I'll make this short and to the point...My 500/1 and 300/2 went "dead" one afternoon. Hooked up my distro block and the readout was 10.3 volts. I looked at the manual for both amps and the troubleshooting section mentioned something about the amps shutting down if they're not getting at least 11 volts. I surely hope that's the problem because that's a less expensive fix than replacing 2 JL amps. Another thing I noticed is, my audible confirmation (beep) is no longer there when I set radio stations or change CDs. I plan on replacing my battery with an Optima Yellowtop, but I just wanted to confirm that that's the problem.

Forgot to mention...the distro block reads 9.6 when the key is in the "ON" position.

 

What is the Voltage at the Battery when the car is off and running? It should be ~12.5 when its off and ~14.4 when the car is running. No matter what the voltage is when the car is off, the voltage should be higher when the car is running. If the voltage is not higher when the car is running the alternator may be dead. You may also want to check the voltage at the battery, after the fuse and at the amps with the car off. If the voltages aren't the same you probably just have a bad fuse or a bad ground connection. There is an entire list of things that you should also do, but the would be a good start…

 

I used to have an amp that went into "sleep mode" as well...you would hear the bass go out, then it would come back in randomly...didn't happen to much though...

 

The voltage at the battery when the car is off, assuming that the distro block readout is accurate, is 10.5...when the car is running, it's 11.8 or somewhere abouts. The fuses aren't bad, I checked those. Might be a grounding issue like you said. If the readout is not accuarate, then the block may need to be grounded better. But based on what's happening, it probably is accurate. I'll have to do some serious troubleshooting this weekend. Thanks.

 

Sure thing... Just because the fuse isn't blow, doesn't mean its not bad. When a fuse is stressed (lots of heat) it sometimes blows and sometimes turns into a resistor. That is why its improtant to check the voltage before and after with the same ground reference. Come to think of it you probably should have the system on so the amps are drawing some current. The more current the higher the voltage drop will be across it if it is bad. You may want to consider going to rat shack and purchasing a cheap digital multimeter to help troubleshoot the problem. A battery typicaly won't go bad in the way you are describing, so you may want to look into it furhter before you spend the cash. If the battery holds a charge and cranks the engine over fine than look elsewhere. Good luck.

 

have you done any motor work lately? the G has a stupid way of grounding the battery. it goes from the battery to the motor and then to the body. if any of those are loose you could see a voltage drop. if thats all good you should try a new battery. any place in town should give you your money back if thats not it.

 

I added a Popcharger and a Unlimited Tuning Tube..also Grounding Wires...but they were installed a week prior. Everything was working fine. Oh well. But I will look into all of that this weekend... thanks for the suggestions guys.

 

sorry posted in the wrong thread

 

I bet its the ground. Reground the amps to somewhere else and your voltage will go back up. Its easy to test...hold the + of your voltmeter to the positive connection on the amp, and then try the - node on various bolts around the car until you find one that reads 12+ volts.

 

Did you ever fix it?

 

Yes indeedy. Got out the trusty old multimeter and checked the grounding points...they were reading 4 volts :-/ And I almost stripped the dash for this lol.. Thanks for the suggestion. Now the system build continues....