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Power wire touched remote "oops"

9K views 12 replies 5 participants last post by  JDMPREZA713 
#1 ·
Hey guys, I am having trouble with my amp and removed it today to ship it into the manufacturer. While removing the amp, I accidentally allowed the power wire to touch the remote. I saw smoke and got it off maybe 5 seconds after contact (had to grab the pliers). Some of the casing around the wire had bubbled near where they contacted. I removed this section and spliced on some new wire. I tried testing the remote line with my dc volt meter but I am getting nothing with the Head Unit on. Am I going to have to replace the whole wire? (Hidden under seats and lots of zip ties)
 
#3 ·
Hopefully there is a fuse in your amp. If not hopefully you blew the fuse by the battery (which I really hope you put one there). If not you might of fried your amp, as you know those wires aren't supposed to touch each other. Next time take the positive off your battery before you mess with wires. I disconnect the battery even when I change oil, which is overkill but then I dont have to worry about a short or possibly grounding something.
 
#4 ·
The amp was already disconnected. I know I should have taken the terminal off first but I am having issues with that terminal loosening and didn't want to mess with it. I don't think it popped the fuse at the battery just melted some of the remote wire lol. If I have issues once I get my amp back I'll rip the seat out and check the rest of the wiring.
 
#5 ·
I would say you possibly damaged the deck, but if you're getting 12V on the remote wire up by the deck, then you're probably fine (there's a chance its damaged but still shows 12v until the load of the actual remote turn-on circuit is applied, but that's unlikely, IMO).

If you get 12v on the wire by the deck, but not by the amp - then your wire needs to be replaced. Be glad its an easy/cheap fix. :)


Also, I was going to ask, which two wires shorted? The remote wire (blue) and the ground, right? Cause you said "power wire", but if it was the positive, it shouldn't have done anything at all. The negative however would almost certainly create a short circuit if the deck was on (and nothing if it was off).
 
#6 ·
Everything was off. The battery terminals were connected and I had removed the amp. The wire running directly to my battery came in contact with the "power control wire" which goes to my amp, telling it to turn on when the head unit is on. It seems like when the wire started melting it may have severed the "pcw" wire quickly about 3 inches from the end. The head unit turns on fine. I will check if I am getting a signal up at that end today.
 
#9 ·
Lucky. I've seen cars start on fire cause of shorts like that. I'm quite surprised that touching the battery positive to the remote ("Power control") would cause a short, though. They are both at +12V normally unless the deck is off and the the remote wire should basically be an open circuit.
 
#11 ·
The deck puts out 12v to turn the amp on and the amp remote accepts 12v+ input, there shouldn't have been any short unless your remote wire was grounded in-between the deck and amp. You can connect the 12v+ wire at the amp directly to its remote input and it won't hurt a thing, it will just turn the amp on. If there is an interal problem with your deck's remote wire and it doesn't put out a full 12v, it could be shorting down on the full 12v that the power wire has. ?? I think you've got a gremlin hiding somewhere in your car, lol
 
#12 ·
Yesterday after I thought I had fixed the issue my "protect" function came up twice on my head unit. I believe the wire was grounding out somewhere on my car's body under the carpet where it must have been rubbing something sharp. I replaced the rest of the wire all the way back to the head unit. I have not seen the protect function since and am praying heh. This could account for the melting issue.
 
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