# [SOLVED] My amp cuts out when i sit down!!



## pdelio13 (Dec 16, 2010)

hey everyone, I am relatively inexperienced when it comes to audio systems.....

I have a 97 civic, with 2 10s in the back and 2 amps, 1 under each front seat.

when i sit in the car the amp cuts out, if i reach under my seat and fiddle with the wires while im driving it kicks back in, until i shift my weight again then it cuts back out...

i took out every wire and sanded them down and screwed them back in...any ideas why this could happen?

someone told me poor grounding, but I do not even know which wire that is.

it worked well for years...maybe the amp is done? I am pretty sure the actual power lights go off when it cuts out, I replaced the fuse but still the same thing happens....any info is appreciated.

thanks


----------



## bwz (Nov 30, 2010)

*Re: My amp cuts out when i sit down!!*

uttahereSit on the other seat.


----------



## bwz (Nov 30, 2010)

*Re: My amp cuts out when i sit down!!*



pdelio13 said:


> ... someone told me poor grounding, but I do not even know which wire that is ... ... any info is appreciated.


:handball:Can anybody tell this guy which wire the grounding wire is ?


----------



## SABL (Jul 4, 2008)

*Re: My amp cuts out when i sit down!!*

He better hope it's a ground wire.....if it's a live feed he may end up in the hot seat.


----------



## pdelio13 (Dec 16, 2010)

*Re: My amp cuts out when i sit down!!*

Live feed???


----------



## SABL (Jul 4, 2008)

*Re: My amp cuts out when i sit down!!*



pdelio13 said:


> Live feed???


A wire supplying power to the unit. Was the fuse you replaced blown?? Make sure all wires are protected from contact with the seat when weight is applied (sitting in the seat). Check all connections in the wiring system that is below the seat. Have someone sit in the seat and look for areas that may be "pinched". Have them raise up and sit back down so you can see what may be moving and causing the problem with the amp. They may have to sit sideways so you can see under the seat.


----------



## Coolfreak (May 27, 2008)

*Re: My amp cuts out when i sit down!!*

Obviously something is applying pressure to either the amp or the wire.


----------



## pdelio13 (Dec 16, 2010)

*Re: My amp cuts out when i sit down!!*

Yeah my *** applies the weight lol. I'm only 200lbs. Not huge by any means. I will try it out Sunday morning and get back to u guys. The fuse was not blown. The fuse still works. I had it tested. Thx for the responses


----------



## bwz (Nov 30, 2010)

*Re: My amp cuts out when i sit down!!*



pdelio13 said:


> someone told me poor grounding, but I do not even know which wire that is.
> ....any info is appreciated.


:4-book:
"The *earth* wire is usually *black*.
The black earth wire attached to the back of the Amp must be attached to a clean rust-free metal part on the car body - this could be a metal screw or bolt."


----------



## bwz (Nov 30, 2010)

*Re: My amp cuts out when i sit down!!*



pdelio13 said:


> Live feed???


:4-book:
"The power cable (positive) is usually thick *red.*" - some people refer to this cable as "hot" or "live".

:4-zap:
To avoid blowing any fuses, remember to always disconnect the *ground* (negative) cable from your battery terminal . Never work on the electrical system of your car with this connected


----------



## Coolfreak (May 27, 2008)

*Re: My amp cuts out when i sit down!!*



bwz said:


> :4-book:
> "The *earth* wire is usually *black*.
> The black earth wire attached to the back of the Amp must be attached to a clean rust-free metal part on the car body - this could be a metal screw or bolt."


Actually - on most amps, the ground wire is mostly brown.


----------



## bwz (Nov 30, 2010)

*Re: My amp cuts out when i sit down!!*

Coolfreak



Coolfreak said:


> Actually - on most amps, the ground wire is mostly brown.


Okay,
The ground wire is mostly brown on most amps, sometimes black ?
:4-dontkno


----------



## pdelio13 (Dec 16, 2010)

*Re: My amp cuts out when i sit down!!*

I have a red wire on my amp and a black wire that looks like a cable wire. Plus 4 other thin blue ones. I'll take a picture and post it tomorrow. 

Also I got a new deck. It is as easy as unplugging the harness from the old deck and plugging it into the new deck?


----------



## bwz (Nov 30, 2010)

*Re: My amp cuts out when i sit down!!*



pdelio13 said:


> I have a red wire on my amp and a black wire that looks like a cable wire. Plus 4 other thin blue ones. I'll take a picture and post it tomorrow.


:4-clap:
Yay I like pictures! That will be nice.


Usually a thin *blue* wire on the back of the head unit is what switches the amp on and off when, for example, you turn the CD player on or off, ... I think.

