Question98 integra. i had a new headunit installed, i pioneer to be exact, four 3-way pioneer speakers and a kenwood amp. for a while they were working but now for some reason the amp turns off and my antenna goes down. the headunit is still on and indicates that the cd is still playing, but no sound is coming out. i checked the fuse on the amp itself and its not blown. i checked the ground wire from the amp to the car and it is tight and in proper condition. is there a possiblity that i burned something in the amplifier.
AnswerHi Timmy,
For the head unit to opperate you only need three things, Perm. live, ingition live and earth, assuming there are all three, the head unit should opperate O.K.
The fact your amp goes off and the antenna goes down means there is cut in power from the head unit out on the (usually blue) 12v signal wire as both items need a 12v signal from the head unit.
A quick test when this happens is to use a meter set at 20VDC or a proper 12v test lamp/probe and remove the head unit but remain connected and see if there is 12v coming OUT of the head unit at the connector in the back of the unit, not the inline DIN connector, if yes there IS 12v coming OUT then there is a break in the wiring, possibly a part cut cable, inline fuse holder or connector block, so using the tester check the signal wire at each connection down line from the head unit untill you get 0 volts, there's your break.
If on the other hand there is NO 12VDC out of the back of the set then you have an internal problem, usually the driver transistor for the 12v output and will require fixing in shop.
Check the amp by disconnecting the signal wire from the amp and running a wire from a FUSED location to the signal connector on the amp all works, the the amp is O.K.
Blows the fuse? Then there is a short in the amp which is the problem and may well have damaged the 12v out put in the radio..
Good luck, Peter
