QuestionI have a 2003 Honda accord 6 speed V6 with stock navi I recently got subs
and an amp and had them installed at a shop. So now I have my stock deck
with 2 12 inch kenwood subs and a 1300 watt kenwood amp. Everything
sounded good but the subs an amp would work then cut out then work again
so I went back and they talked me into buying a compasitor they installed it
an everything sounded and looked great for about a day. I woke up the next
day and went to my car I turned the key on and the radio works but the amp
and compasitor won't turn on the amp fuse is not blown neither is the fuse on
the power cable coming from my car. Can you tell me what else it could be
and how I could fix it. The shop wants to charge me some more money
AnswerHi Jeff,
It doesn't sound as though the shop you're dealing with is one with which I'd ever want to do business. I certainly wouldn't trust any shop that recommended a capacitor to "fix" a system that wasn't functioning properly; and refusing to stand behind their work without charging more money is pretty outrageous. If you visit the forums at www.caraudio.com, you can find a section for car audio shop reviews. I hope you'll post your experiences with this place so that other car audio buyers will know to avoid them.
If neither your capacitor nor your amplifier are turning on, then the problem is likely to be with the main power wire or the remote turn-on wire. Hopefully you have access to a digital multimeter; it's difficult to do any real troubleshooting without one.
The remote turn-on wire is meant to switch your amplifier on when the car is turned on, and switch it off again when you turn the car off. On a Kenwood amp, the remote terminal may be labeled "P.Con". When an amplifier is installed with a factory audio system, the remote wire is typically tapped into an accessory power circuit; either at the fuse box, cigarette lighter, or radio wiring harness.
The first thing I'd check is whether the capacitor has a remote wire connection. Capacitors with digital displays sometimes are controlled by the remote wire, but sometimes not. If your capacitor only has the large power and ground connections, and no smaller remote wire, then you can rule out the remote wire as the cause of the problem. If there is a remote wire terminal on the capacitor, though, you'll want to test it for voltage with a multimeter. There should be 11-12 volts on the wire whenever your key switch and radio are turned on. If there's no voltage on the remote wire, then you'll have to find out where it's connected at the other end, and see if there's a problem there.
The other likely possibility is the battery fuse or battery connection. Make sure the power wire terminal at the battery is tightly connected, clean, and free of corrosion. Also, make sure the factory battery cables are still tightly connected.
If your power wire uses an AGU (glass tube) type fuse, then I'd suggest replacing it, even if it doesn't appear to be blown. This type of fuse is notorious for a filament that comes apart from the end cap, resulting in a fuse that looks good but doesn't pass current.
Hope this helps!
Brian
