dark inspire

Last weekend, I rewired my audio system consisting of : Stock Deck, JL 500/1 and JL 12W3v2. All i did was upgrade the power and ground wires, and then mount the amplifier on the drivers side of the trunk. When i started the system up, it wouldnt work. My friend and i determined that it was the Ground, so i re-grounded the wire at a different location. The system powers up, i do not get any sound unless i switch the "Signal Sensing" switch to "ON". Before i rewired, the switch was in the "Off" position and the system worked fine w/ the Remote-Turn-On, but that doesn't seem to work anymore. Also, when i do have the switch in the "ON" position, everytime i switch the power on and off from the deck, i get this loud THUD from the sub. Any Suggestions? Thank you

musicbox

Maybe you cut your remote turn-on wire? You can turn signal sensing back off, cut a short piece of wire and hold from +12v to remote and see if the amp turns on. And standard disclaimer here, I assume no responsiblity for my advice given, hehe....

elduderino

I like to say "use a fuseholder with a 5A fuse in it as a jumper "...

ResidualFreedom

Check the fuses under your dash.... if the car was turned on while the amps were disconnected, there is a chance the remote shorted and blew the stock fuse that the remote is attached to. That's why is'doesn't have power now.

There is a good chance that's your problem... I've done it myself.

We've got stock replacements for all the stock fuses.. if that's the problem you can have it fixed in a couple of min...

dark inspire

Can you explain please? im not that bright in the Audio Department

Tsx536

They are saying to temporarily hook a 12 volt power wire to the relay wire input on the amp. If you're amp turns on and you get sound, than you know there is definitely something wrong with the remote turn on wire.

Eld, elaborated on Music box's suggesting by saying it would be better if you use a wire that had a fuse on it, so that it wouldn't blow anything.

Good luck man....

dark inspire

ill definately check that out, which fuse do i check though?

elduderino

Yeah, which fuse protects the remote turn-on output?

Last I remember there was one fuse that protected the radio... and I think the amp was on that fuse too. If I shorted the remote turn-on wire, I'm pretty sure I would take out the amp rather than blow that fuse (or maybe both), and if that fuse was blown, I'm pretty sure the radio would not turn on...

SO you are better off IMO taking a piece of wire (preferably with a fuse in it) and bridging the (+) and RTO taps on your amp and seeing if it comes on. If it does, you lost your RTO from up front, and at that point you can go check your fuses.

dark inspire

so can i connect a thin wire from my power wire and plug in both power and RTO at the same time?

elduderino

Only as a test - if you left it there your amp would stay on and your battery would drain.

Also, DISCONNECT your RTO wire from your amp FIRST...and make SURE it can't short against anything.

dark inspire

alright i will do that! I was messing with it earlier, and now no sound comes from the sub whether the switch is on or off! i hope its not the amplifier...

elduderino

According to the JL manuals, the signal sense does not work reliably when the inputs are connected to OEM sub speaker wires. It looks for midrange signal, so you don't neccesarily have a problem with your equipment - that feature is just unrealiable when all it "sees" is bass.

dark inspire

yeah that makes sense, hopefully my friends will be over and i can check the RTO wire from behind the seat. Its wierd, it was working for a bit this morning, and now i dont get any sound. Man am i confused!

NYZGREATST

is the system still powering up at least? i know you said it was earlier but after you messed with it. is it still powering up? if not, there may be fuses on the amp itself. im not sure if JL has em but i know mine does. i also agree that you should check that remote wire. that thing is reallllllllly pesky. in my old car, the stupid thing slipped out of the clip and the subs were going crazy and i couldnt figure it out. FINALLY i realized it was the stupid remote

elduderino

Sounds like an install problem to me...

dark inspire

yeah the system is powering up fine. im gonna check the remote hookup behind the back seat tomorrow, i havent had time to take it apart again. but i will do it tomorrow after class.

Karl O.

A $20 Radio Shack multi-meter would make your life oh-so-much easier.

dark inspire

i havent checked the junction box yet, but when i was at the gas station i put the Signal Sensing Switch to OFF and then switched off the HU and the amp turned off. Then i switched on the HU and the amp turned on, so i think that might rule out the RTO wire. Anyone have any other suggestsions? You think it could be the Line Out Converter or some other connection? Id like to thank everyone for posting in this thread i really appreciate it.

elduderino

So the amp is turning on and you have no sound?

