Car amps, for example, often have a green power LED light and a red “protect” light. The protect light often means a blown fuse, so you know to check the wiring when you see it.
Car amps, for instance, often have a red power wire and a black ground wire. It also has a blue remote turn-on wire that powers the amp when you turn on your vehicle. If your amp plugs into the wall, test the power cord. Also, make sure your guitar, speakers, subwoofers, and other devices are connected to the amp if you’re using them.
If you don’t hear any sound but know your amp is on, the wiring is likely the culprit. Moving the wires may give you a burst of sound. You may also need to detach speakers or other devices overpowering the amp.
Always turn off the electricity before handling fuses or exposed wires.
The location of the fuse depends on your amp. Search its casing thoroughly and follow any electrical wires.
Before touching the fuse, touch the leads together. The multimeter will read 100 if everything is working. If that doesn’t change when you touch the fuse, then the fuse is broken. If you’re using a fuse with metal prongs, touch a lead to each prong. For a glass tube fuse, touch the lead to the ends of the tube.
Most fuses can be found at auto part stores and hardware stores. Bring your broken fuse in and ask for the staff to find a replacement. If you can’t get a fuse there, look for online electronics shops. The type of fuse you need depends on the amp you have. Car amps use plug fuses that are similar to or often the same as normal car fuses. Home stereo and guitar amps may use glass tube fuses. Getting the exact fuse is very important. If you get a fuse with a lower rating, it won’t provide enough amperage to power your amp. A fuse with a higher amperage could carry too much power and cause a fire.
You will hear the fuse blow out. Listen for a pop as soon as you turn on the amp. The amp will lose power right after that. If the fuse blows before you turn on the amp, the problem may be in the electrical circuit. This could mean your car or home wiring is broken or getting too much power. If the fuse blows as soon as you turn the amp on, the amp probably has an internal problem that needs to be fixed.
To access the wires connecting to a car amp, you may need to pull the faceplate off of your radio. Pry the edges of the plate with a plastic tool until you are able to pull it off the car. If the light stays on, the amp itself could be the problem. It may have shorted out from a strong electrical current, so take it to an experienced repair technician.
Broken wires can easily prevent an amp from turning on. They are also dangerous since the exposed metal conducts an electrical current. Don’t touch it unless you’re sure the power is off.
Your amp needs to be turned on for this. When it is on, the wires conduct about 12 to 14 volts of electricity. If you’re working on a car amp, try touching the red lead to the amp end of the red power cord. Touch the black lead to the negative terminal on your car battery.
The dangerous part is the exposed ends of the wire. The insulated parts can touch metal without causing a problem and they won’t harm you either. Blowouts caused by metal ruin the fuse if your amp has one. If it doesn’t, the amp or speaker could overload and take damage.
If the new cables work, chances are your old ones were faulty and you won’t have any more problems.
Hissing and crackling are often easy to fix by rearranging the wires or getting complimentary speakers. If the noise doesn’t stop, then you probably have a faulty amp to replace.
If the amp has a much lower rating than the other devices, it won’t send enough sound to the speakers. You may hear a lot of static or get a low-volume sound. Higher amp ratings lead to a louder, stronger sound quality. However, if the amps are more powerful than the speakers, your speakers could burn out much quicker than usual.
The positive and negative wires are a common problem. When they touch, they cause the system to go silent and lose power. This doesn’t usually harm your devices. You can test for wire problems by moving the wires apart while the speakers and amplifier are on. Don’t touch any exposed ends or active power sources like a car battery or wall outlet. Listen for the sound to come back on as you separate the wires.
Whooshing sounds happen when air gets pushed out of a speaker or subwoofer as it vibrates. You can fix it by mounting the device to stabilize it or by turning down its settings to make it rattle less.
Fixing any wiring and mounting issues solves sound problems if your amp still works. Radio silence from a good pair of speakers is a good sign that your amp needs to be replaced.
If the amp doesn’t turn on at all, it might simply be broken. Test it in another wall outlet first. A bad power supply could be fixed by a technician in some cases.
Another way to do it is to press down lightly on each tube as you play your guitar. The tubes get very hot, so cover up! Play individual notes to cause each tube to rattle as you listen for anything out of the ordinary.
A contact cleaner is basically compressed air mixed with isopropyl alcohol. You can get spray bottles full of it at most hardware stores. You may need to pull the tube out of the socket and put it back in a few times before the cleaner affects it.
Test the amp with new cords and speakers if needed. Sometimes this helps you isolate the problem to a faulty cord or connection.
Order a new glass tube online. There are many different amp suppliers that stock tubes fit for the kings of the guitar. If you’re replacing a tube, you might as well replace its partner. Amps have pairs of tubes with matching power levels. The second tube will burn out quickly after the replacement.
