I have an older MRV-F301 Alpine amp that has been sitting around for a while now. I have been trying to install it for a day now. I have never installed an amp before but it seems like a fairly simple process. But the fact that it is not working tells me that I am missing something or the amp is bad.
I will not bore you with everything that I tried. I will only go into the test that I ran on the amp to see if it is working.
I ran wires directly from the battery input of the amp and the remote-on to the positive post on the car battery. I used 14 guage wire (solid strand wire)..no fuses or other breaks. The car was running and the battery was fully charged.
I tried both putting the negative input to the body of the car and to the negative post.
I wired up a couple of speakers to the 3/4 slots, then the 1/2 slots and I also tried to bridge the speakers on the 1/2 and 3/4 slots.
I then used a 3.5 phono to two rca adapter cable to plug and ipod into, first the 3/4 low input and then the 1/2 low input. (This amp does not have a High input.)
Playing with the switches in all types of configurations, I was never able to get more than quick burst of sound. They would pop on at random and then just drop back off. The green light, indicatng power on the amp was solid when this was going on.
Am I missing something? I did not have a manual and Alpine does not have my model listed anymore. Can an amp go bad in a closet? And if you think the amp is bad, what sounds like it went out on it?
BTW...I should mention..they were 6x9 speakers that I used in this test and I knew to turn off the HP and LP filters. The speakers are known to be good.
Why are you connecting the remote wire directly to the pos post on the battery? It's alright for testing, but not perm install. It'll just run down your battery. What happens if you connect pos and neg from the battery to the amp? Does the amp light up? If you do, then connect speakers to the speaker terminals. Check the amp again for power. If still good, then connect rca input cables to the amp's input connectors. Set the gain/level to match the ipod's output power. 14 gauge is a bit too thin to be used as power cables.
Issac...I am not connecting the remote on to the positive side of the battery on a perm basis. This was only for testing. I wanted the amp outside of the car and not using anything in the car to eliminate it all.
I did not connect the amp positive and negative without also connecting the remote-on in my test. Should I see a green light if the remote on is not connected? If I am misunderstanding you though and you are only asking if I see the amp powered up with the remote and the power cables connected...then yes, I do. As I said before...I see the amp with a solid green light indicating it has power thru all of this.
And while the 14 guage is a little thin for an install...would that be the reason why I can not get sound on this test? I would be stunned to find out that this amp pulls so much juice that a 14 guage wire is too thin of a pipe for solid sound to a couple of 6x9's.
First time poster. I have just atemped to install my new Hifonics TX1005D Class D amp. It is backing up my Soundstream amp which is running Front and rear compent speakers.I found the 5 channel Soundsteam didn't have enough jam to run my sub ( 10" Infinity Perfect - in sealed enclosure )the way I felt it should be able to run - loud and tight! This amp was purchased on e-bay from an electronics supplier. It apears to be brand new/origanal equipment with nothing to lead me to belive it was damaged goods. I have hooked this amp up as instucted by instructions ( good quality RCA's - 4 ga.power cables - clean solid chassie ground - 12 ga monster cable ). I am experiancing a very low output to the speaker no matter how I adjust the head unit or amp settings. My fear is this amp is DOA but I dont want to give up on it just yet. If anyone has any idea's on what this could be it would be a big help. This was a big let down - I was waiting for that big kick in the pants and it didn't happen. Thanks Bob
Since your issue seems to be totally different from mine however, you might want to consider starting your own thread. By hijacking my thread, you reduce the chance that I might get an answer to my problem as well as yours.
And I am still stumped on my issue so any help would be greatly appreciated.
Well, looks like the amp is still alive. There could be so many causes for this, you should prob take it to an electronics repair shop to have it checked. I know it costs money, but what can you do.
I guess that is my question Maris. Like I said..this is my first install. I want to know if I missed something or if it sounds like an amp issue.
I know nobody can fix an amp unseen across the web and I know installing unseen is about as hard.
I was just wondering if I had somehow made some common mistake in the test setup...or if this is an indicator that is known to happen when an amp starts to die. (Like the clicking sound of death when a hard drive dies.)
Michael, if you're saying the amp has green light with power and remote wire connected, then you're past the first step. Next, adjust the gain/level on the amp to match the ipod's output. If you're unsure, set it to 1v for 1watt of output. Now check and see if the amp goes into protection.
The more that I talk with you guys, the more that I think that the amp is bad.
Isaac...I did not adjust the gain to match the Ipod...but because I was concerned about blowing a speaker, I did turn the Ipod all the way down and gradually increase the volume. This should have kept the amp out of protect.
And Marc....I did connect it that way.
Guys..you have helped me to isolate the trouble.
That amp has to be bad. I would be willing to bet that at this point.
