The Rosewood Legend

Ok so Maybe i made things a little too complex in my system. When i turn it all on now, occasionally the head unit kick in and and light up as if it were sending the signal to the amps as usual. the only problem is that the amps aren't powering up and there is no sounds, not even the normal engine noise whine. After going through and measuring the voltage at each fuse and the amps this is what i have figured out:
At the battery i am still getting 12v, at the first fuse i got .5v one time and 12v the next time ( the system kicked in when i tested it the second time.) At the rear distibution block and on both the amps i got a .47-.53v reading. Now intuition says i have a faulty fuse up front, so i changed the fuse for a brand new one, and low and begold it still happen on occasion.

The only thing i can think of that it could be now is either a bad altenator, although i really doubt that, or the remote power wire coming from the radio is not trigering the amps to come on. Am i looking in the right place or is there something i ought to be looking for that i'm not looking at currently?

TL Daddy

.....how are you getting power to your amps and what are you using as a source for your amp's turn-on lead?

acuraracer

If you still have the stock sub, you can buy a remote power adaptor at an udio shop for a few bucks. They are very simple to use and a very easy way to get a remote turn on if you still have the factory cd player. Just connect to a constant 12v, ground and any wire that gets a signal when the stereo is on. Best case would be tapping onto the the speaker 6 inches away from your system, your bose sub. It does not even have to be hooked up or there just off the wire even. Well I am sure you are probaly saying now "thanks acuraracer for the useless help, we are not dumbasses!" But it could be you remote.
Dave

The Rosewood Legend

OK here is the setup: Pioneer dehp8000r head unit sending signal to a jbl gtx47 crossover which then goes to two clarion amps, one four channel pushing all the interior speakers, one two channel, which is bridged and pushing 1 12" sub. Power is 4 guage from the battery, with a 60 amp fuse blocks under the hood right before the gas tank in the trunk and a distribution block right after it runs through the cap. I replaced the fuses last night and that worked for a bit, but then back to the same old same old. I think it is a bad fuse holder, or perhaps a bad antenna wire coming off the radio...

TL Daddy

OK your 4 ga. power wire is fused under the hood - then it should go to your fused dist block - then to your capacitor - and from the cap to your amp.
And you have everything grounded right? What are you using as a turn-on lead for your amp?

The Rosewood Legend

I just realized that i didn't explaing that right at all, The 4 gauge is going form the battery to the cap, to the distribution block. the crossover is spliced into the remote power wire of the four channel amp, and the cooling fan and neon are spliced into the the remote power wire for the two channel amp. both of the aforementioned remote wires go up to the antenna wire on the Pioneer 8000r head unit. ( iknow that is coming close to over loading the wire, but since the antenna it's self is not hooked up at all it ought to be alright). that is the basic description of the wiring, I am in the midst of ripping the car apart right now (the back seat is literally sitting in my garage right now) and going through and checking all connections and wires to see if there is something damaged, I also changed out the in line fuse holder under the hood as well. Right now the system is working (well save the neon which is a whole nother problem). thanks for the help so far guys.....

TL Daddy

Your turn-on wire is overloaded. The amps aren't getting a strong enough signal to switch on.

You need to power your neon seperately. Are you familiar with relays? I have a switch panel with 6 lighted switches that turn on my amps and lighting. I ran a 12 ga wire from my battery (same place my 4 ga power is coming from - I have a 100-amp circuit breaker at the battery) to a 30-amp automotive relay ($5 at Radio Shack). Then your antenna/turn-on wire for your amps goes to the relay too. Ground the relay and the last wire goes to your amps to turn them on. This gives a strong signal to the amp and protects your car's electrical system.

acuraracer

Well said man!
Dave

The Rosewood Legend

Ok i am not terribly familiar with relays so let me see if I have this right: I get a relay, wire it in just like a low power component with a constant powere wire, remote power, and ground, then wire the cross over, neon, fan, and amp remote power wires into the relay and use the antenna wire of the radio to power the relay? Does that sound right? Also does this overload sound like a feasible reason as to why the neon isn't working?

TL Daddy

There are 4 terminals on the bottom: 1 connects to a wire from the battery - 1 connects to head unit turn-on wire, 1 is grounded and the last one gets a wire that goes to your amp's turn on.

TL Daddy

Your neon does not need to be tied in to your stereo. It shouldn't be tied in to the turn-on lead at all. Power you neon seperately with the relay and do you amp turn-on the same way. I've done all the work on my TL - audio and electrical too - and learned so much by researching car audio web sites. Here's a good one to start and can answer a lot of questions - relays are there too

Basic Car Audio

The Rosewood Legend

Thanks alot for all the advice and help, the neon was wired in by the installer that built my box so that it would only turn on when the sub amp was powered up, thus it is the only electrical thing I didn't do my self. I have learned a ton so far from doing all the wiring in my car and since branched out and done basic amp installs and what not for tons of friends. Thanks again for all the help.