Possible Electrical issues?

[talgar]

Hey guys,

I just purchased a 2002 Pontiac Bonneville that is fully loaded with power everything. Currently, there are two issues that (in my opinion) are electrical problems: Back power windows do not work and the heated seats also do not work.

I told the dealer my intention of adding an in-dash TV to replace the stock stereo as one of the lights is currently burnt out in the display, and then adding my JL13W7 and JL1000/1 to the mix. He told me that adding an aftermarket stereo of any kind and "messing around" with the wiring can cause many electrical issues within the car and that his reputation is on the line if the car fails.

I went to the shop that I get all of my work and equipment from and they just told me to add an additional battery and it will be fine.

Is this true? Seems too easy.

Can anyone shed some light on this for me?

Will the addition of a car stereo cause inevitable doom to the rest of my electrical systems?

Thanks!

[dmanson]

Hey guys,

I just purchased a 2002 Pontiac Bonneville that is fully loaded with power everything. Currently, there are two issues that (in my opinion) are electrical problems: Back power windows do not work and the heated seats also do not work.

I told the dealer my intention of adding an in-dash TV to replace the stock stereo as one of the lights is currently burnt out in the display, and then adding my JL13W7 and JL1000/1 to the mix. He told me that adding an aftermarket stereo of any kind and "messing around" with the wiring can cause many electrical issues within the car and that his reputation is on the line if the car fails.

I went to the shop that I get all of my work and equipment from and they just told me to add an additional battery and it will be fine.

Is this true? Seems too easy.

Can anyone shed some light on this for me?

Will the addition of a car stereo cause inevitable doom to the rest of my electrical systems?

Thanks!

well i wouldn't just add another battery just yet. I'd start off with a good alternator and if you have a stock battery then i'd do a kinetik or powermaster along with the big 3 in 1/0. Start off with that and go from there. Good luck

[bobonit]

With a 1000 watt amp, you don't need a bigger alternator just yet. Do the Big 3 in 1/0 gauge and add a 2nd battery close to where the amp is installed. Make sure your grounds are good (to the frame). If the battery up front is questionable, replace that as well. With all that done, monitor your voltage, if you are still getting too much voltage drop, then think about a better alternator.

[Boon]

1000w and a TV is the kind of system I would run off a completely, utterly stock electrical system. 1 run of good quality 4 gauge and you'll be good as gold. Do the big 3 if you really feel the need.

[Neo_frog]

1000w and a TV is the kind of system I would run off a completely, utterly stock electrical system. 1 run of good quality 4 gauge and you'll be good as gold. Do the big 3 if you really feel the need.

Yup.

[Deschain420]

Check fuses first.

And since it's apparently not everything on the fritz, for the windows, you can pull the panel(s) off...and check the connections at the button. Sometimes they come loose. I would assume heated seats might be subject to loose connections too, but if the power seat still functions - no clue?

Personally, I would tackle those issues before complicating them by adding other components into the deal...although they do sound like annoyances more than anything.

[talgar]

Check fuses first.

And since it's apparently not everything on the fritz, for the windows, you can pull the panel(s) off...and check the connections at the button. Sometimes they come loose. I would assume heated seats might be subject to loose connections too, but if the power seat still functions - no clue?

Personally, I would tackle those issues before complicating them by adding other components into the deal...although they do sound like annoyances more than anything.

I had my amp/sub installed on Friday morning and my car has died twice since.

The first time was after playing music off of the battery for about 5 minutes. I went to turn the car back on and it was dead.

The second time was earlier tonight. I went on break and went to get something from my car and noticed that my remote unlock wasn't working. I tried to start the car and it was again dead. No explanation this time. When I went to jump it later on, I noticed that my headlights/tail lights were flashing (dimly) and around the fuse box there was a clicking sound every time they flashed.

The amp seems to constantly have a light on, which doesn't make sense to me. Is it continuously draining power? If so, why?

[rizzy71]

I had my amp/sub installed on Friday morning and my car has died twice since.

The first time was after playing music off of the battery for about 5 minutes. I went to turn the car back on and it was dead.

