	AllExperts > TV/VCR/Stereo Troubleshooting
	Search

About cleggsan
Expertise
Consumer Electronics of all kinds. Audio, esoteric audio systems and components, video, tv. Digital equipment for consumer use. Ham radio and automotive electronics. Note: I give advice on tv repair based on general consumer electronics engineering experience but I am not engaged in actual repair of sets. MAKE SURE YOU GIVE THE MAKE AND MODEL NUMBER AND AGE OF THE SET.

Experience
Electrical Engineering; recording, broadcasting, design, international standards, tv and radio theory and practice.

Organizations
FELLOW of AES (Audio Engineering Society)
Senior Life Member of IEEE (Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers)
International Consulting Organization

Publications
IEEE Spectrum
Various Consumer Electronic publications

Education/Credentials
BSEE
MSCS
MBA

Awards and Honors
Famous Engineer for Digital Audio

You are here: Experts > Home/Garden > Home Appliances > TV/VCR/Stereo Troubleshooting > mark antony mk1500 amp

TV/VCR/Stereo Troubleshooting - mark antony mk1500 amp

Expert: cleggsan - 11/7/2009

Question
this car amplifier when hooking it up immediately burns up a 80 amp fuse in the power line coming from the battery. The four fuses in the amp are unaffected. Checking that this wasn't a problem with anything other then the amp I disconnected speaker wires, rca's, and all other components from this power source and again immediately after turning the amp on it fried a 80 amp fuse. I removed the bottom cover from the unit and could not visually identify any sign of burning or excessive heat, nor did I notice any odor that indicated burning. I realize this means trouble but would it be feasible to try to fix it and is this something I, of limited electronic knowledge might be able to do?

Answer
Without being there it is hard to guess what is going on. The only clue I have is that the internal fuses were ok and you found no burnt smells or parts. This tells me one or two things:

ONE: The replacement fuse is really not 80A, but maybe 8 or some other value. The fuse element inside a fuse of that amperage rating is very thick (if you are using glass BUS fuses you can see inside). So, check it carefully for the right value.

TWO: The wiring is wrong and you have the 12V lead connected to the ground lug or some such thing. So, check that very carefully.

In the worst case, bring the amp out of the car and "bench" test it with long wires coming directly from the battery to the amp and connect a known good speaker to one of the outputs. You can feed an MP3 player or portable cd into it to check it out. But, my suspicion is the amp is okey and the problem is an external one such as the two above.

Let me know if there is more to the story.

Add to this Answer Ask a Question