My Amplifier keeps blowing fuses?

Question

I took out my subs in December and left the amp and wiring as is. Two days ago I went to put my subs back in and the amp would not turn on. There was a blown fuse. I replaced the fuse but the amp blew the new one in two seconds.

I have, since then, taken the amp out of the car, hooked up brand new wires directly to the battery (positive battery terminal to positive input, amp ground to the negative battery terminal), ran a new remote wire and removed all other inputs and outputs from the amp (ie. No RCA inputs from the deck and no speaker load or wires to the subs). It is now an amp with three wires. A power, a remote, and a ground.

The amp STILL blows fuses.

I have taken it apart today. I'm definitely not an electrical engineer; although I wish I knew one. I am looking to see if anything appears out of the ordinary - nothing does. All components look pristine, in tact, and well maintained. There is a circular donut with black, red, and copper coloured wires wrapped around it (all those wires are copper - about 18-20 gauge) I don't know what this is or how to check if it is the problem.

There is a coil with a thick black stick inside of it about an inch long. I don't know what this is, what it does, or how to test if it is working.

Basically, my question is, with this set of symptoms, can anyone come up with a reasonable diagnosis? If the amp is blown, that's fine, but it worked when I uninstalled the speakers in December. So, what could have possibly happened since then to blow the amp? There was no load on it.

Anyway, thanks in advance for the help!

JRG

Answer 1

If The Ground wire is too long it could be a problem plus the gage matters you want a good thick ground

Answer 2

you might want to just get a new amp if you can't figure out what's wrong with it.

Answer 3

It sounds like the amp got wet? is this possible where it was mounted?or did you mistakenly hook up the positive and negative wrong You can download a repair/service manual from the internet,press edit and enter the model number for it here and I will give you the site for it,or just google the model number of the amp--but if you can't read electronic diagrams,you will have to leave it to the pro's to repair it.If it's not a good name brand amp it might not be worth fixing.

Answer 4

Since nothing else is connected to pop the fuses, who knows! It is more than likely something touching on the board??? haha

Are you using the correct fuse size?..

Check out a site called FixYa. Search the model of amp you have, and see if something is on there about it. Don't stop there if you don't find it. Browse thru other write-ups about ppl having the same problem.. you may run into your problem. Write you own issue up under the listing of that exact amp. There are many ppl on there that may be able to help you.