[JakeMN]

Well I have a 125 amp (recommended) going inline on the amp power wire. What should I put for alternative positive to bat? Amp recommends 125

[Wicks]

Under the hood, at the start of the run, fuse to the wire capacity.

1/0 so a 300A fuse is fine. This for protection in case the long wire gets shorted during an accident. Cuts power to the wire and reduces a chance of fire.

Then right at the amp, fuse to its recommendations and current draw.

You want the amp to be able to pull its rated current comfortably but if the amp blows, you want to be able to break the current draw as fast as possible.

A bigger fuse here allows more current to further damage a faulty amp.

A smaller fuse chokes the current flow and reduces your input voltage or blows fuses prematurely.

[mrazandrewm]

So I've had an IA 10.1 in my car for about 2 weeks after blowing up an SAE-1000d. My power and ground read 14.2-14.4 but the amp won't turn on. Remote turn on is reading 12.4 also.. I checked the voltage when the power and ground were hooked into the amp and got 6.95. Did I blow this amp up as well? It doesn't seem to be a problem with my wiring.

Update: So I went back in and checked everything which included the continuity of my ground the correct way and it read .01/.0. Here's some pics of the voltage and my ground...

Battery voltage

Voltage at end of my wiring run before I hooked it up to the amp

Voltage after I'm hooked into the amp

Picture of my ground

This just leads me to believe that my amp is blown? What would cause this to happen....

Did anyone give you the correct answer yet? If not, you'll most likely need a new grounding spot. I used a seat bolt and my amplifier had the same issue as you. Proper voltage with power and ground out from amp. When power and ground wires are plugged into amp I would only get around 5-6 volts. I had to change my ground to my frame (F-150). So you should look into a new ground.

[mrazandrewm]

Replace your power wire and see if that helps, had a friend who had the same problem, I replaced the power wire and it worked, also check to make sure your connections up front are tight and free of corrosion...

considering the power wire is 2 months old would you still recommend to replace it? It's knu's flex cca 4ga.. I was thinking about running 0ga ofc shca just for the hell of it but 1000w rms I don't think would require that much.

Don't use CCA for power or ground wires. You should only use OFC if you spent a good chunk of money on amps and subs.

[mrazandrewm]

i bet his amp is bad. if voltage is present while disconnected and disappears when connected the power supply in the amp is probably bad. send for service. it happens.

Amp is not bad. I had the same issue. Once I changed my ground location my amp has been receiving the full 14.4 volts.

[reedal]

Replace your power wire and see if that helps, had a friend who had the same problem, I replaced the power wire and it worked, also check to make sure your connections up front are tight and free of corrosion...

considering the power wire is 2 months old would you still recommend to replace it? It's knu's flex cca 4ga.. I was thinking about running 0ga ofc shca just for the hell of it but 1000w rms I don't think would require that much.

Don't use CCA for power or ground wires. You should only use OFC if you spent a good chunk of money on amps and subs.

CCA vs OFC doesn't matter as long as you have enough for the current carrying requirements of your accessories.

[JakeMN]

I will change my ground this weekend hopefully and then test it again.. Doesn't cca just corrode quicker? In like 5-10 years? 1/0cca is rated at 250 or 225 can't remember but I only need 125.