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TROUBLESHOOTING14
GENERAL
TOOLS NEEDED
NO SOUND
By utilizing this process of elimination you can determine where the cause of the
problem is. If the amplifier goes in to diagnostic with nothing connected to it, and you
are sure of proper power and ground, please contact our service department for
further help ay 732 370 5400.
A car stereo system consists of many different pieces of equipment connected together, and
a logical process of elimination will find the problem area, by isolating sections, and checking
them one at a time. Before following the instructions below, check and double check all wiring
and connections.
The following tools will help in finding problems:
A general purpose multi meter, capable of checking voltage and resistance, is perhaps the
most useful piece of test gear that any installer can own.
You may also need a test speaker, and a head unit, as these will be handy for temporary
connection for checking purposes when you are working in the trunk of the vehicle.
This is probably the most perplexing problem to find.
1. Reduce the amp gain to 9 volts and unplug the RCA cables and speakers from the
amplifier.
2. Check with your multi meter that each amplifier in the system has proper 12 volt DC supply
on it’s power terminals.
3. Also check that the remote turn on terminal has 12 volt on it.
If all seems well, and the amplifier power indicators light up without any diagnostic light:
4. Connect the head unit RCA directly to the amplifier (eliminating any signal processors
which you may have installed in between the head unit and amplifier) and turn on the system.
If the power LED is on with no Diagnostic LED continue:
5. Connect each speaker one at a time to see which speaker puts the amp in diagnostic.
AMPLIFIER OVERHEATING AND SHUTTING DOWN
AMPLIFIER GOING INTO PROTECTION
LACK OF BASS
The most common cause for this problem is when amplifiers are overloaded with speaker
impedances lower than what they are rated for. Double-check the impedance of your
speakers and their wiring. Also check that no speaker leads are shorted to the vehicle metal
chassis.
When an amplifier goes into protection mode, we have to first establish whether the problem
lies with the amplifier, or whether it is something in the installation. Disconnect all RCA and
speaker cables, leaving the power, ground and remote connections. Turn the system on, and
if the amplifier now powers up properly, add the RCA cables, and see if the amplifier goes into
protection. If not, proceed by reconnecting the speaker leads, etc. By following this simple
process of elimination, the fault can be diagnosed quite easily.
The lack of bass can be attributed to various causes.
Check that the proper recommended enclosures have been used for the woofers.
Check the phasing of multiple woofers connected to one amplifier, as well as those
connected to multiple amplifiers. Refer to pages 10, 11 and 12. If the positive and negative
terminals are reversed in a two woofer system, you will get a cancellation which sounds like a
lack of bass. Always double check your wiring for proper phase.
Position of woofer enclosures in the vehicle will also affect bass output. You should
experiment with different box positions, firing forward, backward or upwards to see which way
you get more bass in to the cabin.
HOW TO TROUBLE SHOOT A SYSTEM
Boom
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