Amp & Sub hooked up, no output???

[eman88 0]

NO NO!!! don't do that, that is how you would check the difference in potential energy of the Batt. if you do that you WILL pop the fuse on the meter. What you will want to do is pull the ground and take the reading from the end of the wire to the chassis.

Thanks for the heads up. That does make more sense.

[shizzzon 461]

a good tip is to never let your setup dip below 12.0v At the amp's terminal at full tilt.

If it is, you need an extra battery in the back minimum. You also need to ensure that your starting battery is still in proper working order.

12.6 with car off, or if it states it's maintenance free on top, 12.8v-13.0v.

If your reading is a hair lower, drive around a while without the stereo on then let the car rest for 1 hr then retest voltage.

If it didnt meet the numbers above, take it to auto zone, pull the battery out of the car and have them diagnose it on their Cranking Amp machine to determine it's capability of being discharged at maximum rated CA.

[sundownz 197]

If it is not shutting off it is probably not too hot.

[Notorious97200 339]

If it is not shutting off it is probably not too hot.

I love this answer, as I live in a hot island in the Caribbeans!!!

It makes me feel more confident about my saz 1000D ; it's'my first Sundown amp and nobody knows this brand around here. :)

[KU40 173]

I merged your threads.

[eman88 0]

I merged your threads.

Thanks, I was trying to have someone from Sundown see it.

If it is not shutting off it is probably not too hot.

Thanks for the information, this is my first amp and sub in my car, and I don't have anything to gauge the temperature against. It just seemed to be high.

I will check the voltages tonight and see how that checks out.

[eman88 0]

I checked some voltages tonight.

With the car on, and system off, It was at 14.1 volts at both the battery and amp.

With the car on, and the system at the volume I set the gains at, it was at 13.8 volts at both the battery and amp.

With the car off, at the battery, the voltage is 12.7 volts.

I checked the resistance on my ground to the amp and it is good.

I also replaced the ground wire from the frame to the battery with 4 gauge wire. It was just a short wire, but was pretty thin.

My amp seems to not be getting very hot, but I will continue to monitor that. Do you think upgrading that ground had a significant impact on the heat, or is it a coincidence?

Edited July 28, 2009 by eman88

[jcarter1885 995]

I checked some voltages tonight.

With the car on, and system off, It was at 14.1 volts at both the battery and amp.

With the car on, and the system at the volume I set the gains at, it was at 13.8 volts at both the battery and amp.

With the car off, at the battery, the voltage is 12.7 volts.

I checked the resistance on my ground to the amp and it is good.

I also replaced the ground wire from the frame to the battery with 4 gauge wire. It was just a short wire, but was pretty thin.

My amp seems to not be getting very hot, but I will continue to monitor that. Do you think upgrading that ground had a significant impact on the heat, or is it a coincidence?

It had a huge signifigance on the heat, what else did you do besides switch out the ground for the amp if nothing(then that should answer your own question for ya). As long as the wire is the same size as the power wire in the amp or bigger your cool.

What size power wire did you have compared to the ground wire at first and the ground wire you have now?

[eman88 0]

I checked some voltages tonight.

With the car on, and system off, It was at 14.1 volts at both the battery and amp.

With the car on, and the system at the volume I set the gains at, it was at 13.8 volts at both the battery and amp.

With the car off, at the battery, the voltage is 12.7 volts.

I checked the resistance on my ground to the amp and it is good.

I also replaced the ground wire from the frame to the battery with 4 gauge wire. It was just a short wire, but was pretty thin.

My amp seems to not be getting very hot, but I will continue to monitor that. Do you think upgrading that ground had a significant impact on the heat, or is it a coincidence?

It had a huge signifigance on the heat, what else did you do besides switch out the ground for the amp if nothing(then that should answer your own question for ya). As long as the wire is the same size as the power wire in the amp or bigger your cool.

What size power wire did you have compared to the ground wire at first and the ground wire you have now?

I ran 4gauge from the battery to the amp, and 4 gauge for the ground on the amp.

I didn't change the ground for the amp tonight, that already was 4 gauge.

The only thing I changed today was the wire from the frame to the negative battery terminal to 4 gauge. It was pretty small stuff, 8 or 10 gauge maybe, but it was also less than a foot long. It also seemed like there was still paint on the frame where this ground was mounted so I sanded that off. I imagine this was a limiting point in the circuit from the battery to the amp, to the frame, and back to the battery. I was wondering if changing that wire may have had an effect.

I'll check on my amp again tomorrow when it is 95+ degrees out, but it seems like it is all good now.

Edited July 28, 2009 by eman88

[jcarter1885 995]

Yeah it doesnt matter how long it is(the shorter the better), but yeah change it to 1/0 gauge and it will even do your system more justice.

Change the ground wire from your alternator to engineblock/cars frame or engine block to cars frame to 1/0 gauge and it will help also.

Upgrading your power wire to 1/0 gauge will be the last step and as beneficial also.

[eman88 0]

Yeah it doesnt matter how long it is(the shorter the better), but yeah change it to 1/0 gauge and it will even do your system more justice.

Change the ground wire from your alternator to engineblock/cars frame or engine block to cars frame to 1/0 gauge and it will help also.

Upgrading your power wire to 1/0 gauge will be the last step and as beneficial also.

Thanks for everyone's help!!

My amp is barely getting warm now.