I found the following links that may help.

http://www.caraudiohelp.com/how_to_install_a_car_amp/how_to_install_a_car_amp.htmhttp://www.caraudiohelp.com/how_to_install_a_car_amp/how_to_install_a_car_amp.htm

http://www.ehow.com/how_3680_install-car-amplifier.htmlhttp://www.ehow.com/how_3680_install-car-amplifier.html

and videos :

http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-install-car-amplifier-207585/http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-install-car-amplifier-207585/

Keep asking questions though, hopefully someone more experienced than me will reply and help you, because I'm still learning. :4-book: Good luck!


----------



## Coolfreak (May 27, 2008)

*Re: My amp cuts out when i sit down!!*

Red wire is positive.
Black wire is negative (ground).

4 thin blue wires would be your speaker wires running to the subs.

There should also be another small thin wire that is the remote turn on wire (tells the amp when to turn on and off)

Something that doesn't make sense to me though -- If you only have two subs and two amps - I'm assuming you have one amp running each sub. But, you have 4 wires coming out of one amp.. So that is two positive audio signal and two negative audio signal.. which = two subs. Unless the amp under the passenger seat is powering the speakers and not the subs?


----------



## jaggerwild (May 21, 2007)

*Re: My amp cuts out when i sit down!!*



pdelio13 said:


> hey everyone, I am relatively inexperienced when it comes to audio systems.....
> 
> I have a 97 civic, with 2 10s in the back and 2 amps, 1 under each front seat.
> 
> ...


 If your running two amp off one turn on lead you may need to use a relay to insure proper powering up of both amps. Also the black wire is ground, red is power, red should go right to your battery from both amp(one wire needed) and a fuse right before the battery. The black wire can be as short as possible, bolted to a good CLEAN grounding source. If it's bolted to the seat mounting that's fine as long as the bolt is re secured properly.

If your running two subs with two amps the proper hook up would be power from one channel and ground from the other channel to create a "bridge" of the two channels in effect doubling the wattage out put from both channels into one source the Woofer. So you may have four wires coming out of the amp but unless your running door speakers or something you will only be using two of the four wires to drive a woofer.


----------



## bwz (Nov 30, 2010)

*Re: My amp cuts out when i sit down!!*

jaggerwild
Hi,


jaggerwild said:


> If your running two amp off one turn on lead you may need to use a relay to insure proper powering up of both amps.


Which is the turn on lead?

If the amp in question has one black wire, one red wire, and four blue wires, which would be the wire that switches the amp on and off when, for example, you turn the CD player on or off?


----------



## Coolfreak (May 27, 2008)

*Re: My amp cuts out when i sit down!!*

The turn on lead is the remote wire that tells the amp when to turn on/off.

Of the wires he mentioned that he saw coming from the amp - none of those is the remote turn on wire. It's possible he didn't see the wire, it might be coming from the other side of the amp.


----------



## bwz (Nov 30, 2010)

*Re: My amp cuts out when i sit down!!*

Coolfreak
:smile: Thanks.

pedelio13
What's the brand and model of the amp(s)?


----------



## jaggerwild (May 21, 2007)

*Re: My amp cuts out when i sit down!!*



bwz said:


> jaggerwild
> Hi,
> 
> Which is the turn on lead?
> ...


 its usually blue with a white trace.


----------



## bwz (Nov 30, 2010)

*Re: My amp cuts out when i sit down!!*

jaggerwild,

... usually blue with a white trace. Okay. Thanks. :wink:


----------



## lcurle (Oct 5, 2008)

*Re: My amp cuts out when i sit down!!*

How to hook up a two amp system:

Step 1: Run a big enough wire from the battery through a fuse (size of the fuse is the total amperage on BOTH amps) to a distribution block.
Step 2: From the dist. block run a lead to the 12+(or B+) of each amplifier.
Step 3: Find a good spot to ground down each amp within 3' of the amplifier, the shorter the better. Remove any obstructions that would prevent a poor ground (metal on metal contact = good)
Step 4: From your head unit (hopefully after market) run 1 wire from the blue and white strip wire to amp 1's REM input (next to the 12+ you just hooked up) From Amp 1, jump the wire to Amp 2. (You can do this up to 3 amps before you need a relay).
Step 5: If your amp have an input and output for RCA's this will work: Run your RCA's from the head unit to Amp 1 Input, IF it has an output, jump them to Amp 2, if not, then split the RCA's into two leads for each channel, or if your head unit has more than 2 pre outs use them.
Step 6: hook up your speaker wires. If using a 2 channel amp for each sub woofer, and it IS NOT a monoblock you can bridge the speakers wire to get the max output form the amp. if IT IS a monoblock is doesn't matter as it is bridged internally.
Step 7: Make sure your filters are set to LPF (Low Pass Filter) so you can clear up the bass tones going to your sub woofers, set your eq and gains accordingly.


----------



## pdelio13 (Dec 16, 2010)

*Re: My amp cuts out when i sit down!!*

Problem solved...$140 to rewire the system!!


----------



## Coolfreak (May 27, 2008)

*Re: My amp cuts out when i sit down!!*

Should have done the wiring yourself. Would have cost you like $30.


----------

