Audio hookup, double wiring? - smoke!

[Donner]

About a week or so ago, a company hooked up an (older) stereo I had to a new amp. By the time I got home, there was excessive heat coming from the vent. So, I pulled the bezel off and the radio was almost too hot to touch. Figuring it was the old radio that caused the problem, I put in a new one - a small mushroom cloud came out of the stereo, so I yanked all the wires and harness loose. It appears the radio-to-amp speaker wire, and the radio-to-speakers wiring was attached also.

What exactly happened? Thanks!

 

[Cobraguy]

You let out the magic smoke!!!

Seriously, you need to take it to another shop and have them find and document the problem. If nothing else, a fuse wasn't properly installed. Then go to the original installer and ask for restitution.

 

[Donner]

lol! magic smoke

This one has me confused because how does a hooking up speakers twice cause a "fire"? If anything it seems it would just weaken the sound quality, but I have no idea. Does it sound like some kind of surge occurred?

 

[calisoundmix]

crossing output terminals on an amp (or having it set wrong in the case of bridged mono/stereo) is a recipe for disaster, basically the amp is expecting a return voltage of whatever it sent to the speaker, and if that voltage doesn't return the same way it came it screws it all up. i've been to installs where tech's didn't hook a terminal up right and destroyed the amp, in terms of how it affects your stereo depending on where/how they tapped into the power they might have crossed a ground with a shield or are colorblind and stupid.

but x2 on what cobraguy said, have another shop fix it for you and get your money back from the first shop.

 

[Donner]

Thanks guys! I may have to eat this one because I should have taken it back when the stereo overheated. This is the first time anything like this happened, and I shouldn't have been back there with the wires - I should have let them look at it first. I'll go back, they'll fix it...