Car Stereo Doesn't Play Sound At All Now.

[Hanso]

My stereo stopped producing sound on my way home from work last night. Checked the fuses, all ok. Amp fuses are good. I don't know what else it could be? No loose wires.

Any ideas? I am in the ACT if anyone knows of someone who can sort this problem.

[Carbon 34]

factory or aftermarket deck?

aftermarket fuse behind the radio, or cig lighter fuse ?

if not its a good excuse to upgrade ..lol

[Chris Rogers]

so what did you break adam??

if you have a meter handy check that the earth on the amplifer IS acutally earth. a bad ground will give the same issue where the lights are on but nothing happens.

not sure where you are but if you are around fyshwick pop into BDL and speak to warren. mention me. if you are around belconnen see scott at elite.

[ez_to_nv]

Check that none of the speakers are shorting to the body. Its happened to me before. Caused none of the speakers to work.

[Hanso]

so what did you break adam??

if you have a meter handy check that the earth on the amplifer IS acutally earth. a bad ground will give the same issue where the lights are on but nothing happens.

not sure where you are but if you are around fyshwick pop into BDL and speak to warren. mention me. if you are around belconnen see scott at elite.

It hasn't been a problem for the almost two years I've had this install. The light on the amps comes on for a second, then goes out. So power must be getting in there for that second, I just don't know what is the problem.

Every fuse is ok, I can't find any loose wires. I thought that the remote wire from the deck to the amp was loose, but it seemed fine, nothing loose.

Could it be internal to the amps or head unit? Or could the RCAs if not working be the problem? I didn't think though that RCAs conducted current.

I tried calling you before Chris, I'll try again later.

[jrm]

It hasn't been a problem for the almost two years I've had this install. The light on the amps comes on for a second, then goes out. So power must be getting in there for that second, I just don't know what is the problem.

The light going on and then going out tends to indicate that the amplifier has detected a problem and has gone into protection mode. You can confirm this by using a multimeter to verify that you are seeing 12V on the battery->ground and headunit-remote->ground connection to verify that the amplifiers are receiving power and that the headunit is continuing to tell the amplifiers to stay on.

To isolate the problem, you need to eliminate variables. First, I would suggest removing all unnecessary wires from the amplifier - disconnect the inputs (RCA from the headunit) and outputs (speakers) - and just leave power/ground/headunit-remote connected. Then turn on the headunit, and see if the amplifiers then stay on.

If this does not solve the problem, and you do get a continuous 12V signal from the headunit, there could be a bigger problem with the amplifiers, or that you have a short between the power/ground/headunit remote wiring (ensure there is no touching).

If the amplifiers are now staying on without any input/output, you now need to start testing - first try hooking up - initially one - of the RCA sources from the headunit and then power the headunit up and see if this causes a problem. Essentially you need to play a game of elimination, working through your RCAs and speaker outputs to determine what is causing the issue.

Good luck with it.

[Carbon 34]

The light going on and then going out tends to indicate that the amplifier has detected a problem and has gone into protection mode. You can confirm this by using a multimeter to verify that you are seeing 12V on the battery->ground and headunit-remote->ground connection to verify that the amplifiers are receiving power and that the headunit is continuing to tell the amplifiers to stay on.

To isolate the problem, you need to eliminate variables. First, I would suggest removing all unnecessary wires from the amplifier - disconnect the inputs (RCA from the headunit) and outputs (speakers) - and just leave power/ground/headunit-remote connected. Then turn on the headunit, and see if the amplifiers then stay on.

If this does not solve the problem, and you do get a continuous 12V signal from the headunit, there could be a bigger problem with the amplifiers, or that you have a short between the power/ground/headunit remote wiring (ensure there is no touching).

If the amplifiers are now staying on without any input/output, you now need to start testing - first try hooking up - initially one - of the RCA sources from the headunit and then power the headunit up and see if this causes a problem. Essentially you need to play a game of elimination, working through your RCAs and speaker outputs to determine what is causing the issue.

Good luck with it.

yeah try what Jenna said...lol

I've seen wied problems , like a seat bolt used for grounds that got loose when the cat converter got hot. lost ground to the amp.

or a curciut board flexed by the mounting that dead shorts inside the amp if its not flat. without blowing the fuses.

amp type ? location under seat ? boot ? what is hooked up on it ?

also too much current draw on the blue amp wire for turn on can do strange things, if it runs thru a high level rca convertor that can be another problem ?

hook up a mp 3 player to the amp with a rca to headphone wire. low volume, will it play without the radio input ?

Edited May 12, 2011 by sapphiregraphics

[Hanso]

The problem lay with the fuse in the engine bay that the positive power from the battery flows through to the amps. The fuse in it was loose, therefore no power was getting through. Warren at DBL Car Stereo in Fyshwick identified the fault for me, only set me back $20 for a new fuse holder.

Chris, thank you for sending me to see Warren. He was very helpful, and said to say hi to you.

Thank you everyone for your help. It is so good having tunes again.