SentraGuy

I'm planning on spending most of today doing this, and testing out other various possibilities. I'm also hopefully going to be buying some new speakers up front, and this will let me get rid of that stock amp in the trunk. Is it possible this amp is causing the fuse to pop?

I'm not sure if your reply cut off or what, but what should I test first?

I will try that. If this is the case, would that mean bad RCA cable? Or worse?

Yes, I got the one that would work with the premium system.

Well no, the stock RCA harness behind the HU runs into the amp, I was confused. I checked the grounding point with a DMM, and it is definitely a good ground.

That's a good point about the voltage, ill have to check that as well. I have a stinger voltmeter, and my car stays at about a constant 14v. So I don't see why the voltage would be different behind the HU even at low voltage. Ahhhh, I see what you mean about double amping. Thanks for clearing that up.

The RCA's are, and that is what is going back to the stock amp. I havent connected the speaker wires, is what I meant.

Any other ideas?

Well, I did wrap all exposed wire with electrical tape or shrink wrap. Unlikely, but I will double check when I pull it back out. I can not. I can replace the fuse RIGHT after it happens, and it may work for 10 min, then poof. I am not, the dang stock amp in the trunk is still powering the front stage. I didnt even connect the speaker wires from the HU to the harness.

Let's see if you can figure this out, because I sure can't. Sorry about how long it is, I wanted to make sure I was thorough. Here's some background: -I drive a 2006 Nissan Sentra. -I have a Fi BL 12 powered by a SAE 1200d in the trunk. Sounds awesome... ----My car has the "premium" sound system installed from stock . This means that a small Rockford Fosgate amp in the trunk is powering the front speakers. It also means that the signal for everything but the sub is being double-amped. You would never know though, the highs are clear as they were before. (More on this later) On to the real problem.. I bought a Kenwood Excelon KDC-X794 to replace my stock head unit about 6 months ago. It looks and works just fine (When it does work). But about 3 months after I bought it, I kept blowing a small 10 amp fuse (Fuse #1, it says "ACC, Mirror" next to it) in the fuse box under the steering column, EVEN at LOW volume, and sometimes with no bass hitting . I called Crutchfield tech support (Awesome people, btw) and he first told me that I had not grounded the headunit right, because the stock harness in the car is not grounded, as this is what I used for a ground, and the headunit was trying to use the antenna for a ground as back up, and this is what was blowing the fuse. (Can you say run-on?) So I regrounded to a bolt behind the head unit, and then powered up the head unit with the antenna UNPLUGGED, so this must mean the ground is fine. Well, the fuse kept blowing. I called Crutchfield back, and talked to the same guy. He was baffled as well and told me to send the HU back, as it could be defective. And so I did. And they sent me another free of any charge. I installed the 'new' one, and couldn't have been happier. The fuse was not blowing, even at full tilt. This lasted a while. BUT, oddly enough, about 3 months after I installed that one (today), the same fuse blew again, at low volume. Here is what I think it MAY be: - Something to do with the signal being double-amped. Although I just have the small stock speakers up front. -Two of the times it blew, I was playing the same song (Mi Casa, Tu Casa) but one time the volume was only at about 10/35. This song may have been playing some of the other times, I don't remember) COULD be a coincidence. -Something wrong with how I wired the harness, although I repeated how I wired it to the Crutchfield guy, and he said I did it right. -The guy from Crutchfield said that fuse (#1 under the steering column) should normally pull less that 1 amp, so something must be going drastically wrong for it to spike to over 10 amps at random. If anyone can help me out at all, I will be very much appreciative . This is blowing my mind and I am running out of options.

Not much, but it is rather irritating to have to always turn it down for stop signs, red lights, etc. I have actually looked into XS Power batteries before, I may get more serious about one now. Although I know that wont SOLVE the problem.. Only help. Thanks for all the help! You shouldn't be bumping at those locations anyway. This is true. And I usually turn it down in the neighborhood/crowded intersections for the reason that I don't want to annoy those around me. But I also live in a city, so there is frequent quick stop and going. So what do you guys do about the voltage when you're giving friends demos and the car is idling?

Not much, but it is rather irritating to have to always turn it down for stop signs, red lights, etc. I have actually looked into XS Power batteries before, I may get more serious about one now. Although I know that wont SOLVE the problem.. Only help. Thanks for all the help!

So as long as the voltage stays above 12ish, it won't be causing any serious damage?

I have a feeling this is a pretty common problem that some of you have dealt with. So hopefully you can help me. I have a Fi BL 12 running off a sundown sae1200d. And when I play it at full tilt at idle, I get voltage drop into the 13.0 range (and sometimes even a bit less D:) Although when driving or holding the revs at about 2k, the voltage has no problem sitting at 14. I'm pretty sure this is an alternator issue. But ive heard that even HO alternator have poor output at idle. So what do I do? FYI- big three is done. And all wiring is in 1/0 Also, I currently have a quote from Excessive Amperage for a 200 amp alt for $385. Thanks in advance.

I'm trying to visualize this, and.. Getting nowhere. Pics by chance? hehe, i thought it sounded confusing Ah. I see now. But what then do you do about the box moving forward/backward?