I find it hard to believe that you blew the amp... You do have the remote turn-on wire attached too, right?

 

I do. Where is this leading? What do you think it might be?

I'm going to do more thorough testing in the morning (e.g, connecting the front speakers to the rear outputs, etc)

 

are you getting power to the amp? Is there a light on the amp that lights up when you turn on the car and HU?

 

Hmm... sounds like it may have traveled up to the HU. Let me make sure I've got it right:

Before the 'incident'

HU LF ---> AMP LF = JOY
HU RF ---> AMP RF = JOY
HU LR ---> AMP LR = JOY
HU RR ---> AMP RR = JOY

After the incident:

HU LF ---> AMP LF = NO JOY
HU RF ---> AMP RF = NO JOY
HU LR ---> AMP LR = JOY
HU RR ---> AMP RR = JOY

After swapping:

HU LF ---> AMP LR = NO JOY
HU RF ---> AMP RF =
HU LR ---> AMP LF =
HU RR ---> AMP RR =

If the above are correct, it looks like there's no juice running from the HU's front channel.

Can you try an HU LR ---> AMP LF and see if you get anything? If you get signal, then I'd bet on fried front outputs at the HU. If you can test with another audio source cd walkman, etc you can eliminate the HU as a potential culprit.

I'm interested to know what turns out to be the problem, as I've done the same thing in the past, but lucked out and not killed anything.

 

Yes, the amp has power and the output to the rear speakers is working. But there's nothing out of the front speakers.

 

Hook up the front rca plugs into the rear inputs on the amp and see what you get. If you get sound, then it is the amp and it will need repair. If you don't, then it's the HU.

 

OK, I switched both inputs from the HU to the amp this morning, A to rear channel, B to front. Now I get sound out of the front speakers but not the rear. I assume this means my HU is bad, not the amp, right? The front channel output of the HU is gone, right?

 

Unfortunately, that's what it sounds like to me...

 

Oops, didn't know you were running rear speakers. I assumed the fronts were the only ones running on this amp.

So, one set of your RCA outputs is damaged. Does your amp allow all of the channels to run off a single input? If so, take the HU rear RCAs and run everything from that. Otherwise, the $5 fix is a set of RCA Y-cables to split the single RCA and run it into both the front and rear channels of the amp. You'll lose fader capability, but its cheaper than buying a new HU. Any warranties to take advantage of?

Just out of curiosity, was the head unit ON when you shorted the terminal to the case? I'm really surprised that this happened in this manner.

 

Are there any fuses in the HU? It seems strange that both fronts were damaged, unless the rears were not connected at the time of the incident. Any chance that fade on the HU is set to full rear?