Speakers cutting out

[rushnrun 14]

error 12 can be a few things,

CD error is the most common... other than that you'll have to check the manual...

So now both amps don't turn on?

Do you have a volt meter...? You really need to check the voltages at the amps.. sounds like maybe the remote line isn't sending signal at this point (if both amps don't power up)..

[Smondo17 0]

Ill have my dad send me the volt meter. So i should test all the remote terminal power and ground? Even if there is no sound or lights on with the amps?

[rushnrun 14]

Your probably not getting a remote line signal, You can jumper from the pos to the rem on the amp and see if it comes on.. Unhook the line coming from the deck though.. you may have a short inline that is causing your problem.

also check the fuses... under the hood, on the amps, ect...

But yeah when you get the meter you'll want to test the power and the remote to see what voltage you're getting at the amp

[Smondo17 0]

I received the volt meter today. Will test it tomorrow. Just want to make sure of a few things. Test the volts when the car is on? Should i have anything unplugged? When testing the remote line do I touch where the wire enters the amp? Do i use both the positive and negative ends of the volt meter?

[rushnrun 14]

key has to be on to test the remote... the car can be running

(make sure you have the meter set to check DC voltage prior to touching the leads to the power source)

black wire to the ground of the amp(touch it to the set screw that is used to hold the wire)

red wire to the pos of the amp check the voltage

then red wire to the remote line on the amp check the voltage

with the car off the pos should read roughly 12.4

the remote will read roughly 12 as well...

With the car on your pos will be close to 14volts...

check the voltage at the battery as well so we can see what type of loss you have.. it should be very minimal... like .1volt difference from front to rear..

[Smondo17 0]

sounds great. i really appreciate all your input. ill let you know what i find out.

[Smondo17 0]

Ok so i tested the input and power levels today. Randomly the amps turned back on. The volts at both amp inputs were 13.5 and the power was 14.2. Volts up at the battery was also 14.2. So this is where i stand now. Already disconnected both mids but the speakers still cut out. Disconnected the sub amp all together and still cut out. I also turned the gain of the sub amp all the way and it did not shut off until 40 out of 60 volume.

[efxtruck 0]

Take you covers off your amps and blow them out... It sound to me like you have a small piece of wire lose in there. This happened to me it took weeks to find the problem. All it takes is one strand of wire to make it cut out. Good luck man

[rushnrun 14]

Take you covers off your amps and blow them out... It sound to me like you have a small piece of wire lose in there. This happened to me it took weeks to find the problem. All it takes is one strand of wire to make it cut out. Good luck man

^^He's stated that it happens to both amps..

I think your problem is at the CD player.. Pull the cd player out and check the wiring.. A shorted speaker lead, remote line ect will cause the cd player to stop sending a signal... Put the Multi-meter on the remote line and turn up the volume until it cuts out and see if the remote voltage is changing....

You've gotta have a short somewhere...

[KU40 173]

Ok so i tested the input and power levels today. Randomly the amps turned back on. The volts at both amp inputs were 13.5 and the power was 14.2. Volts up at the battery was also 14.2. So this is where i stand now. Already disconnected both mids but the speakers still cut out. Disconnected the sub amp all together and still cut out. I also turned the gain of the sub amp all the way and it did not shut off until 40 out of 60 volume.

So you disconnected the mids, but what speakers cut out then? The tweeters? Your voltage sounds decent.

I'm with rushrun. Take the Cd player out of the equation and see if it still happens. Hook up an ipod, walkman, whatever, to the RCA inputs on the amps (there are headphone jack to RCA adapters available). Then just short the power wire over to the remote on the amps to get them to turn on.

[rushnrun 14]

^^^ You have quite a bit of voltage drop through the power wire... what gauge is it and how long... Check your fuse/connections under the hood. you may have a bad connection up there... you shouldn't see a .7 drop from front to rear...

Can you post some pics of a few things?? connection at the batt, front fuse, amps/wiring at the amps, and gound for the amps...

