Stereo amplifier woes
I am definitely no car stereo expert, but I've installed 3 or 4 systems in my years without any issues. This e30 has me scratching my head.
I'm attempting to install an aftermarket amplifier + sub. I have a 91 318i with the battery mounted in the trunk. The same system came out of my father's 90 325i, and was working fine.
I have tried several different grounds in the trunk (sanded paint back to metal and made my own ground, tried the power antenna ground, etc), and I just can't get any power to the amplifier.
So I tried running the amp's ground cable directly to my car battery's negative terminal... I get sparks and the fuse on the amp blows immediately. I replaced the fuse in the amp and bench-tested it with a 12v motorcycle battery (because I had one in the garage) and it works flawlessly.
My buddy has a brand new Sony amp still in the box and he let me borrow it to rule out the amp. I run all the same tests with this new amp and get all the same results. Works fine bench-testing on motorcycle battery, but cannot get power when trying any grounding points in my trunk, and when I run it to the negative terminal on my car battery, it blows the 30a fuse on the amp.
What am I missing here?
I'm attempting to install an aftermarket amplifier + sub. I have a 91 318i with the battery mounted in the trunk. The same system came out of my father's 90 325i, and was working fine.
I have tried several different grounds in the trunk (sanded paint back to metal and made my own ground, tried the power antenna ground, etc), and I just can't get any power to the amplifier.
So I tried running the amp's ground cable directly to my car battery's negative terminal... I get sparks and the fuse on the amp blows immediately. I replaced the fuse in the amp and bench-tested it with a 12v motorcycle battery (because I had one in the garage) and it works flawlessly.
My buddy has a brand new Sony amp still in the box and he let me borrow it to rule out the amp. I run all the same tests with this new amp and get all the same results. Works fine bench-testing on motorcycle battery, but cannot get power when trying any grounding points in my trunk, and when I run it to the negative terminal on my car battery, it blows the 30a fuse on the amp.
What am I missing here?
Comment