Guys, I’ve got a problem with my ICE.



I went to wire up my amp at weekend and encountered a problem. I’ve run all the wires to the boot (Phono, power, remote) and secured a good earth – I know all these work, i’ve checked them.



However, when I wire up the amp, the light comes on but not as bright as it should do, and nothing comes out of the speaker.



When checking the voltage of the battery, with the engine running, the Voltmeter reads 18.??v. My car is a Japanese MY93 import.



What voltage should my car be running at (12v, 14v ??)?

Would this voltage stop the amp from working?

How can I step the voltage down?



Bearing this in mind, my head unit works fine?

 

The voltage from the battery, with the engine running sounds to high to me, it should be in the region of 14volts,
The amplifier could be operating outside its specification and therefor has shut down,
The spec should be marked on the unit somewhere.
Also make sure the power cables are of sufficient diameter for the current drawn by the amplifier, especially running cables all the way back to the boot.

 

The cabling i'm running is sufficient. IT's the blue thick one guage 2 i think, running to a distribution block in the boot then guage 4 running to the amp.

How can i reduce the voltage at the battery?

Why would my head unit work?

 

You can't reduce the voltage' that is set by the regulator within the alternator, are you sure your meter is reading accurately?
The head unit may work up to that voltage, the specifications for the Amp should be on the unit or with the instructions, e.g. working range 11volt to 16 volts.
What Current is the unit drawing when switched on? You can test this by putting your meter in series with the +ve supply terminal.
Meter range 10 amps.

 

I don't understand what you mean?

The amp says it should run at 12v.

I'll try and check the voltage at the head unit tonight. Could somebody have replaced the alternator with one that's incorrect?