Amp Installation help

[dave_thomas]

I have tried everything I know to do and still can't get my amps to work. I have two California Profile CA440 amps and a 5.25 and 6.5 Kicker RS series component sets. I got the power wires hooked up with a fuse by the battery and then a fused distribution block in the trunk by the amps. Its 4 gauge wire to the block and then 8 to the amps. I've got an 80 amp fuse by the battery and then 2 40 amp fuses in the distribution block. As far as I can tell power doesn't seem to be the problem. I got the speaker wires ran from the amp to the speakers, and then as soon as I plugged in the RCA cables the amp goes into protection mode. The manual says that the protection mode is caused by speaker short, speaker grounding out, impedance too low, and overheating. Over heating isn't a problem cuz the amp hasn't even been on. Its a 4 channel amp with each channel going to a crossover. After changing the setup and rehooking up every single wire it did the same thing. I went to Wal-mart and got a set of cheap RCA wires and it did the same thing. So I changed out to another deck that I used to use, cuz I thought maybe the RCA's on the stereo might not work. Different stereo, same results. Protection mode as soon as I turn the ignition. I have always had problems with the amp remote wire out of Sony decks so I hooked the remote wire up to the accessory wire on the stereo to see if that made the difference. Same result. After that I reran the speaker wires from the amp to the speakers and ran them straight to the crossovers from the amp thru the interior of the car rather than under the carpet like they will be, just to make sure they weren't pinched somewhere, same result.

Two different stereos, same result
Two different RCA wires, same result
Rewiring the power wires, same result
Rewiring speaker wires, same result

Any suggestions before I snap and kill the next person walking by on my sidewalk??

[Luc]

Originally posted by dave_thomas
I have two California Profile CA440 amps

These are your problems. They're as good as Pyle or Pyramid. It sounds like an internal short in the amp(s).

[dave_thomas]

Originally posted by Luc
These are your problems. They're as good as Pyle or Pyramid. It sounds like an internal short in the amp(s).

I've had the amps before and never had a problem with them. They are cheap but decent when you're broke, newly wed with a kid on the way. I would say you might be right but both amps are doing the exact same thing, and they were bought from different places. So I don't think its something wrong with the amps physically.

[Luc]

Is the Xover internal or external? If external, take it out of the system and see what happens. Make sure to turn the gain on the amps all the way down. You may narrow down to which input channel may be bad by plugging the RCA cable one-by-one. Likewise for the speaker wires.

[KILLACAMNY]

Check your ground to the amp and also check the screws used to tie the amp down to the back of your seat. Make sure there is no metal to metal contact.

[dave_thomas]

Originally posted by KILLACAMNY
Check your ground to the amp and also check the screws used to tie the amp down to the back of your seat. Make sure there is no metal to metal contact.

You got it. I went and bought a multimeter and tested everything and the ground wasn't getting good contact with the metal. Moved it to another spot and works just fine. Thanks for the suggestion, even though I probably had it figured out by the time ya posted, but its the thought that counts.

[KILLACAMNY]

Glad you got it fixed. Makes you wonder why that wasnt the first thing you checked out, could have saved you alot of time and trouble. Now wake up the block with your system!!