ttocs
Post Whore
sounds like it could be the deck, or like I said if you happen to have a factory amp still in there that could be it too. We just had another person on here find that the factory amp under the radio was causing a draw.
Chasing an Electrical Gremlin...
- Thread starter MadStang
- Start date
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MadStang
Well-Known Member
i hope it's not the deck, I bought an alpine expecting it to be a quality head unit.....
Factory amp? Isnt it necessary to keep the Mach 460 sound system working or do the head unit's themselves come with an amp internally?
What's your take on the extra .12-.13a that are causing draw? It's from the GEM circuit.
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MadStang
Well-Known Member
Update. Talking to a friend of mine that used to be a ford tech I was going about the test for the draw all wrong. He said the radio part is right and I'll want to get that fixed but the draw on the GEM is normal up to 40 minutes after shut down. I tested it, he's right, draw went down to next to nothing once I let the car sit for 40 minutes. so the only thing causing draw is the radio, which I spoke to the radio shop, they said they'll check the wiring but it would have been an instant thing not 2 years if it were the wiring itself frying. they said that the head unit is most likely the flaw.... looks like im buying a new one.
ttocs
Post Whore
agreed that its probably a bad deck, maybe a bad stock amp but again you should NEVER see ANY pieces of the copper wiring, it should all be insulated.
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MadStang
Well-Known Member
so.... no dice. $400 later, no returns after purchase, I realize that it's not my head unit that is the issue... and now that i have this complex head unit I can't figure out how to get this shit to work with the rear subwoofer which flippin' sucks. Pretty sure they bypassed the stock amp, so I'm just going to pull the damn fuse and leave it out so I don't have draw. I'm over this nonsense.
that sucks man 
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MadStang
Well-Known Member
seriously contemplated driving it off a cliff. so over this annoying shit. I've never been more angry or frustrated than I am now
ttocs
Post Whore
Did they check the stock amp directly below the deck as well?
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MadStang
Well-Known Member
they said they did but I don't believe them. how can I check it? im desperate like a hooker with no tricks and will pull this thing apart if I have to. the new head unit has a built in amp so I don't need the stock one anyway.
ttocs
Post Whore
They would have needed to hook up an amp meter like you did and then disconnect the hrns's going to the amp. Its directly below the deck and you can probably even get access to disconnect it front under/behind the dash.
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MadStang
Well-Known Member
what should the reading be? I know the power supply is 12v to the amp. is that what I should check?
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MadStang
Well-Known Member
Scott I pulled the stock amp out and tested for draw on the battery with the amp unplugged, still have draw.
He found the problem, lets jump for joy
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MadStang
Well-Known Member
right rear amp. BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE.
ttocs
Post Whore
wait you still have the current draw or its gone now?
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MadStang
Well-Known Member
no more draw, we're good. it was the right rear amp. when disconnect there is no draw.
ttocs
Post Whore
ah cool to hear that. Now either don't go back to that shop ever again or if you do be sure that when you are in there next time that you tracked down that current draw to the stock amp that they should have discovered..... If a customer came into my shop and I took the time to hook up the meter and pull some fuses I would have reached back there and disconnected that amp to see if it was worth the 5 secs it took to do it. They are either lazy or do not give a damn.
Thats the 2nd amp causing a draw in the last 2-3 weeks I think now... Looks like they have started to reach their end of life. Still the best quality and sounding stock stereo ford ever put out.
Thats the 2nd amp causing a draw in the last 2-3 weeks I think now... Looks like they have started to reach their end of life. Still the best quality and sounding stock stereo ford ever put out.
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MadStang
Well-Known Member
Believe me I have no plans of ever going there again. For one, I was wondering why the subwoofer wasn't working, they're idiots and switched the plugs around. instead of subwoofer/rear speakers, they plugged it into the separate rear speaker plug in. I guess that's for cars that run a separate system. it was pretty obvious though when there's 4 RCA plugs, color coded..... dumbasses.
I agree, even with the amp removed it still is quite a good system, especially for my needs. (mainly country and some rock, with a little bit of rap/hip hop).
Thanks again for your help as well as everyone else's, couldn't have gotten this far without you guys, credit goes to you all =]
Hey you found it, not us
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