# wierd amp problem



## jamesburkett (Mar 8, 2008)

hello all, im new to the forums and had a question regarding my amp, any help or suggestions would be great. So i have a 4 channel soundstream amp hooked up using the interface from the stock deck on my ford explorer. When i turn the power to the battery on (but not the actual truck) power goes to the amp and all works well. When I turn the car on, the amp turns on, recognizes it has power but does not distribute it to the speakers. I have tested this multiple times, everytime i give power to hte battery the amp works flawlessly, but when i turn my car on it fails to produce sound. At first i thought it was a defective amp, but i dont believe that is the case since it consistantly works with power to the battery. Any kind of help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.


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## jaggerwild (May 21, 2007)

What is the power source from battery directly? Also move the turn on lead as it probably is losing voltage after starting up.


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## ChemicalAfinity (May 5, 2006)

try turning the keys to the on position, but dont actually start the truck, that will tell you if its somthing to do with the engine being on or off. 

it sounds like when the engine is started, your amp isont getting enough voltage to run properly, you could also try testing it with a multimeter, and seeing if you get enough for the amps rating


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## RIGHTE0US (Jan 7, 2008)

your factory stereo is 3 ohm and your amp is either 4 ohms or 8...so..they cant work together. The sound can not be recognized by the amp as it doesnt understand 3ohm. Stop turning it on or you will fry the amp. Good Luck


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## ssamlal (Oct 16, 2008)

it sounds to me as though your remote wire isnt hooked up to the right wire. its probably set on just accessories


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## carsey (Aug 19, 2006)

How have you got the amp wired up? Especially to the battery. What gauge wire are you using?

You should have it set up a bit like this below.

1 Permanent live from the positive (+) battery terminal with an in-line fuse no more than 18" from the terminal of the battery. This cable will then go to the amp.
THe ground cable, will need to be the same gauge wire as the permanent live and also as short as possible. 
The remote live from the headunit/radio to the remote terminal on the amolifier.

*There is no need for an additional switch on the permanent live as all amps only turn on when the radio/headunit sends out the remote live signal to turn the amp on.

4


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## lcurle (Oct 5, 2008)

RIGHTE0US said:


> your factory stereo is 3 ohm and your amp is either 4 ohms or 8...so..they cant work together. The sound can not be recognized by the amp as it doesnt understand 3ohm. Stop turning it on or you will fry the amp. Good Luck


***?!?! Wrong. Listen, you have to run at least an 8 gauge wire (fused) from the battery back to the amp (roughly 17ft) The ground should be no longer then 3ft from the amp, the closer the better. If you are using the signals from the stock deck make sure you have the converter for the amp, $4 part. The remote wire can be any ignition 12+ source, that is constant on when the ignition is turned on. Speakers wires are self explanitory, I would hope.
Lets recap, find a nice place for your amp....hopefully not secured down to the sheet metal...run your wires, power down one side of the vehicle, speaker wires and everything else down th other side, hence why people get the stereo "hum" when there is no music playing.


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