Need Help on Amp Install

[GunnerSchenck]

I'm trying to install my system i had in my other car into my explorer and i have everything hooked up. rem is hooked up amp to cd player, rcas are hooked up, power and ground are hooked up and i put new fuses in it and it's still not working. as soon as i turn the key to on, the light on the amp blinks once rather than turning on steady. any ideas of what to check?

 

[XplorerRayskee]

First things first. Check the ground on the amp. You possibly put the amp under the seat. I don't know but where ever that ground is make sure there is no PAINT in that location. Taking a flat head and scraping some off will help. Right now it sounds like a bad ground.

 

[XplorerRayskee]

Also what kind of amp is it? Does it have two lights? Power/Protection? Does the light change colors Green/Amber/Red?

 

[c.mike]

Agree with the bad ground. An ideal ground connection should be as short (lengthwise) as possible. Also, if you still have the manual or look the manual up online, it may tell you the significance of the blinking light at startup.

 

[GunnerSchenck]

i did put the ground under the seat, due to the fact the ground wire is only a short length and wouldnt reach anywhere else and i did scrape off the paint and drilled a whole then put a bolt through it but ill work on scraping off some more just in case i guess.
The amp has one light which says "Power/Protection". also the light does change colors, when it blinks(like it is now), it will blink green once and that's it. but when the system was on in my other car, it stayed on red whenever the system was on. and amber, im not quite sure if it turns amber, i can't think of any time it ever did.

 

[XplorerRayskee]

What is the make of the amp? Red usually means it is in protect mode but not always.

 

[XplorerRayskee]

Are you using the stock head unit or aftermarket? Is this an amp used for Door speakers or subs? Are you using a wire-harness kit if the head unit is after market? I'm starting to remember some explorers that came with a "STOCK" amplifier that has to be bypassed in certain situations.

 

[XplorerRayskee]

I'm gunna take a stab in the dark here since your not responding and just say it sounds like your 1992 X had the premium sounds system and you are in need of an AMP BYPASS Radio Harness

 

[GunnerSchenck]

i'm using a dual head unit with a wiring harness that attatches to it and running it to a sony xplod amplifier and subs...didnt know it had a stock amplifier? wheres it at?

 

[XplorerRayskee]

i'm using a dual head unit with a wiring harness that attatches to it and running it to a sony xplod amplifier and subs...didnt know it had a stock amplifier? wheres it at?

You need a Head Unit that costs more that $69 for it too work.....J/K

Did you purchase a wire harness kit for your ford explorer? Like a Scosche
or Metra. Or did you cut the stock wire harness out the back of the dashboard.

What stock head unit was in there before? Did it have a Rottory KNOB to Turn up the Volume or a toggle. 2 door or 4 door? Was it AM/FM/Cassette, AM/FM/CD, AM/FM only ECT believe it or not this all makes a difference on getting the right wire harness kit for your car.

Just cause the wire kit clicks into your car it doesn't mean its the right one.

 

[SilverSPL]

sounds like you either have a bad amp or there is a problem with the speaker wiring.

 

[GunnerSchenck]

well the wiring harness seems to be at least functional somewhat, i mean the head unit turns on...and the head unit was somewhat expensive anyways. its one of the fold down ones. i think it was 125 or something like that. but i just got the wiring harness adapter thing from walmart for like 10 bucks and the exp is a 4 door, the old head unit was a pile. im not quite sure if it has a cd player or casette or anything. it's in the back of the exp and was already out when i bought the truck cuz the old person had a aftermarket head unit in it.

 

[XplorerRayskee]

well the wiring harness seems to be at least functional somewhat, i mean the head unit turns on...and the head unit was somewhat expensive anyways. its one of the fold down ones. i think it was 125 or something like that. but i just got the wiring harness adapter thing from walmart for like 10 bucks and the exp is a 4 door, the old head unit was a pile. im not quite sure if it has a cd player or casette or anything. it's in the back of the exp and was already out when i bought the truck cuz the old person had a aftermarket head unit in it.

This is correct the head unit will still turn on with any harness kit that fits.

To bad the guy you bought the car from took the wire harness out.

Can you please supply me with the model # from the wire harness kit package. I am pretty sure your Eddie Bower had the premium sound package and you have the wire kit for the basic sound package which will not bypass the stock amp.

Are you running the door speakers off of the head unit power?
Do they get sound?

 

[XplorerRayskee]

Just a test. Remove the REM wire from where ever you have it plugged in. For some reason I think the kit has a blue wire where you probably plugged it in. Find the red wire coming into the of back of the deck. Which is 12V constant. Touch the REM wire to it. Does the amp power up?

This is not a fix!!!!!!! You can't leave the wire there cause it will never shut off and drain the battery!!!!

 

[GunnerSchenck]

Nevermind i forgot i did hook it up to the wire harness that he left in it rather than using the one i bought, cuz the one i bought, only one of the connectors fit on the harness in the dash.
and, he had aftermarket speakers in it and took them out when he sold it to me, so there currently arent in it until i put mine in it, i was just more worried about making sure my system worked first.
Is there any way that i can just disconnect the old amp(if it is the one with a stock amp) and just connect mine in place of it?

 

[XplorerRayskee]

Nevermind i forgot i did hook it up to the wire harness that he left in it rather than using the one i bought, cuz the one i bought, only one of the connectors fit on the harness in the dash.
and, he had aftermarket speakers in it and took them out when he sold it to me, so there currently arent in it until i put mine in it, i was just more worried about making sure my system worked first.
Is there any way that i can just disconnect the old amp(if it is the one with a stock amp) and just connect mine in place of it?

Okay Get the speakers in the doors FIRST!!!! Lets make sure that is going before attacking any amp and sub issues.

 

[GunnerSchenck]

okay i'll work on that tomorrow night. and i'll try the test on it.

 

[GunnerSchenck]

also, SilverSPL, i don't think it's a bad amp. i just took it out of my intrigue and it was fully functional in that vehicle.

 

[XplorerRayskee]

okay i'll work on that tomorrow night. and i'll try the test on it.

Okay sounds good. An easier way to test the REM on the amp instead of doing it behind the head unit is to remove the REM cable from the AMP. Turn the cars power on. You don't have to start it. Take a small wire and jump it from the 12V input on the amp to the REM input on the amp. If the amp gets power then we just need to find the assesory wire before it goes through the wire harness and splice the wire in there.

It sounds like the Door speakers are going to be using the stock wires that are already in the car. So I want to make sure the stock amp is turning on first to power these.