amp trouble....

I installed a pair of Boston Acoustics 6x9s and a Clarion APX201.2 (2/1 channel 200W) amp to the factory head unit in my '01 Impala using the speaker level inputs. The problem I am having is that when I fade to the rear speakers, and set the balance fully to the left, both speakers are running. Likewise, if I set the balance fully to the right, there is no sound out of the speakers. The amp is wired in for 2 channels (I triple checked all the wiring just to make sure it was not the culprit), and the input select switch on the amp is set to "stereo", just like the manual for the amp illustrates. So my question is......is the amplifier faulty, or is there possibly something I am overlooking??

Replies (6)

ttocs on 04/2/2003 11:01:13
need to do some trouble shooting and then we can figure it out.

Switch the rca's directly at the amp(red on white and white on red). If you have the exact same output on the speakers, your amp is bad. If the problem reversed then we need some more trouble shooting. Now switch the rca's at the loc that you are using. Again, does it stay the same or change?

Swez on 04/2/2003 12:34:22
I did not read anything about LOC's her??? he stated:

" I installed a pair of Boston Acoustics 6x9s and a Clarion APX201.2 (2/1 channel 200W) amp to the factory head unit in my '01 Impala using the speaker level inputs" .

You may want to go back and check your wiring at the input side of the amp first. May have mixed up your input wires. Observe polarity on all connections sa well.

If you know you have that right, get a small test speaker and hook it up to 1 amp channel, then the other and see what you get.

If you still note the same problem, pull the amp fuse, play with that stereo/Mono switch by shooting a small amount of WD-40 into that switch, then flick it back and forth a few times. Now repeat the process as noted above and see what you get in both stereo and Mono switch positions. Is this a new amp?

If an older amp or used, that switch may be the culprit. It seems to be acting like a MONO amp... 2 channel in, only 1 channel out to both speakers.

Try the above steps and let us know what you find OK?

Swez

tinman on 04/2/2003 17:05:45
It was a new amp, and I checked the wiring, it was not the culprit. Took it back to the audio store (amp was bought new) and had an installer look at it, and it turns out that the plug in the amp for the speaker level inputs was faulty. He put another new amp in, and another problem showed up.....
My car's factory head unit also serves the purpose of programming various functions (non-audio related functions at that!) in the car, and it is causing noise in the system now. The car is still in the shop, and last I heard, the installer was REALLY frustrated, and had not figured out how to cancel the noise yet. Anyone have any ideas?

tinman on 04/2/2003 18:16:58
Got the car back, sounds great. The installer ended up putting line out converters in so he could use the RCAs on the amp, and installed a ground loop isolator to get rid of the noise. Everything is working great now!!

Swez on 04/2/2003 19:07:11
That's a rare issue... bad wiring harness for the high signal input side.
The LOC was a good choice as is the GLI.

Glad it all worked out to your satisfaction!

Swez :-)

ttocs on 04/2/2003 23:16:36
It is rare to have a bad hrns, and one of the most frustrating things that can happen.. When I first started installing for a shop(Will not mention that horrible place!) I installed a deck in a camaro. I had got everything done and working. While backing it out I was checking to make sure that everything worked properly in the car(lights, horn, ect). When I turned on the lights, all the dash lights went off and the radio turned off. I also heard that very familiar "pop" that a fuse makes when it goes off.. Turned off, and found a blown fuse in the fuse box. Replaced it and did the same sequence and had the same ending.. In the end the Metra hrns that I had wired into had the ground wire switched with the dimmer wire. We only found this out by getting another hrns and compairing, but it certanly was not the first thing we checked.

I hate how chevy has multiplexed through the radio(airbags, keyless ,ect). You can get around it, but it is not easy...