I deserve a Darwin Award

[GhettoSQ]

I cannot believe I have been so stupid. After all I went through getting a good deal on an amp, subs, speakers, wiring...after all the attention I paid to detail in hooking everything up...I somehow managed to ignore the markings for battery+ and ground, and got them wired backwards.

Even after fixing the wiring and replacing fuses, nothing happens. How bad did I frag this thing? It's a Cadence TXA-3004, I can get another one for ~$100, so it doesn't seem worth fixing, but jeez! How stupid can one person feel?

I haven't popped the cover since I hold out hope there's some kind of idiot-proof warranty, but there are two very subtle marks on the chrome cover near the speaker terminals, discoloration like something inside burned. From Perry's site it looks as though output transistors are a good bet?

I guess I just want to know if there's any hope before I package it up and send it back or toss it Monday. It strikes me that the fuses blew, and after I swapped the wires they no longer blow - should this be some sort of indication that they did their job and protected the internals?

Anyway, feel free to make fun of me. If anyone has any ideas, let me know. I've been chipping away at this install (subs, amp, new mids) for like 3+ weeks and now I have to wait another week to get a new amp. My patience is shot.

[I Am An Idiot]

All manufacturers expect this to happen to their equipment. There is a diode in the amp to protect it from such an accident. As long as you had the amp properly fused, it should be OK. You need to use a meter and verify that you have power and ground getting to the amp's power and remote wires.

[GhettoSQ]

LOL I was gonna do that tonight and my meter needs new batteries! Assuming voltage is getting there, any idea where to look next?

thanks for the reply, your sig is appropriate here...

[I Am An Idiot]

Get the batteries and check the power and then we can go from there. When testing the voltage, connect the black meter lead to the ground terminal of the amp.

[Variac]

Tragically -but in a good way you can't get a Darwin award unless you remove yourself from the gene pool , ie you are dead or unable to reproduce

So what you have done is not close to Darwin worthy - just the sort of screw up everyone makes now and then..
Mark

[GhettoSQ]

I know, I just feel like a complete idiot I'll check the voltage tomorrow and let you guys know.

[0ldSch00lf00l]

Originally posted by Variac
Tragically -but in a good way you can't get a Darwin award unless you remove yourself from the gene pool , ie you are dead or unable to reproduce

So what you have done is not close to Darwin worthy - just the sort of screw up everyone makes now and then..
Mark

But his amp may qualify for a Darwin Award

I sat there and watched a friend hook up a Linear Power 5002 backwards when I was in high school, and the amp started to smoke before our very eyes when powered up. Oddly, a few months after we graduated from college, his amp was still going strong. I lost touch with him, but it goes to show that you can accidentally reverse the connections and have your amp survive!

[GhettoSQ]

LOL, mine didn't even smoke! It sounds like there might be hope; you guys are making me feel better.

[GhettoSQ]

OK, I tested the B+ and remote. The B+ is showing 11.6-11.8 volts. The remote shows nada. I am supposedly getting my remote signal from the PAC OEM-1 I'm using. So, I made a dummy remote wire and plugged it into the accessory fuse box using a fuse tap. I plugged it into one of the "not used" slots. Turned the key, heard a click, and the battery is dead.

Amp and B+ fuses are intact. What now?

[GhettoSQ]

OK, no edit button here...it turns out the passive anti-theft seems to be the reason it keeps not starting. This didn't happen when I installed my last amp. The only thing I can think of is there's some kind of problem with my PAC AOEM-1. I suppose when I get the anti-theft figured out I'll go and try to get the amp to power up without the LOC or speakers connected.