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5 Blown Amp Symptoms & Signs Of A Damaged Car Amplifier

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As car owners, when driving, do you feel more connected to rock or jazzy piano when cruising? If you enjoy or love listening to great tunes, you understand the importance of a quality sound system and a great audio source.

The car amp audio technology can make or break the sound quality you will hear. For this, you would want that the amp inside a vehicle to work fine without any sound problems.

So if you are having problems with the amp in car audio system and you need to understand the different blown amp symptoms, then we got you covered.

Table of Contents Show

All About A Car Amp or Car Amplifier

Do you understand how the speaker boosts the sound wave? This system is referred to as an amplifier or an amp in a car audio system which is similar to the ones that come in a home audio system.

If you investigate the structure of your car audio system, you may discover that this is somewhat perplexing and that it can sometimes get an internal problem in its electrical components.

Due to the obvious sophistication of the car amp configuration, it can be hard to troubleshoot whether the component of the car speaker system is the problem or if the amp is malfunctioning.

Sometimes, the car amp ground connection is not touching the bare metal, perhaps a small metal wire inside, some blown fuses (fuse blows), or a broken fuse box that you may not notice.

You must therefore evaluate your car amp since it is responsible for boosting the quality of your speaker and audio systems.

Why Is Your Car Audio System Not Functioning Correctly?

There are a few signs and symptoms that can appear while playing music or tone audio that could also indicate that your audio system, your amplifier (the head unit), is malfunctioning or, simply put, you have a blown speaker.

Other parts in one’s car sound system and ground connection might even end up causing such imbalances, and though the car amp audio system is highly the source of these problems.

All of these components like the amp, all the speakers in your vehicle, and even a CD player should all be inspected from time to time. Repairing a car amplifier is something that you can solve instantly, so you will be back on listening to your favorite music in your vehicle sooner than what you think.

Signs Of A Blown Amp Or A Bad Car Amplifier

You may notice that the amplifier’s audio has an observable sound distortion. Perhaps you really have your amp turned on, and there seems to be no audio coming from your speakers.

Furthermore, the overall surround sound emits unusual noises, including whining noises for long periods of time or a loud pop that can be heard from the speakers.

If you start noticing any or all of these car amp symptoms, you must inspect your car amplifier. Here are the most common and evident causes of a broken car amplifier or a faulty amp:

#1 The Amplifier Does Not Turn On At All

The amp requires a certain amperage mostly at the remote wires (the speaker wires) to ensure good audio quality, as well as a great ground wire or ground cables to switch on.

Your amp will not flip on if the remote turn-on wire is not powered or if the power cable is not placed well. The remote wire functions similarly to your right hand flicking a toggle, with your finger representing electrical power and the switch representing a process within the amp.

The remote turn-on cable is usually connected to the stereo, so if the radio is really not turned on, the amplifier can’t just turn on.

When there seems to be no power at the amplifier’s network interface, the very next objective is to test for voltage at the correlating wire in which it links to the car stereo.

#2 The Protect Mode Light illuminates

A few more amp enter amplifier protects light mode from safeguarding individual parts from further harm. If the amp’s “protect” light turns or has been illuminated, you most likely have a defective speaker, stereo system, wire, and perhaps other components.

Examine the source of current. Then examine the different pieces. To begin, disconnect the speaker/amplifier cables. If the light goes out, the issue is most likely with a few of the amp speaker systems, so it is best to check all the wires.

Thoroughly check each amp speaker or even subwoofer throughout your device to pinpoint the causes of the issue, check for speaker enclosure, and even check the power ratings.

#3 Burning Smell Caused by Multiple Reasons

Your car amp should not have a burning smell. If there is, then this is a cause for alarm. With time the car amplifier can get covered in dust and dirt, and as this happens, the airflow of the cooling fan is interfered with.

This can overheat the amplifier, which can lead to a short circuit. The most common cause of a burning smell coming from the amplifier is an overheated transistor. A quick way to tell if your transistor is bad is to check and see if the amplifier is drawing too much current.

#4 The Power Supply Has A Wiring Problem

If you are having power supply problems, it might be the amp is blowing fuses due to an incorrect wire connection. Start by checking if all the wires connecting to the power supply are secure and not loose.

When you try to push the amplifier, and it tries to produce more power, this will cause it to go into what is called “protection mode.” Troubleshooting this is simple. All you have to do is connect the amp to a good power source.

#5 A Faulty Speaker Making Strange Noises

The speakers in your vehicle can also make strange noises when you have a bad car amplifier. A blown speaker will start making popping sounds when it is turned on.

Most car amplifiers produce a buzzing noise when there is an improper connection at the speaker wire terminals. If it is making a strange noise, it is best to check all the wire connections.

