Car amp killing battery or car

[xstation360]

Ok so I just bought a Dual 300watt AMP and hooked it up to my 8" Bazooka, as soon as I hook it all up, my car has trouble starting and once it does it idles very weird (like it revs then like craps out then right before it dies it revs again) anyways, i have the 12v attached directly to the positive node of the battery, the rem is hooked up to my HU, idk what to do. any ideas. Oh yeah i have a 2003 Mitsubishi lancer if that helps.

[brandes.cm]

Make sure your battery connections are tight, any loose connection will cause a voltage drop. Remove the remote wire from the amp and see if your car will run better. If not remove the + wire from the amp and try it.
Basically remove the wires from your amp until it clears up.

[Glowbug]

How do you have the amp grounded?

[TO-3]

Originally Posted by xstation360

Ok so I just bought a Dual 300watt AMP and hooked it up to my 8" Bazooka, as soon as I hook it all up, my car has trouble starting and once it does it idles very weird (like it revs then like craps out then right before it dies it revs again) anyways, i have the 12v attached directly to the positive node of the battery, the rem is hooked up to my HU, idk what to do. any ideas. Oh yeah i have a 2003 Mitsubishi lancer if that helps.

So, if you disconnect the amp, does your car work fine? Could be a defective amplifier. You can also try disconnecting the output from the amplifier and see if that has any affect on your car.

[DigitalJunkie]

A friend once had a similar problem,and we discovered that his ground connections were crummy and causing a large voltage drop. Go over the grounds from the battery/frame/engine block and make sure they're tight.

[ppia600]

I doubt a 300 watt amp has enough balls to cause your car to idle crazy. Make sure your positive battery terminal is clean and secure and also make sure the wire you chose behind the deck is the correct one, I'd use the "acc 12v" wire. If you tie into the wrong wire that could cause issues.

[xstation360]

Originally Posted by TO-3

So, if you disconnect the amp, does your car work fine? Could be a defective amplifier. You can also try disconnecting the output from the amplifier and see if that has any affect on your car.

When i remove my amp the car runs fine, it just takes a bit to charge.

[xstation360]

Originally Posted by Glowbug

How do you have the amp grounded?

I have it grounded to the frame in my trunk

[TO-3]

Originally Posted by xstation360

When i remove my amp the car runs fine, it just takes a bit to charge.

So, when you installed your amp, did the B+ wire spark as you connected it to the amp? Or, is the problem only realized when you start your vehicle? Do you have a multimeter?

I am thinking that the power supply in your amp may be blown.

[team_innovative]

I would check the voltage on the battery and alternator before, and after the power is supplied to the amplifier. It could be a bad connection between either the power or the ground. And in a worse case, bad connections between them both. I've never seen a drop in engine idle speed that drastic before from a poorly grounded, or poorly connected power wire. I think the problem is deeper than the amplifier. The amp is just what triggered the problem to become reconized. Because its power draw in some way effected the stock electrical dramaticly. I think the problem might be with the alternator and its charging of the battery. That, or the battery is damaged and isn't holding a charge strong enough to support a clean start up while the amplifier is drawing current.
Or like TO-3 said, it could be some kind of a defect or malfunction within the actual equipment. And if you don't have a multimeter, I highly advice you pick one up if you wanna DIY. Let me know how its works for you. If it doesn't help and the problem persists, we'll deal with it then. But either way I'm sure we'll get it solved. Its just a matter of trouble shooting the system. When you reply, try and give as much information about everything you did, the current status of the vehicle, and any changes you may have noticed.