Brennon

Okay guys, this is my first time attempting an install, so pardon my newbie questions.

I followed darkknight's 'how to' on wiring, but my amp doesn't seem to power up. What I have now is a Kenwood KAC 7202.

Tell me if this sounds right...4 gauge wire coming from the battery connecting to a little fuse box, through the firewall down the driver's side into the trunk, connected to another little fuse box that splits the power wire into 2, 8 gauge lines. (I have a second amp but only the one is currently connected. The remote lead is connected to the blue/white wire on the back of the head unit, and goes to the corresponding spot on the amp. I don't get what I'm doing wrong.

Here are some pics...not sure how much they'll help.

wiring on amp


remote lead on back of head unit

imdarkrider

alright , 2 ways to fix this... one go get a multimeter and learn to use it because it's the most helpful tool an electrition can have. There awesome. So number one , check all fuses... and by checking them I mean replace them with new ones... sometimes if you have a glass fuse at the front (by the battery) it may not look blown but the solder that holds the fuse part in place may have came loose in shipping , it happens , so replace that first. Second , check the settings on your radio to make sure the it has the AMP setting on... some radios have it some don't, if your unsure , quickly hook the blue amp wire (remote) to the red wire in the harness - that's ignition. that eliminates that problem , next check the ground location by trying another grounding spot, may have gotten a peice of metal but it may not be attached to anything...
Ok , the "easier" way , but harder if you don't know what your doing
Get a mulitmeter
set it to DC
start off at the battery , put the black wire to ground on the battery
now open the fuse holder but keep the fuse in
touch the red wire to each side of the fuse , it should read 12.XX volts when the car is off , next go to the amp , put the black wire on a ground , not the amps ground , but a ground , now check the power wire on the amp , is it still 12v? then the power wire is good , if not something's wrong with the wiring... Next , using the black wire on the same ground , touch it to the blue remote wire , turn the car on , does it read 12v?? if not remote wires bad or pintched or something like that. Lastly , take that same red wire , turn the mulitimeter to continuity and touch it to the ground , you should hear a beep coming from the mulitimeter that means you have a good ground... Hope this helps

Brennon

Yes earlier today I went and borrowed a multimeter. Turned out the fuse box at the front...which I thought came with a fuse already installed...didn't actually have one. I couldn't figure out why at the amp I was getting 0 volts...

Popped a fuse in and everything is working fine now.

Thanks for taking the time to write all that up for me.

imdarkrider

lol noob mistake , but it happends to all of us.... GL with the system

NFRs2000NYC

Just to add....for other users.....this is the BEST tool you can have when dealing with car electronics...the amount of uses it has is limitless.


IMHO, this is one of the better ones....



Inexpensive, and works great.

Sears: Craftsman

imdarkrider

PJK3

and good work on troubleshooting your problem.

Brennon

So everything is isntalled, powered up, and sounds absolutely great. I do, however, hear a slight whine coming from the speakers that increases in pitch as the engine revs. When I turn the volume on my headunit all the way down, the sound goes away, one click up, the sound comes back. The sound does not increase with the overall volume though, jsut the engine revs.

I installed the RCA cables down the passenger side and the power line down the driver's side. Any ideas on where to start with this one?

imdarkrider

That's called a ground loop , what it is is alternator whine. What you want to do first , is change your grounding location. , sand it down to the metal (do this in a place that can't be seen of course.) if that doesn't work , make sure your rcas and power wire are far enough apart going to the back of the car. next , try new rcas , if you have cheap ones laying around the better cause you don't want to spend money then waiste it if that's not the problem. Next if it stills not fixed , it could be your radio, if you have a readio laying around that you could try , do that. Hopefully this will solve your problem... if your lazy you can go get a ground loop isolator from best buy or circuit city , but you might have one that that won't help. Happy fixen!

Brennon

Thanks a lot. I'll give that a shot