Galant, with the car off the stereo doesn’t do anything. It is obvious that the alternator is a critical part of a modern vehicle’s electrical and charging system. If you manage to screw… All you have to do is take a 9 volt battery and touch it to the wires. Disconnect the negative terminal, which is labeled with a minus sign, before disconnecting the positive terminal to keep it from short-circuiting. To tell if the speaker is blown or not without taking it apart is really easy. Inspecting means you will use your naked eye to try to find out if they are working. Car stereo drains car battery, it is recommended that you keep your car battery fully charged. All you really need is to convert the DC power from your vehicle into AC, which is the kind that comes from your wall. Because car stereo systems work with direct current (DC), they can be powered directly by a car battery. This is the black wire connected to the battery under the hood of your car. If you're bored and want a project, or you're like me and just like making things instead of going out and buying purpose built ones, this is for you. wire together and to the positive (+) terminal. Ive had the new battery checked and the slternstir and they both read good. I tested the wiring harness and every connection showed a resistance of .04ohms which is great, so I know my harness is wired correctly. Related Post: Best Car Battery Chargers. It's a simple JVC unit that I put in a couple years back so I can use my iPod while driving. I hit a pot hole a couple days ago and my car stereo shut off. If it does, that indicates a problem with the connection rather than a blown speaker. Reason 1: Lights . Remove the cover from the speaker, and connect the wires to the battery again. It represents a routine operation, especially if you have all the tools at hand. To test an exact point use a large gauge wire connected to the negative on the battery 5ft and clip the other terminal to your desired ground point (clean/ paint removed). 1 How to Test Car Speakers? Grab a 12 volt power supply capable of supplying about 10 amps. The multimeter, set to measure continuity, can be used in a similar way. If a pulse is generated in the speaker then the speaker is still functioning properly. Step 3: Check the speaker with a multimeter. This only works with the speakers that have the positive and negative wires that hook into a stereo. The previous battery only lasted three years. to 12V DC, which is probably a car battery ( and get + to + and - to - ) Disconnect battery positive, set the positive probe on the load side of the fuse, clamp the negative probe to battery negative. Isolate the circuit from power and ground. Ok i ran across this. I also didn’t add an amplifier when I put the stereo in. Step 1 How to Test Speakers and Wires Speaker Testing Option 1: Connect a 9 Volt battery to the leads of the speaker, positive lead to positive battery end and negative lead to negative battery end. Here, however, you will be helped by a 9-volt battery. NOTE: Never use a self-powered test light to perform checks for opens or shorts when power is applied to the circuit under test. The test light can be damaged by outside power. To remove your car stereo, you will first need to disconnect your battery’s ground wire. If there is a short circuit, the test light will illuminate or the multimeter will beep. The question that has been frequently asked from us is that if the stereo system can also affect the health of our battery or damage it. To wire a car stereo, start by disconnecting your car battery to avoid electrocuting yourself. Let it run for 5-10 minutes. First, disconnect your battery and shut off the infotainment system to avoid accidental shocks. After that you have to connect the amp. After waiting, go ahead and try to start the car with the previously dead battery. Additional test: There is one more thing that you can do to check it, if you don’t have a multimeter lying around. You must connect speakers to the correct inputs. Get a 9 volt battery and a wire and place one battery pole on the correct place where the wires were soldered. Car battery Whether you want to rock on the go or just want to play outdoors for a while, running a guitar amplifier off of a car battery isn’t difficult or too expensive. At this point you’re ready to start the car with the charged battery. If it's not the radio, at least a specialist should be in a better position to suggest an answer. At the time I just kind of scratched my head but now I wonder if the stereo was dragging it down then too. Also, it's not a bad idea to connect a large gauge under the car between the body and frame. Watch to see if the cone moves. In this article, our editors have explained the best methods to maintain your car battery while using a stereo. Trying to find a short in the system might sound like a job for a professional, but in this video you will learn how you can use an $8 test light to locate a shorts in your car's electrical system. There ya go bench test a car stereo without a car. To change a car battery, pop the hood of your car and locate the battery, which will be kept on either side of the car’s frame. i used to use one as my workshop radio. Another way to test if the speakers are working is to inspect. There are specific exceptions, where it’s possible to start a car without a battery, and some small engines don’t use batteries at all, but the fact is that when your car battery dies, you’re going nowhere fast. Finding out how to test a car amplifier with a multimeter may sound like a sophisticated task. Turn off the ignition and any accessories like lights or the radio in the vehicle. Changing your car battery. After removing the speaker from the speaker box, connect the speaker wires to the 9-volt battery and see if the speaker cone moves. You may have already seen our video on how to change a car battery (a worthwhile watch before attempting to fit your battery) and noted that you need a radio code for your vehicle. Now when i turn my headlights on it dims the panel inside the car but when i turn the headlights on the panel goes bsck bright. Connect the wire by placing it on the battery and on the free pole on the amp. Your first step is to disconnect the speakers. The alternator also powers up the car’s electrical system during operation. I don't advise it, though. Use a multimeter to test the speaker. Personally, I'd bite the bullet and go to a car stereo specialist. However, having the right tools can save you lots of hassle, as well as time and money. Your car's electrical system is massive and complicated. Small wires at the battery are vulnerable to corrosion, and there's almost always an easier way to get a constant power connection, even if you can't get the original power wire to work. Why Test Your Alternator. A week before my car had no power at all, I was driving and my stereo completely shut off while I was driving. So my question is. A hydrometer is an inexpensive tool. Read the measurement. You could but, cars come equipped with fuses and circuit breakers just like your home. Electric devices like timed and dimming dome lights can stay “awake” and produce excessive drain on the battery … Im a senior citizen livibg off social security. If this is the case, simply follow the below advice and you will be able to fit your battery without losing the car's memory. Then, match the colored wires of your radio and your car and twist the wires together. I had a dead battery rwo days ago and so had a new one put in. Test the battery voltage. You can connect directly to the battery, provided that you place a fuse on the wire near the battery terminal. What would cause it to be a problem all of a sudden? There are, however, a few key elements to take in consideration before you even start. 1.1 Step 1: Removal from the enclosure: 1.2 Step2:? Place the red lead on the positive battery terminal (indicated by a red cover or a + symbol). Now, divide and conquer. If your car requires an output converter, connect this as well so your radio will work with your car. Wire up the radio to that, then grab a couple cheap car speakers and hook them up to the radio. Could a car stereo drain a battery and how? The stereo was installed about 2 years ago and it just started showing problems a couple months ago. Buy one at your local auto parts store or online, and then check this article on troubleshooting a car battery … The purpose for those fuses and circuit breakers is to protect electrical circuits from short to grounds. Without that initial jolt, your car might as well be a multi-ton paperweight. If your car doesn’t use any amps in the system (check your repair manual to find out), you can move on to the speaker testing step in stereo troubleshooting. Connect the self-powered test light or ohmmeter ground clip to a good ground and probe any easy-to-reach point in the circuit. It recharges the battery of your car to keep it working. Car Stereo to Home Stereo With a PSU: I'm going to show you how to run a car stereo using an old PC power supply. Place the black lead on the negative terminal. all you need to do is get a 12v source of modest current (battery or battery charger etc or lab supply) and connect the chassis or earth wire of the radio to the negative (-) and the main battery wire and the acc. It is dangerous to work on electrical components of a vehicle with this connected. Now that we have verified that the battery is experiencing a parasitic draw, we can move to exploring the different reasons and parts that can be pulling on your car’s battery. If you want to use a car battery for a temporary arrangement, the battery will serve as its own power source. It will also teach you how to fix it if the problem is the cigarette lighter, now more commonly known as the 12 volt plug. If your car uses a free-maintenance battery (no caps), or one with caps, you can visit a local auto parts store and have them test your battery for free. You need to remove the speaker from the dock and gain access to the wiring underneath. If your multimeter is not autoranging, set it to 20V DC. Get them to plug in another radio and see if that works OK, or alternatively plug your radio into another car. yes of course. This is just going to be a short instructable because of its simplicity. 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