For some reason the fuse on my sundown 125.2 amplifier keeps popping. I do not even get to turn the car on before they pop. Once I go to insert one fuse it pops directly on contact. Can this be because all 3 fuses have to be connected without power going to them (i know that sounds stupid because of the whole current draw thing but I though I would just throw it out there).

The fuse connected 18" away from the amp does not pop but the one connected to the 125.2 does. This leads me to believe that the problem lies somewhere else down the line. I checked the power and ground and they are not touching, they are also inputed correctly. The ground is also secured firmly.

No light comes on whatsoever (protect or on light). The gains are turned all the way down.

I do not know where else to look. Any help would be great.

Thanks,

Chris

I forgot to mention that I just installed this amplifier.

So I bought some fuses today. I took the fuse out from the wire going to the amp and then inserted the fuses on the amp. I then put the fuse going to the amp back on. The fuses connected to the amp still blew.

The red protect or blue on light has yet to go on at all.

Any other suggestions?

I am going to try putting the amp in my friends car and see if the same result happens. If not we know there is something in the wiring going bad. If the fuse pops .... well .... them amp is bad straight from sundown.

I have a funny feeling that won't be the case though ahahahaa.

make sure you got the power and ground going into the right terminals.

sounds like a wierd issue, did you buy it bnib or from db-r? also did you pop off the back cover yet to see if some thing looks fishy?

sorry just noticed your last posted you mensioned "straight from sundown"

Edited December 12, 200915 yr by CrazyKenKid

sounds to me like you have a dead short... that would be the only thing that would pull that much current. Clamp it i know youve got some laying around..... clamp it then plug in the fuse and see what shes pulling.....

that's unnecessary.

I believe that if there were something wrong with the amp that it wouldnt pop the fuse until the amp was told to come on...

So that means to pop the fuses before the amp is told to come on means it's pulling enough current to pop the fuses...

Without coming on, that means a short. Obviously enough, should look to see if the wires are going into the right terminal or like you say, a short in the power line.

Either way, measuring current is unnecessary because we already know it's shorting.

that's unnecessary.

I believe that if there were something wrong with the amp that it wouldnt pop the fuse until the amp was told to come on...

So that means to pop the fuses before the amp is told to come on means it's pulling enough current to pop the fuses...

Without coming on, that means a short. Obviously enough, should look to see if the wires are going into the right terminal or like you say, a short in the power line.

Either way, measuring current is unnecessary because we already know it's shorting.

I noticed that the power and ground were opposite on the 125.2 and the 50.4 but they were indeed plugged in correctly. Even with the fuses popped shouldn't the amp turn on? Like shouldn't the blue or red light come on still?

Could the speaker wires themselves be causing a short (near the speaker itself)?

sounds like a wierd issue, did you buy it bnib or from db-r? also did you pop off the back cover yet to see if some thing looks fishy?

sorry just noticed your last posted you mensioned "straight from sundown"

I haven't popped off the back cover because that voids the warranty. I am thinking that it is a short somewhere down the line. I just have not found it yet. Just trying to figure out if there is something else that might cause the fuses to pop.

amp wont work if there are no fuses so no, amp wont come on.

Well, get your dmm out and this is what u do-

Unhook the power and ground cable from the amp.

Set dmm to ohms.

Measure the resistance of the power cable u just disconnected from the end u just disconnected all the way to the battery(assuming there's a battery in the back)

IF you do not get a reading at all, the inline fuse on this cable is popped and you NEED to disconnect the entire power line from the battery before continuing.

If you do get a reading which should be 0 ohms, it's a 99% chance the amp needs to be serviced.

IF you didnt get a reading as stated before, after removing the entire line, inspect the cable carefully. IF you can't find the problem, remove the inline fuse holder so u can measure resistance in sections if you have to. A more brute force method but you would have no choice if u can't visually find the problem.

Will do. I might try this in a couple minutes actually. I have a distrobution block set up right now (no battery in the back). I am assuming that I can just measure the ohms from there.

amp wont work if there are no fuses so no, amp wont come on.

Well, get your dmm out and this is what u do-

Unhook the power and ground cable from the amp.

Set dmm to ohms.

Measure the resistance of the power cable u just disconnected from the end u just disconnected all the way to the battery(assuming there's a battery in the back)

IF you do not get a reading at all, the inline fuse on this cable is popped and you NEED to disconnect the entire power line from the battery before continuing.

If you do get a reading which should be 0 ohms, it's a 99% chance the amp needs to be serviced.

IF you didnt get a reading as stated before, after removing the entire line, inspect the cable carefully. IF you can't find the problem, remove the inline fuse holder so u can measure resistance in sections if you have to. A more brute force method but you would have no choice if u can't visually find the problem.

I also checked the inline fuse and it is not popped. When I took out the inline fuse the fuses in the amp did not pop (sounds obvious but there could be a short coming from some other power source that is why I am stating this).

actually no!

If the internals of that amp are screwed up, it doesn't require the amp to be on to read a short...

Insert the power and ground wires in backwards and u can see this for yourself!(dont do that, just makin a point)

For the amp to not pop it's onboard fuses when the inline fuse is taken out still points to the amp.

Why?

Because if there was a short somewhere down the line, the inline fuse, even if it were a 500A would eventually pop due to a short. If it didn't, the cable would burn up or battery would get damaged.

The amp is immediately trying to pull infinite current due to some sort or internal malfunction. It can't do that when the inline fuse is removed.

I'm willing to bet if u remove that amp and put another amp in it's place that it will work fine.

Ya i am going to ask my friend to bring his over and see what happens.

hey, what about those 1500ds, dont u have those already?

Did you install the power wire with the inline fuse under the hood still in place? Did you ever touch a live power wire to the heat sink of the amp (on accident)?

hey, what about those 1500ds, dont u have those already?

I guess I could use one of those or just use the 50.4 I already have installed in the car. Great thinking. My mind is in the gutter ahahaha

Did you install the power wire with the inline fuse under the hood still in place? Did you ever touch a live power wire to the heat sink of the amp (on accident)?

The inline fuse was not in place. No live has ever touched the heat sink.

so what's the verdict, u know i'm curious.

so what's the verdict, u know i'm curious.

I am curious as well. I did not have time to test because I had to leave for college. I am going to be back for break saturday after my exam so I will most likely test it then. Let's hope we get to the bottom of this!

o i love college! lol! i am currently in college and i am doing exam's!!

o i love college! lol! i am currently in college and i am doing exam's!!

Ya I am doing exams as well. I am pretty sure I got a 100 on my Engineering Physics exam today. Now I gotta study calculus to the max. Need to get a good grade so I am still eligible for my minor in math.

aww calc! right now i am in 3rd year calc! it is a pain in the @$$ lol!! i hate it! but i am doing well! i just wrote my ele 3 exam today! i think it went off without a hithc! and i am sitting at 3.8 on my digital logics class!! that class was easy!!

Ya this semester is a little rough for me. I dont plan on getting much above a 3.0 this semester. Uconn has a very hard engineering program and when you are doing a dual major in electrical and computer engineering it makes it that much worse lol.

You know it's sad when Dean's List in the School of Engineering = 3.4 ahaahha.