Amp won't stay on..

[Bryan]

I've got three amps in my setup... Previous owner did it and I just wanna make it work through the summer.. One amp for under helm sub, one amp for wet sounds tower speakers, and one amp to power the 4 in boats.. That one comes on with the rest of them when I turn the key to run or acc, but it turns itself back off. It's a kenwood excelon x700-5.. I'm assuming this is the factory unit that was installed originally to run the entire boat.. As of now it's only pushing the 4 in boats.. All three amps are piggy backed off one wire to the remote turn on's for the amps? Could this be a problem? The other two come on fine and stay on, this one comes on every time, but turns off.... HELP!!!

Note: they're all powered and grounded seperatly with each their own fuse... But the remote turn on, like I said, is hooked amp to amp to amp then off to the head unit... This looks fishy to me

[chpthril]

As a matter of principal, nothing wrong with 3 amps on that turn-on circuit. Daisy-chaining them form one amp to the next ans so on, is electrically the same as if each had its own wire run to the head-unit.

What is the battery voltage at the battery? If ample, like above 12V, you need to start with checking the system voltage right at the amp power lugs and turn-on terminal. If the voltage lower, you need to work backwards along the circuits to find the source of the drop. Hopefully, the only other connection points along that line, is the fuse holders.

[Bryan]

So if the voltage is too low wouldn't it kill all three? Electrical is confusing to me.. This amp is wired first in the line, so in my head, if there's enough juice to turn on the last two, then it's gotta get through this one right? And once it turns on, shouldn't it stay on? Do they require different amounts of juice to stay on and maybe the other two are pulling too much from this one? Sorry, just thinking as I type here... I'll see if I can round up a meter and figure it out.. Thanks a ton!

[chpthril]

Lets start with the operating voltage and current thats on the large amp cables. Different amps, even different series amps within one manufacturer, can have different low voltage thresholds. So if the battery supply voltage is low, one may shut down, while others stay on. There can also be low voltage on the turn-on circuit. The turn-on is not a current drawing circuit, its simply a voltage trigger. So if the voltage from the head-unit is low, it could result in the amps shutting off if theres a slight fluctuation. If one of the amps has an internal issue on its turn-on circuit, it could bring the voltage down, cause the amps to shut off. If the amp turn-on is going to amp one, then jumping to amp and amp the, then the voltage and small amount of current, is not really going through the amp, just reaching each terminal. There should not be any voltage drop on this circuit, under normal conditions. Most any head-unit should be fine to trigger 3 devices. All of these issue could be seen with a voltage meter.

[Bryan]

Ok great... Thanks for clarifying for me... None of this depends on whether or the not the boat is running right? If the head unit is on, the turn on lead should be supplying voltage correct? I only ask because I've had the boat in the water once this year before it went to the shop and I know the speakers all worked then... When messing with it today the boat was in the garage, so not running.. Just tried key in both acc and on positions with the same results.. If it's somehow "engine running" only, I've gotta get it resolved so we can have tunes while at anchor..

[chpthril]

Yes and no. Yes, when the head-unit is on, the blue/white turn-on lead should be hot and the amps should power up. But, there can be a significant difference in voltage between engine off and engine on with the alternator putting out.

[Bryan]

10-4... Thank you for your time

[Bryan]

UPDATE.... Tested everything as suggested. Tested voltage at all 3 battseries and they were all matched @ 13.02 at start of testing and down to 12.80 by the time I was done messing with it.. Anyhow, they were always matched perfectly.. The power and ground lugs of all thee amps were also always matched with the batteries voltage. The turn on leads for all three amps were also all matched together at 12.01 every time... So, looks like I've got power and turn on voltage... Is my amp shot then? Any way to test for that?

[chpthril]

Just to make sure, the amp is turning off, not going into a protect mode, which would likely be indicated by a protect light or a change in color of the power light.

[Bryan]

The only light I'm seeing is a red indicator light on the face.. It comes on red for a few seconds then goes black... While its red the speakers play and when it goes out they stop... Sounds a lot like a protect to me, but I don't know how to tell if it's a protect mode or just powering off.. Any other amp I've ever dealt with has a power light and then a separate protect light that comes on. Power at all checked places from earlier is there when the light turns off and speakers stop playing, so it's not losing the power.. It does this no matter how many times I cycle the key. Is there a way to check if it's protected and still powered or if it's just turning off?

It's this amp, but this manual isn't very useful in the troubleshoot section:

http://www2.crutchfield.com.edgesuit...3/113X7005.PDF

[chpthril]

Ok, disconnect all the speaker leads and power it up and see if it stays on or cuts off. Next, unplug the RCA cables and try again. With nothing hooked up but the power cables and turn on, if its going into a protect mode, its internal.

[Bryan]

Ok I'll try it all out maybe later tonight... Gotta get to my baby boys kindergarten graduation... Thanks again for your time and for trying to help me