Audio Systems: electrical short circut, inline fuse, ground cables

Question
my problem deals with an amplifier I previously had installed in my chevy suburban, to run a boxed sub woofer. after about 2 years i begain to have problems with my car battery not having enough power to start the vehicle if the door was left open even for a short time to clean,etc. then a couple of months ago the vehicle wouldnt start and when i opened the hood one of the post (i cant remember which) was completely melted off! i purchased a new battery and removed the fuse from the amp(trying to see if it was the problem) and i havent had any more problems. but id like to find out where the problem lies. i probably should check the wiring to see if any of the covering is broken. but my questins is what would be the easiest way to test the wiring to narrow down a problem area? Thanks for any help in advance

Answer
Keith,

  well the amp is definantly causing a drain, i had a problem very similar to this when the insulation off of my power wire got worn and grounded out , it melted half of my battery post off and the terminal too, so that is a good place to start looking trace down your power and ground cables CHECKING the full lengths .. you can also take a meter and check your speaker terminals on your amp to make sure you get an OHM reading and not an open circuit read do the same with your power and grounds.. but i think you will find the problem in the supply cables .. also put a good inline fuse 30-50 amps in  the power cable to protect against this type of thing in the future .. hope this helps you out if you need anything else just let me know

thanks

CM