So it's -45C outside today up here in Calgary AB, and besides the cold weather being horrible, something happened while I was driving to work this morning.

Everything was going fine, then all of a sudden my amp made a "pop". I'm guessing I heard this pop through the speakers/backseat. Now if I turn the stereo on, I'm getting a little bit of sound through the speakers, however, it seems that something is really sucking all the power out of the system. With the stereo on, the headlights dim, along with all the other lights in my car.

I guess I'm asking anybody here if they have ever had the same issue? I'm hoping it is just a fuse on the back of the amp or deck that blew, but I'm not able to look right now. Any other ideas as to what may have happened? And would a fuse even allow the amp to turn on? I guess I'm hopin for a cheap fix here...I would hate to have to start replacing stuff...

My amp is a four channel Pioneer GM-4300F, and my deck is an old JVC SXXX....

Definitely not a fuse. If the fuse blew, you're correct, the amp wouldn't turn on. It also wouldn't cause the drain on the electrical system you're describing. Unfortunately, something most likely shorted inside the amp somewhere. Doubtful it had anything to do with the cold. I would not keep trying to run your stereo until you disconnect that amp, though. You never know what other problems it can cause. If you have any speakers run directly to the head unit, I'd just use those until you get the amp taken care of.

Hmmm... well I guess I'm going without sound for a while....

I read somewhere else on the net that somebody had the same thing happen to them. They said that if you run the amp hard (ie, play music loud), before you turn it off and then the weather drops significantly (which happened here, Saturday it was like -4C, now its minus -38C at the moment), that the copper can actually create moisture inside the amp due to the temperature drop...When I turned my amp on this morning, I guess I created some type of surge, which blew something in the amp, and is creating the massive drain on the system.

So if this is the case, I guess I will have to replace the amp. My next question is, how difficult is it to simply replace the amp? If I get the exact same amp, (it's pretty cheap now, average price on the net is like 130.00), could I just pop out the old one and put this new one on? Or is there something else I should be worried about that has happened to the car? I don't think anything happened to the head unit, as it turns on fine, and the head unit only talks to the amp. I also think the speakers should be fine too, as they could still get some sound out when the amp was pulling massive power from the rest of the car... Sorry to sound like a newb, but I have never done anything with the sound system before. I've done all the other electronics (interior LED's and etc) and basic brake, rotor, spring and struts stuff, but I've always been worried about owning my car's electrical with the sound system.

Should I be worried about putting a new amp on and destroying the car? Maybe destroy is a big word, but I still kinda like my car.

Thanks guys.

My thought would be that if you remove the amplifier from the equation, and everything seems fine (ie. you can turn on your deck without the severe power drain, albeit without sound), then a direct swap should do the trick. If the power drain persists without the amplifier, then you need to keep looking for the culprit first.



    Shop Manuals, Brochures:www.kenmcgeeautobooks.com

Thanks for the suggestion Geeky. Quick question... If I disconnect the amp and make sure none of the power cables and grounds are touching anything, will I hurt anything by turning the radio on? I guess I am worried about sending power to what essentially will be nowhere. Like you said, if i am able to disconnect the amp and turn the radio on and not experience any negative effects, then we know it is just the amp that went, and a direct swap should fix the problem.

To further show my lack of knowledge on amp, the model that I currently have in my car is a Pioneer GM 6100F. It looks like this model doesn't exist anymore. If I go to the Pioneer GM 6300F, will this work the same? Both are four channel amps, and from what I can tell it just looks like the 6300F is a little bit newer.. What are the odds that I will connect the new amp the same as my current amp?

Appreciate the help guys.

Running the deck with no load isn't a problem. The bigger risk is causing a short when working on the amp, so just make sure the amp's power cables are securely tied back if you disconnect them. I've been known to pull the negative terminal at the battery to avoid this possibility altogether.

Any comparable 4-channel amplifier should be a usable replacement. The connections should work the same.



    Shop Manuals, Brochures:www.kenmcgeeautobooks.com

You should not have to rewire anything to replace the amp. Your new amp should have the same exact connections. They might possibly be in a different position, but if you're worried about making a mistake, just pay attention to where you pull each wire from with your existing amp, mark the wires, and then put them into the same terminal on your new amp. As Geeky said, whenever you're working on your car electronics, it's a good idea to disconnect the negative battery terminal. Not only does it hurt if you manage to touch wires, but an arc can damage things if the wrong wire grounds out.

I suppose the moisture could have been due to the cold as you have heard. Moisture is the enemy of any electronics, but the temperature itself doesn't do anything. Most electronics actually function better in colder weather. Heat is usually the issue.

As far as doing any harm by running the system with the amp disconnected, it won't be a problem. The thing you don't want to do is to run an amp without speakers hooked up to it, because it sees an infinite load, so it's making power that's going nowhere.

Thanks so much guys. Appreciate the responses. Well today is only -32C here in Calgary, with a windchill of about -44C when I last checked. As soon as it warms up a little, I'll take the broken amp out and take a look at it. My brother is very interested in electronics, so he wants to give it a shot at fixing it. Should that work, I'll keep in touch.

If not, then once I order the new amp and get it installed, I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks again.

heh gmoney. not to sound pesimistic but how long have you had that amp? If it's relatively new, I'd say look into a different brand amp. My thinkin is that if its relatively new, u wouldnt want to replace it with the SAME exact one cuz u very well my run into the same thing again. I personally would say look at Alpine, kicker, someting like that. Its just that some brands tend to take more punishment than others. Again just a thought!

144db@38hz! It hurts so good !

I had the amp installed I'm thinking back in April 2005. So it has done me good. I'm very open to the idea of a different four channel amp...Any recommendations? I figure it should be like Geeky said above and have pretty standard inputs and outputs...

Well gmoney I would HIGHLY recommend Alpine! I have not, to this day, heard one bad thing about the alpine amp. If thats a little too much for you, (I know people are gonna bust my stones for this!) try the new rockford series! BEsides the fact that they lay down some serious reliable power, they small as hell!! I dont know, but that is my "professional" opinion


144db@38hz! It hurts so good !

I blew a set of subs when my amp blew.

I had a cap blow right off the board.

Power Acoustic Amp.....not the best in quality. But for what it was, and the low price, it was a damn good amp.