Subwoofer question
 

I recently installed a kicker sub woofer powered by a kenwood amp in the xj. I ran 8 AWG wire for the power and ground to the amp. The problem is my wire crimpers only go up to a 10 AWG wire. I used them until I could find a set of crimpers for 8 AWG wire and the setup was working fine. Until the other day the terminal on the ground wire came off and the amp wouldn't come on. I put the terminal back on and hooked everything up this morning but the amp still won't come on. I checked the inline fuse on the power wire and I checked the fuse on the amp and they are both good. The rest of the stereo works but the amp won't come on. Any ideas? Also if anybody knows where to get a good set of 8 AWG crimpers/strippers let me know.

amp problems
 

hey man, most amps have a protect mode in which it will go into if a wire came off like that. try disconnecting the remote line while the amp is grounded and has the positive wire going to it. if not then check the voltage at the amp just to see if it has a good ground and theres no break in either positive wires. as for an 8 gague stripper/crimper....you shouldnt really crimp wires that big. there not made because crimping is not a good way to connect wires...the different metals (copper wire with alminium crimps) causes corrosion. that might not happen right away, but when offroading (water and dirt), it becomes a huge problem. the best way is to use a razor blade to strip it, just slice around the insulation and then solder and heat shrink the connection. dont forget to put the heat shrink on first. and yea, i know alittle bit about automotive electronics...got my C.E.T. cert and M.E.C.P. cert. let me know if anything fixes it...but deffiniatly check the voltages at the amp

The ground hasn't changeg and it was working fine before. I already tried removing the remote turn on and hooking it back up and no dice. I don't understand this thing. I would think if it quit working because the ground came off, all I would need to do is reconect the ground and I would be goos to go. Anybody got any other ideas?

sometimes a ground can loook like its connected and clean, but not actually making good contact. you can pick up a cheap-o ohm meter for like $5. set it on 12v and see what ya get when touch the two terminals. then go from there.

yeah I've had problems with my ground looking like it was connected fine but not really making good contact. Triple check the ground, maybe wiggle the wire a little bit.

yea, i also had problem with my amp wire, because i had 4 gague wire comin from my battery through to the back for my huge amp. the connector corroded, so i needed to cut it out and solder it all together. see what the voltage is...walmart has real cheap meters, if you dont have one

Might have fried...... poor ground......if it happened to short when it came apart.... just my .2 cents .

I found my volt meter and went out to check things out. I put the points on the power and the ground and it read 12.7V. I then turned the stereo on so I could read the voltage at the remote turn on and when I looked at the amp it was on! I went ahead and checked the remote turn on and it was only readin 11.4 but the amp is working. Does it sound like there might be a problem with the remote turn on?

check your fuses on your amp. I had a similar problem with my amp and it was because I was doing dome work on my engine and set a wrench on my battery that toughed both terminals and it blew one of my 2 fuses on my amp and blemished the other. my sub hardly worked and it drove me crazy for a week or so until i figured it out

If it worked finally it has to be the remote. Or, the ground. Make sure that your ground wire is short as possible and mounted to the floor with the paint completely scraped off.

Greenlee has crimpers that go beyond 4 AWG crimping.

You never confirmed whether or not you checked the voltage on the 12v and remote run on. Use a voltmeter, ground at the ground spot on the amp (where your lousy ground is connected) and check voltage on both the other inputs. That'll let us narrow it down. Stick to the basics.

i ran mine to the bolt that holds the bracket for the gas, and snuged it down reall tight with a loop connector and it dose fine....

Under the rear seat is a good spot.

x2 thats where I ran mine. theres a hole in support beam, wrapped the wire around a bolt, tightened it in the hole with washers on both sides, never had grounding issues again.

Trouble shoot amp
 

As a Navy trained Electronic Technician, here's my suggestion

• Check for loose connections at speaker connection on stereo, sub outs etc.
• Check Amp for any fuses that are internal to amp, such as your fuse box or inline fuse
• Check to make sure if amp is triggered by an output of the stereo to turn amp on.
• Then go to the amp, look for any kind of lights.
• Most electronics components are pretty straight forward. such as power on, audio in, etc, some you may need to go to manufacturer's site, such as kicker, etc.
• If all is good, then I would see if connecting the power on ( bat pos ) to another 12 volt source makes any difference. AGAIN, Check the owners manual first!!!!!!!!!!!
• I firmly believe that the issue is either a loose pos or ground connection at the amp or internal fuse on the amp, again the manufactures site or owners manual will show this and what amperage the fuse is and should be. May be just a simple 50 cent fuse to fix

Pm the outcome please:rockon: