jasonv

i have no clue how but while i was driving my headlights taillights and dashlights just went out on me. ive done a search and saw a couple of threads about searching the fusebox under the dash on s13s so ill try that. i also saw something about checking the alternator fuse so ill also check that. come to think of it my car did idle funny when i started it like it was going to shut off until i hit the gas about 10 mins before they went out. someone please help i have a 30 min drive home every night from school so i need my lights operational!!

oh yeah i have a 95 with an s15 front end conversion but my headlights were working fine for about a month and a half now. i did recently hook up subwoofers in my car which sometimes get a short spike of feedback for some reason. i dont know if anything is related. HELP!

RandyJordan

hmm...blown fuse maybe?

jasonv

yup it was the taillight fuse. the 10 amp kept blowing out by a lil bit so i put a 15amp and its been holding up.

Darren337

where are you getting the power for your amps? if you overloaded the 10amp taillight fuse, that means you might be getting power from the wrong place.

jasonv

the amp is hooked up straight to the battery. im not sure about the remote wire though. could it be that? i know the remote has a small power draw.

Darren337

the remote wire is just a small draw to tell things ON and OFF, but if its direct to the battery then that rules out your system as the culprit for your blown fuse. how big is your amp and sub? you could be putting a lot of overall strain on the electrical in the car.
rule of thumb in car audio: 1 farad capacitor for every 1000 watts total system output power.

also, how's that idling issue? did you get that sorted out?

jasonv

well i didnt really do anything for the idling but it never happened again. im already running a 1 farad cap and my amp is only pushing about 200 watts rms x 2. the only funny thing now is that spike of feedback from my subs i get sometimes when i turn my radio on which scares the **** out of me because they thump real loud for a good second out of nowhere. also i dont know if its just me but i think i hear a really low thud which sounds like bass whenever i turn any electrical thing on in my car such as lights or fan.

Darren337

ok i have two tests for you to run, and two checkups. i dont know how much you know, or how well this system was installed (not out to bash you) but im gonna give you basic look thru advice. first the checks.

1. check each and every connector and make sure all connections correct (the right wire to the right terminal) and that all connections are solid and isolated from other connectors (no bridging). if you have any bridging, you could or may already have damaged SOMETHING.

2. you were wary of the control wire, so check that especially well. also if you're entirely sure how that lil wire with no power on it makes everything work, ask someone who knows so you can be sure.

once you have this, done, you can move on to the tests.

1. disconnect the control wire from the amp. turn on the head unit. if you hear static/feedback then your head could be bad. if you hear nothing, proceed to test 2.

2. with the control wire reconnected, disconnect the RCAs so no input signal goes to the amp. turn on the head unit and see what happens. if the head unit and amp turn on and you hear no noise, then theres something up with either your RCAs or power. if the amp STILL freaks out with no signal, theres most likely something wrong with your amp. disconnect all power control and signal until you can get it serviced.

NOTE: try thes tests a few times. you said the feedback is only every so often, so you might do these tests and by luck of the draw, not have the crazy thing go off while testing. then it goes off right after. and you think "wow that was a waste of time..."

good luck, i hope its something simple like a bridged connection.