t4r505

Alright so for the past few weeks my car has been shutting on then immediately turning back on everytime I either hit a big bump or sometimes when I am climbing up steep hills when wheeling. It turns off everything and i has blown two fuses in my amp power wire.

Any ideas? I am assuming its a bad connection somewhere but I dont know where to start.

Team420

I would start with the battery terminals.... pull em off, clean with wire brush, and put back nice an tight... that'll prolly do the trick

Ironmike4x4

Are you saying you've blown fuse for the amp on 2 separate occasions or you actually have 2 fuses for the amp? If so that's where I'd start with especially with it being and aftermarket unit. Disconnect it and try to duplicate the concern. If it does not blow again then I highly suspect you have a short to ground rubbing somewhere and only contacting during a jarring event causing the wire to bounce on a ground somewhere affecting vehicle operation.

As Team420 say I would also check the battery terminals. KISS method always applies first. Then I'd proceed w/ the AMP route.

t4r505

The amp fuse has blown on two seperate occurances. I don't think its the amp because I have had it before the problem started and the turn off and on thing has happened and not blown the fuse. Also I think it just blows from the surge of power. I just put that in there to give a hint to where the problem may be from. I am going to try new terminals because I could use some anyways.

Ironmike4x4

Ok. Things like that point us in a general but easier starting point. I still would disconnect the amp fuse as it'd be a quicker diagnostic. When a customer tells me something more specific like that then it's my favorite starting point and sometimes much quicker. My theory is there is something shorting to ground on the wire and back feeding to the battery. You gotta remember those are big wires for an aftermarket speaker/amp setups. I tend to find the DIY guys that are into that stuff will shove the big wire anywhere they can, granted the proper wires have a nice thick cover over them but some of my customers do weird things. I've seen on a few occasions where they drill a hold through the firewall and go to the battery. Nothing wrong with that but I highly recommend a rubber grommet because the hole that's been drilled is sharp enough to rub a hole into the wire causing a short to ground and in worse case scenario a fire if it's not properly fused.

EDIT: I didn't read carefully enough, you said you had the problem before the amp was installed?

t4r505

you sir are one smart fella haha. Thats exactly what it was. Part of the power wire was melted and it was shorting. Okay now do you know of a better place to run a 0 guage power wire through the firewall?

Ironmike4x4

I recommend buying a "kit" of grommets. I really want to say that I saw some in the HELP! section at Autozone once. Just buy the whole kit and find one with the best fit for the hole. If you cannot find one then I'd recommend taping about 2" of the wire that passes through the firewall with electrical tape. Then just for overkill put a plastic conduit around it and slide it through.

Smart? Not really, I just love electrical gremlins b/c they drive you nuts. Once you find the problem you find it's just so dang simple when before it makes absolutely no sense. I was also cheating b/c of shop experience too he he.

I would highly suggest yourself and others reading this to inform your service writer or technician to the smallest details about your automotive concerns. You'd be surprised how much time it saves us pinpointing the last known details. I once had an older man tell me his dome lights quit working as soon as he left his grandchild in it for a few minutes while he went into his house. In my mind I go into child think mode and knowing how they are they like to play with buttons. Simple fix? Dome override switch was pressed in. Had he not told me the details I would have checked fuses and started pulling out electrical kits instead of pressing switch unless Diagnostic tree says to.

t4r505

Yeah I bought that exact pack of grommets when I first put it in but was too lazy to drill out the hole bigger to get the right size grommet to fit. The hole I originally used was made by the PO and it was a terribly cut hole and it was in a dumb place really close to the engine. I dont know why I used it. I just got done rerouting the wires through a different grommet that was much easier to use and safer. Thanks once again.