I just installed my SAX100.4 and when I was hooking up the Power/Ground I got a spark. I had hooked up the ground first and was undoing the screw for the positive connection on the amp. I guess the side of the screwdriver touched the the side of the amp and the positive screw at the same time and sparked a little. The amp works but I can't think of why it did this. Anyone care to enlighten me?

Also, I was wondering what exactly the remote knob controls? Is it gain or bass boost?

Edited August 18, 200817 yr by jcardin

Were you not installing with the battery unhooked? If you installed it with no power whatsoever flowing through the car you should not have had any sparks.

Fuse it last, shouldn't have been hot when you were installing.

The remote controls gain on channels 3+4 when the LPF in engaged.

OK, I did get a little lazy, I didn't have the battery unhooked, but all I had at this point was just the Ground hooked up and there wasn't any positive anywhere within 3 feet. I wasn't expecting it to spark since I didn't have any positive. I guess I was just plain wrong.

Lesson learned, the cheap way.

No positive and you got spark? Not possible...

No positive and you got spark? Not possible...

That's why I'm posting it here. I wasn't expecting it and don't understand why it happened. I can see why you'd doubt, it didnt make sense. I didn't know if the amps hold some charge on the positive side of something. I taped up my screwdriver to finish the rest of the install.

I had battery hooked up normal. I had the ground connected from the chassis to the amp. The positive didn't have the fuse in and the connection wasn't made. The on/off wasn't hooked up. I did have the RCA's in but the car was off. Just the connection from the + screw to the chassis made the spark.

Edited August 18, 200817 yr by jcardin

The remote controls gain on channels 3+4 when the LPF in engaged.

Do I need to set the gain on the amp to any certain level to be able to use the remote? Or would it just override what ever setting the amp has?

oh, and thanks all for reviewing the spark issue.

no set the amp where you want it with out the remote gain... then plug in the remote gain and play...........

all it does is lower your gain from the remote.... it will no exceed your setting.

There would be a spark if the amp was tested before hand. Jake tests alot of his amps personally before shipping them out, what the spark probably was the residual energy stored in the caps on board the amp, and when you grounded the terminal you got a spark.

No positive and you got spark? Not possible...

It is indeed possble, been there done that. Ther is enough of a "charge" in the caps inside the amp to spark, if it has been tested of course.

There would be a spark if the amp was tested before hand. Jake tests alot of his amps personally before shipping them out, what the spark probably was the residual energy stored in the caps on board the amp, and when you grounded the terminal you got a spark.

What he said

All of the amps are tested before shipping now - not just some of them, so that was it.

Jacob didn't test that amp, I did. It's a refurb from here at dB-r.

Yes, the spark from the + terminal on the amp to case of the amp is from the capacitors in the amp on the Battery input side of the power supply. They probably still had some charge in them from me testing the amp. A sure sign they are good quality caps if they still had a charge in them enough to make a spark days after power was applied to the amp.

Nothing to worry about at all, completely normal. Just be careful touching your screwdriver to the amp chassis when your screwdriver is on the B+ terminal of the amp, especially if the B+ and B- are both hooked up you will get a really good spark then, it might mess up your screwdriver, but not likely to hurt the amp any, might burn a notch in the heatsink where your screwdriver touched though....

Edited August 20, 200817 yr by dB-r

Ah okay - one of yours

yea, the same thing pretty much happened to me when i got a refurb-ed 100.4 from db-r.

All i was doin was unscrewing the speaker terminal screws and putting them in place.

I already had the power and ground connected.

At some point while unscrewing, the screwdriver touched the case and SPARKS!! I immediately pulled the screw driver away and called db-r and that's what he told me...

So i wrapped up the screwdriver and held it as far away from the case as possible and it never sparked again.

Works fine too.. actually too fine,

Fuse it last, shouldn't have been hot when you were installing.

X2!!!!!

ALWAYS FUSE LAST!