***I just re-read through the entire thread... originally you stated that the amps didn't go into protect and then later you said both of them do... If both amps are going into protect it's a power issue of some sort... either the remote line or the main positive.. The easiest check would be to jumper the remote line to the positive on the amp and see if it cuts out when you turn it up(don't leave the original remote line connected, just jumper over)

*****I'm with the other fella.... what speakers are cutting out if none are hooked up????? do you have some hooked to the deck or something?

[Smondo17 0]

Do you mean voltage drop through the remote line? Because the power to both amps was the read the same as the power up front with the battery. I dont have any speakers hooked up to the deck. Also both amps just turn off. they dont go into protect. When i disconnected my mids my tweeters were still connected and both the amps turned off. So i should keep the headunit connected but disconnect the remote lines then jumper with a wire from power to remote?

[rushnrun 14]

sorry I misunderstood your voltage the remote line being lower is normal..

Disconnect ALL speakers(tweets included) disconnect the remote line coming from the deck, jumper (on the amp) the remote to the pos terminal... then see if it shuts down again.. make sure and check over all your connections again...

**a single speaker being shorted won't cause both amps to shut off... but disconnect them all (disconnect all the speaker wires from the amp) to eliminate variables..

It seems You've got a deck or power issue at this point..

**and pics would be helpful..

Also you should hook your volt meter to the amps while playing to see what the voltage is doing when it shuts down.

[Smondo17 0]

Will do. I have a feeling though that it must be the headunit. I sent it in to get repaired at United Electronics after i had that horrible power supply blow. The headunit blew a fuse and was causing a horrible ground loop. Other then that the system was working great and nothing changed. So that is why this problem is pissing me off. Ill get to this test by tomorrow. Thank you very much for your help.

[Smondo17 0]

I tried what you said. Disconnected remote line and jumped it. Tried it on my speaker amp first and everything seemed fine. Also gave it a try on my sub amp and i got it to shut off. Bad ground or power? I honestly don't know what that means. How would i test that? Why would they work then shut off if that is the case? Also the red light never comes on for protect. Does that matter? Is it suppose to come on when the amps shut off? Or do they just completely shut down? Sometimes they reset quickly sometimes it takes awhile.

[Smondo17 0]

bump

[rushnrun 14]

So are all the lights shutting off? even the power... I've thought that the green power stayed on....?

Hook the volt meter to it and see what your voltage is when the amp shuts down. (see if there is a voltage change that is causing the problem)

If the voltage is staying constant, get an ipod or something and hook to the amps for signal and see if they cut

***As I said before pics of the power and ground connections would be helpful. we could better see if you have a obvious connection issue

[Smondo17 0]

I did hook up an ipod to both amps and i got the sub amp to cut out. I didn't have the volt meter but i will try that next. I'll take pictures also.

[Smondo17 0]

not sure if the picture worked, but i just went out to my car with my volt meter and tested it. Very sharp drop in volts when it cuts out. Went from 14.2v to 3volts. I tested the remote line at the same time and it was still where it normally its (13.8volts).

[rushnrun 14]

bad ground or power connection...

where do you have it grounded? How is it secured?

[bassahaulic 155]

Check your fuse as well. Does your ground run back up to the battery? Or some where closer? What size power wire? D-Block?

[Smondo17 0]

For power I have 0/1 gauge running from the battery to a distribution block then 4 guage to the amps. Then for the ground i have 4 guage running to a common bolt ground to the chassis. I have a picture but having problems uploading them.

[bassahaulic 155]

Use Photobucket

[Smondo17 0]

[rushnrun 14]

Ok, pics are good...

1st.... what is up with the amp? is that the sundown that Jacob sold on here that was repaired but only had the two fuses because of the damage... or is that something that has happened and hasn't been taken care of?

2nd.... that Maxi Fuse holder could be part of the problem.. if it's the type that the fuse just presses in they can short easily... swap to an ANL--IMO it's a much better connection.

3rd..... Is the chassis paint free under the ground terminals? it needs to be shinny bare metal under there..

4th..... Looks like your ring terminals are tarnished... try hitting both sides of them with a wire wheel to clean them up.

where exactly is the ground?? the trunk floor?? or??

What does that power connection look like under the red cover?