The second time was earlier tonight. I went on break and went to get something from my car and noticed that my remote unlock wasn't working. I tried to start the car and it was again dead. No explanation this time. When I went to jump it later on, I noticed that my headlights/tail lights were flashing (dimly) and around the fuse box there was a clicking sound every time they flashed.

The amp seems to constantly have a light on, which doesn't make sense to me. Is it continuously draining power? If so, why?

The heated seats should have the same fuse as the power controls for the seats (AUX), so if you can still move them then it's not the fuse. Under the seat there should be two separate wiring harnesses coming through the floor (one for heated seats, one for controls) sometimes they can loosen up and not be fully connected, make sure they're plugged in tight. Same thing happens to the drivers seat in my car, and it happened in a friends Gran Prix.

First place I would check for the back power windows is the main control in the drivers door. Take off the drivers door panel or pop out the controls for the windows, make sure everything is plugged in. If that's not all plugged in right then the other windows wont work since they all run from there for locking the windows so they can't be controlled by the other switches, and so the driver can control all of the windows. If that is all right then check each back one and see if it's plugged in or if something else is messed up.

Since your car died twice, how long did it run for after jumping it the first time? Possibly didn't run long enough for the alt to charge the battery, or the alt could be bad.

There shouldn't be a light on all the time on the amp, should only be on when the key is turned and the car is on. Which means it is getting constant power. How is the remote hooked up? Is it ran from the HU to the amp, or is there a jumper wire hooked from the power terminal on the amp to the remote terminal, or remote wire could be ran directly from the battery to the amp. If the remote wire is ran from the HU it could be hooked up wrong. Could of connected it in with the power for the HU instead of where it should be. The remote wire should be hooked up to the blue wire (usually with a white stripe) coming from the wiring harness.

Sorry for the novel, just things I have seen and can think of.

[CaptainzPlanetz]

Did you run the system with the car off????If so thats why it wouldnt start.

[talgar]

The heated seats should have the same fuse as the power controls for the seats (AUX), so if you can still move them then it's not the fuse. Under the seat there should be two separate wiring harnesses coming through the floor (one for heated seats, one for controls) sometimes they can loosen up and not be fully connected, make sure they're plugged in tight. Same thing happens to the drivers seat in my car, and it happened in a friends Gran Prix.

First place I would check for the back power windows is the main control in the drivers door. Take off the drivers door panel or pop out the controls for the windows, make sure everything is plugged in. If that's not all plugged in right then the other windows wont work since they all run from there for locking the windows so they can't be controlled by the other switches, and so the driver can control all of the windows. If that is all right then check each back one and see if it's plugged in or if something else is messed up.

Since your car died twice, how long did it run for after jumping it the first time? Possibly didn't run long enough for the alt to charge the battery, or the alt could be bad.

There shouldn't be a light on all the time on the amp, should only be on when the key is turned and the car is on. Which means it is getting constant power. How is the remote hooked up? Is it ran from the HU to the amp, or is there a jumper wire hooked from the power terminal on the amp to the remote terminal, or remote wire could be ran directly from the battery to the amp. If the remote wire is ran from the HU it could be hooked up wrong. Could of connected it in with the power for the HU instead of where it should be. The remote wire should be hooked up to the blue wire (usually with a white stripe) coming from the wiring harness.

Sorry for the novel, just things I have seen and can think of.

I appreciate the response!

I'll definitely check out the harness under the seats tomorrow morning and let you know my findings. The power windows are getting fixed tomorrow by the dealer, so my guess is it was something easy that went wrong and they already knew about it.

The car ran for a solid day and a half with no issues. The car rarely dips below 14V, so for it to shut down as quickly as it does, I really can't figure it out. As soon as I turn the car on, I get 14.4V and when it shuts off, it's still at 14.4V.

As far as how the amp was installed, I have no idea. I had a pro do it (for warranty reasons) and apparently it didn't go so well. I am going to take it in tomorrow hopefully to get it looked at. I was thinking that the remote wire must have been hooked up wrong for it to constantly be on.