You might have a bad ground cable causing the issue if you hear a humming noise coming from your speakers. The ground is responsible for completing the electrical circuit in your car stereo system.

What Does a Blown Amp Sound Like?

The much more widespread bizarre sounds, an obvious sign of a blown car amps speaker, seem to be an undesirable buzzing and perhaps even scratching noise.

It’s either alone or nearly at the angle of the related point being attempted to be replicated by the speaker. There may also be no amp noise, audio, or whatsoever.

How Does An Amplifier Get Blown?

There are numerous causes for this, as well as numerous fuses that may be blown. Several of these issues occur beyond the audio system and seem to be relatively simple to resolve.

Others are hidden within the audio system and are not seen when it is being placed. These structural conflicts typically represent exterior symptoms of a bad amp.

Just a skilled technician or specialist could indeed make an educated guess as to what might be pure speculation based on some of these diagnoses.

At times, the trick may also be checking the manufacturer’s manual to see if you did wrong during the installation process. Check the ground wires to see if they are connected to the frame of your vehicle.

With time most car amplifiers may suffer damage to the internal components, so it is best to keep a check and get it repaired as soon as you notice any issue.

FAQs to Determine If Your Car Amp is Blown

One might be curious to know how to identify if your amp is completely blown now. Well, there may be solving methods and a simple fix that might assist you in figuring it out.

#1 Has the car audio system protect mode been activated?

Before you make any assumptions about the circumstance, you should first verify the amp’s protection mode. There really is a situation in the sound system that if something goes wrong, it will shift towards the defense or protection mode.

The above said questionable circumstances would also include the status of the speaker cables contacting each other, causing short-circuiting. When you place it in defense or protection mode, this should prevent any wiring damage to the system.

#2 Is the blue wire connected appropriately to the wiring harness?

This blue cable (the blue wire) has been used in the car amp audio system to remotely connect the amp once the power supply is switched on.

When it is not fully assembled to its appropriate places, it will find it difficult to obtain voltage for the sound system. As a result, you may believe that perhaps the car amplifier is not operating only to discover that this is not the issue.

Check all the connections thoroughly to make sure there is enough power to make the sound coming from the amp great and that the amp is not blown.

#3 Do you notice any faulty car blown fuse when the amp is blown?

Each amplifier, the speaker system, and the speaker wiring would have included a breaker to protect the sound system that is responsible for a fault current.

Problems may include short circuits, negative terminals, too much bass boost, etc. If the spark plug blows when the amp is blown, meaning too much power when the amp is blown.

When this happens, there will be no electricity in the system, and the system’s remote turn-on wire will not work. So, you must inspect the thin metallic wire, including the RCA cables that are connected to the fuse.

Do make sure that all wires of the amp are connected properly. Make sure the amp only gets the supposed adequate voltage. When the amp turns, and it is broken, when there are blown speakers, or the amp is blown, you must consider replacing the fuse with such a fresh one.

Inspected the amp’s input and output

The amplifier input is given by the head unit. So, if you’re concerned about determining if everything is in order, things could be simple.

It is only necessary to detach the RCA patch cables from the ground wire and then link the fresh range that actually works.

If the car amplifier, the amp, can be started turning on fast after the power wire has already been repaired, it needs to be replaced. Even so, if you do get feedback from one edge and not the others of the power wires, there might be a problem with the head unit.

That just about everything is working properly, including the RCA wiring, you must detach the old car audio system and attach the new ones.

It will operate so well when the amp produces the desired power output. If this really is the situation, you will require new systems for such audio devices rather than the amplifier.

Solutions To: The Car Amp Not Working In Your Car Stereo System

Only a few car stereo systems also provide a totally separate amplifier in addition to the radio and other systems, just a home audio system. If you’re concerned about the sound quality of your device, there are several options.

You can upgrade your audio system, woofers, or amplifier. Plus, if you come across what appears to have been a blown amplifier, do some exploration on your particular amp to make sure it is properly installed.

See whether you could perhaps find out more from prevalent incidents that may arise with such an amp. Check the car battery to see if it has enough power.

Try connecting the car amp to a wall outlet to rule out a faulty car battery. Also, inspect the vehicle’s fuse box and replace any blown fuse.

Last Updated on: September 2, 2022

Hi, my name is John Snow and I am a car lover. With two decades under my belt fixing and driving cars, I'm always on the hunt for fresh, cutting-edge methods to give my ride a performance boost. Driven by my zeal to decode car problems, I'm on a mission to equip vehicle owners with accurate and handy tips. By doing so, they can fix their rides while saving both time and cash.

By John Snow