Take an iPod or Walkman with a mini-to-RCA adapter, and connect it to the RCA of the amp and see if it plays (the head unit has to be on). If it does, it's the signal coming from the Audiolink. If it doesn't, the amp isn't playing, possibly due to a loose wire and possibly due to protection.

Does your amp have different color LED or flashes for protection mode?

dark inspire

hey, i hooked up my Discman upto the amp and i got a lil bit of sound coming out of the sub. i just got a cable that goes from the discman and splits into RCA cables. i got some sound out of it but not much. i think this is a good sign? now should i check the connections of the Line Out Converter and the RCA's coming out of it into the amp? thanks a lot for the help so far, i really appreciate it.

musicbox

yes, check everything....

dark inspire

well i havent checked behind the seat yet, but i re-connected the wires from the junction box to the LOC and still no sound. I was thinking, when i hooked up the discman, the music wasn't very loud. Shouldn't it be as loud as a normal CD player but just the bass audible? if so, then i think its the amp...

elduderino

If the input of the amp was set to deal with the high output of a stepdown converter you shouldn't assume that the Discman puts out the same output level.

DId you get your $20 voltmeter yet?

dark inspire

oh ok, that makes sense. I think my dad has a voltmeter in the garage, i gotta find it, if not i will buy one today. What do i do when i get it?

dark inspire

alright i checked my junction box, and all the connections seem secure, now off to Radioshack and/or Best Buy, im gonna pick up another Line Out Converter, hopefully thats the problem.

Tsx536

I don't live very far from you man....if you still can't get it let me know and I might be able to help you out.

Sounds like it's either the LOC.

So your remote wire is working just fine though? Does your amp turn on and off like it should?

dark inspire

thanks man ill let u know! yeah, my remote wire seems to be workin, the amp switches on n off when its supposed to. I just got a new LOC, im gonna put it in this evening.

dark inspire

i switched out the LOC and the same thing is happening. I get bass, sometimes, in "Signal Sensing Mode" and nothing at all when its using the Remote Turn-On. I am utterly confused.

elduderino

Do you have a voltmeter yet?

dark inspire

i will have one tonight! gotta pick it up before class. i couldnt find my dads, i think he let someone borrow it. once i get it, what should i do?

elduderino

First, off, I'm confused too, since your problem seems to be changing.

Let me sum up. Your amp does NOT turn on and off with the remote turn on wire. (?)

It does turn on and off with a jumper test lead to the remote turn on terminal.(?)

It does play with a discman just fine if you use the signal sense (?)

Test procedure:

Measure across the - and + terminals of the amp with the VM set to DV 20V.

Make sure you are seeing 13V DC or so. If you see a lower voltage, try grounding the - probe. If it's still crappy, the battery connection is bad. If it gets better when you move the probe, the ground connection is bad.

If the voltage is good, then measure across the amp - and the Remote Turn On lead. You should see 12-13V DC when the RTO lead is on and the radio is on. If you see a lower voltage, that's the issue.

dark inspire

1) My amp DOES turn on and off w/ the remote wire

2) It plays with the discman but is not very loud.


when testing, do i put the probes on the speaker output terminals or the power and ground input terminals? sorry if im not understanding.

dark inspire

TSX536, you need to clear ur PM's ur inbox is full!

elduderino

The power terminals, not the speaker terminals...

So you're saying the problem is that the amp turns on and off but there is no sound in the car and only low sound with the Discman?

Where's the input sensitivty switch and knob?

dark inspire

YES!

the input sensitivity is near half, and the input voltage switch is on "low"

elduderino

What happens if you put it to "high"?

dark inspire

nothing

dark inspire

well guys, i went to my friends house "between classes" and took my amp out and hooked it up with his system and it works perfectly. *big sigh of relief* so, the problem is definately wiring and i have a good idea that its from the junction box behind the seat. I figured I would not waste any more time rigging this to the stock head unit and just save up for a bit longer and buy a new headunit. thanks everyone for helping me out, so my next question:

which headunits would you experts recommend i look at? my budget would probably be b/w $300-400 out the door. thanks once again!

btw: elduderino, your PM inbox is full!

elduderino

Sigh... if you have an install problem, don't assume that new equipment solves it, K?

The PM limit today bumped up to 70 for a while... and has now dropped back down to 50. For a while I had 51 out of 50 allowed! What gives?

dark inspire

hahha, yeah im gonna try to fix it still, but just at a leisurely pace i have a feeling its just right under my nose i just dont know whats goin on. Im gonna take pictures and post them tonight or so.