[melvinliles]

My stereo quit working. Radio turns on and all displays work , but no sound. Thinking it was my amplifier, i unplugged the amp. Tested to make sure I was getting power to the amp, and found that I am getting constant power to amplifier (could this be reason my battery would constantly lose juice after a couple of days??......hmm).
Anyways, my questions are.............
1. Is it supposed to recieve constant power or only when key is on.
2. If not, what could be the reason for constant power to amp.
3. If this has caused my amp to burn out, is it possible to fix the factory amp so as to retain factory sound system and......
4. If not fixable, what is a good replacement for the factory oem amp so as to retain the original stereo reciever.

thanks for the time and any responses..........mel

[madmaxx69]

With out getting out a wiring manual I dont think power was supplied to the amp all the time, yes that would burn it out, Question is was it grounded all the time or did the radio ground the amp when turned on At this point you can not get a factory amp. So I suggest you buy a amp that has Ford factory connectors so some Radio shop dont butcher your harness. I saw more problems with butchered radio harness causing all kinds of problems. Tell them you want a amp that will hook to your factory harness, they do make them and it will be a clean install.

[Alawicious]

I used to work in car audio many moons ago and the aftermarket amps we installed had "constant hot" wires that varied in size depending on the power output of the amp. They also had a "keyed hot" wire that would turn the amp on when the stereo was turned on. If I remember right, the amps had internal switches in them that would shut down all power when turned off. If you're draining your battery one of these switches could be fried. Also, you might want to check the signal wires. Your signal wires are what sends the music to your speakers. Again, if I remember right, some of the higher end amps had fuses in them. If these fuses are blown the signal won't go through the amp thus no sound. I realize you are using a factory amp, so I hope this helps.