Amp waterlogged!

[Joopin]

Hurricane Alley.....

Does anyone know anything about fixing amps? I got mine a while back and built a lexan box for it right away to keep water etc. out. But not too long ago I left my top off during a downpoar, and now it doesnt' work. The sub still works if I hook it up as a speaker... that's what led me to believe it's the amp. If anyone could give me some ideas that would be great, I'm glad I didn't pay alot of money for it, cause the rain is killing my Audio! My CD player went a couple months ago for the same reason.

Anyway here's a pic of the amp when it was new...

Joop

 

[southtj]

Wouldn't the heat damage it being in a sealed box and all?

 

[Joopin]

I had it in there for over a year, and I do have 4 vents in the box plus the holes in the side for the wires. If it did overheat, it sure took a heck of a long time!

 

[Special_K]

Sounds odd. I have a very similar setup (only without the see-thru box) and it doesn't seem that water (from a downpour) should have damaged it being under the seat and in a box...unless the tub flooded to a point where the water line was above the floor under the rear seat.

My recommendations:

Does the amp power supply have power at the point where it terminates at the amp?

If no:
- Check your fuses (any external fuses including the high power fuse separating the amp from the battery)
- Is your AMP connected to the secondary battery in a dual battery system? Has the secondary (AMP) battery become drained? (the battery controller can sometimes be switched inadvertently to NO CHARGE for the second battery...miles or days later your auxilliary equipment will die when the battery finally starves)

If yes:
- Verify that the 12V "AMP-ON" signal is coming from the head unit (usually a single blue power line) this signal should come on whenever the head unit is turned on

I dunno what else to check...

 

[88Wrangles]

You could also use one of those things (can't think of the name) that has the two metal pieces-one pos. and one neg.--(connected with a wire) with the light that comes on when you touch it to a live wire. then you can start from the battery and figure out where the power is ending at.

That probably made no sense, but I'll try and think of the name!

 

[Deerhunter30]

88Wrangles
The word that you are looking for is.....test light

 

[judge09]

or ampmeter

 

[88Wrangles]

yep...that's the one!

 

[Craig]

77 cj7 crawler

I waterlogged 2 amps worth over $3000. about 6 years ago when I had my truck. Got stuck in a lake. I was up to my waist in water inside the cab. Took them into 4 different places and they all said they weren't worth fixing.

 

[Joopin]

Hey Special K..
me no understand...
"Does the amp power supply have power at the point where it terminates at the amp?"

Where is "the point where it terminates at the amp"?

What I CAN tell you is I don't have a dual battery set up (not yet). I will check the fuse tomorrow, and i did check the head unit today, I didn't see any indication of the amp being on or not, I don't even know if there is one... I could check the manual to the radio. Thanks for the ideas, I'll let you know what the outcome is.

 

[White]

jump the remote to the + power terminal. See it if powers up.
But if your sure its dead, buy a new one. I have a friend that repairs electronics ( I keep him busy ) But if you take it some where they will most likely robb you.

I use www.justamps.com

 

[Joopin]

Standard to auto swap on 93 yj

Thanks for the link White, with these prices I may just get a new one!

 

[Junkpile]

Can't help with the fried amp, sorry. The way I've had luck mounting them is to use a knockout punch set to make a 1" drain hole directly beneath where you plan to put it. Then mount it on top of some 1" spacers so it is off the floor. I didn't make a box for it, but I had a piece of aluminum sheet that I formed into a little roof over it. That won't help if you dunk it in a deep hole, but rainstorms won't be a concern anymore.

 

[TwistedCU]

Joopin if it got wet it is done. No way is it worth the repair costs. You might want to pop it open and see if it has an internal fuse or maybe it is just a fried diode or something. It might be worth the 10 minutes to pop it open and take a look.

You could also use one of those things (can't think of the name) that has the two metal pieces-one pos. and one neg.--(connected with a wire) with the light that comes on when you touch it to a live wire. then you can start from the battery and figure out where the power is ending at.

That probably made no sense, but I'll try and think of the name!

88Wrangles
The word that you are looking for is.....test light

or ampmeter

Actually... an ammeter measures current (amperes). Deerhunter30 was right - what you described was a testlight, which indicates the presence of voltage.

 

[White]

I got the Power Acoustik lt 1920 and love it, Being a Class ab. If you havealot of subs get the mono Block. class D or X

 

[Special_K]

Does the amp power supply have power at the point where it terminates at the amp?

- Verify that the 12V "AMP-ON" signal is coming from the head unit (usually a single blue power line) this signal should come on whenever the head unit is turned on.

Where is "the point where it terminates at the amp"?

If it was wired properly, there should be a large honkin' cable running directly from the battery to the amp. Whereever the main power supply runs from, ensure that there is voltage at the point where it connects to the amp.

The "AMP-ON" or "REMOTE" signal is a smaller 12V wire (separate from the power supply) that tells the amp to come on...it triggers a relay (electronic switch) inside. If this signal (voltage) is not present, the amp won't turn on. The 12V signal is provided by/from the head unit whenever the head unit is on and runs to the amp via one of the several radio connector wires (usually blue but it could be a different color).

I've seen several problems that seemed to have a logical relationship to some event (i.e. the downpour in your case) only to find that it was completely unrelated and coincidental. That's why I say check these other things...they'll all make the amp act dead when it could be simply an issue of it not receiving either 1) power or 2) the turn-on signal. If this is the problem, buying a new amp won't solve the problem...you'll just have a new amp that won't come on.

 

[mingez]

Actually... an ammeter measures current (amperes). Deerhunter30 was right - what you described was a testlight, which indicates the presence of voltage.

Oh yeah? What do YOU know about wires and electricity? :mrgreen:

 

[Joopin]

Hey Special K, the amp is fixed! It was the 2 fuses IN the amp (I almost forgot about those) I checked the fuse on the power lead near the battery first, then I took a look at the amp and both fuses were blown. What are those for anyways?

Well thanks for the help, what would make those fuses blow though? Rain? Heat? Being under a lexan box?

Thanks again!

Joop

 

[mud4feet]

What are those for anyways?

I think they're to keep Jeepers from blowing their amps

what would make those fuses blow though?

I think it's got something to do with installing it in a Jeep :mrgreen:

 

[White]

if there Inside the amp, only a Internal Problem could cause them to blow. Maybe overheated Mosfets overamping...