How to check if my Amplifier is not working? (1 Viewer)

[DieGuy]

Just got a new android radio to replace the stock radio because it was not working with no power to it.
But upon installing the new radio there was no sound at all but has power. So I'm trying to figure out if it's the dead amplifier or dead speakers or a dodgy new radio.

I got a multimeter and checked that the ground on the amplifier is good.

Is there a fuse on the amplifier that I can check?

 

[OrlandoJon]

How did you hook up the amp to the new radio? Did you use the speaker outputs of the new head unit?

 

[DieGuy]

How did you hook up the amp to the new radio? Did you use the speaker outputs of the new head unit?

I bought a plug and play unit. all the wiring and plugs were assembled beforehand by the seller's engineer, So I'm not sure which wires goes to what since I dont have the electrical diagram for it. At the moment, I have made inquiry to them about the issue I'm dealing with but they are convinced that I got something short circuited on my LX. So I gave them the benefit of the doubt and not suspect the radio for the time being.

So I'm just going by an order of elimination by whats likely to be not working. Fuses -> Amplifier -> Speakers -> New radio Unit

Any help appreciated.

 

[OrlandoJon]

Do you have any pics of the install, particularly the wiring harness? What radio did you use. My fear is their harness fed speaker level outputs to the line level inputs of the amplifier and cooked the amp input.

 

[DieGuy]

Do you have any pics of the install, particularly the wiring harness? What radio did you use. My fear is their harness fed speaker level outputs to the line level inputs of the amplifier and cooked the amp input.

Yea, I got some photos from when I was talking with them. I don't know how much info you can get from these but I'll try my best to let you know whats there.

The one on the Left is aftermarket main plug harness. Right is car's original plug

The back of the radio unit. The main plug goes to the main power port on the left. The secondary plug on the right has outputs for speaker sounds and inputs for
rear view camera.

In regards to the plugs for the sounds to speaker. The secondary plugs outputs "AUDIO OUT"s plugs to the main plugs "AUX IN"s plugs as seen below. The engineer explain this to be the correct installation to achieve sound.

but since you mention that a mixup of wires could have cause a short. I should mentioned that while I was installing, both the main plug and secondary plug have a "AUX IN"s plugs that are male and female respectively. I plug these two together and tried testing audio with this setup. As seen below. The engineer explained this is the wrong setup. But could be related to what you were talking about, where it could have shorted the amplifier.

 

[OrlandoJon]

Can’t 100% tell from the photos but looks like this is one of the android units. A lot of them
Don’t event have an onboard amp so you are probably safe from how you hooked up. Next step would probably be checking if the amp has power with a multimeter.

 

[DieGuy]

Can’t 100% tell from the photos but looks like this is one of the android units. A lot of them
Don’t event have an onboard amp so you are probably safe from how you hooked up. Next step would probably be checking if the amp has power with a multimeter.

Hey thanks for sticking around. Yea, I got a multimeter and have used it to just check the ground wire from the amplifier and it seems good.
I dont have a electrical diagram on the amplifier plug and so I dont know where to test if there is continouity between the 12v and ground. If you have a different method to check it then I'm open.

 

[OrlandoJon]

Hey thanks for sticking around. Yea, I got a multimeter and have used it to just check the ground wire from the amplifier and it seems good.
I dont have an electrical diagram on the amplifier plug and so I dont know where to test if there is continouity between the 12v and ground. If you have a different method to check it then I'm open.

I don’t have a diagram on the older amps. Sorry but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it floating around in here. In my mind there are probably a handful of things to check:
1. Is your head unit outputting sound? It looks like it’s using RCA outputs to maybe an adapter harness. Disconnect the RCA outputs and maybe try hooking up an RCA to female 3.5mm adapter with a set of headphones. That should tell you if you are getting output. You could also hook up a long set of RCAs to a home stereo with RCA inputs and test as well.
2. If your HU is outputting then the issue is likely amp related. First thing obviously to check is power to the amp. Here’s some decent tips for testing an amp: How to Test an Amplifier Output With a Multimeter? - ElectronicsHacks - https://electronicshacks.com/how-to-test-an-amplifier-output-with-a-multimeter/

If all else fails, replace it. You can get a harness that will link up directly to your amps speaker wires. Then just run some RCAs from your HU to the amp. Hardest part is getting wiring to the battery. But you can get a small amp that’s more than capable of replacing the OEM amp for not much money.