Clarion Power amp APX480M

I have power to amp from Clarion XMD3 radio. Both blade fuses appear good, no sound coming from any speakers. I did notice a very small light (power) at one end of the unit, which does not illuminate. Is this amp bad or is there a reset someplace or is problem much more complicated?

Re: Clarion Power amp APX480M

sessasells said:

I have power to amp from Clarion XMD3 radio. Both blade fuses appear good, no sound coming from any speakers. I did notice a very small light (power) at one end of the unit, which does not illuminate. Is this amp bad or is there a reset someplace or is problem much more complicated?

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You say you have power from the radio - do you mean a signal? Stand alone amplifiers require a heavy gauge cable connected directly to the battery - that is where the amplifier gets [its] power from - not the radio. If you have power from the battery connection to the amp and the amp's power light is not lit I'd say it's toast, unfortunately.

Re: Clarion Power amp APX480M

Thanks, though thats not what I wanted to hear. Does there have to be a signal from the radio to light the amp?

Re: Clarion Power amp APX480M

There is usually a wire that comes form the radio the turns on the amp. You may want to see if that wire is getting power on it. You could also disconnect it and jumper it to 12V to see if the amp turns on.

Re: Clarion Power amp APX480M

sessasells said:

Thanks, though thats not what I wanted to hear. Does there have to be a signal from the radio to light the amp?

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Yes. There should be 2 connections coming from the radio head unit to the amp. The first should be what's referred to as a "remote turn-on lead", or "signal wire", this is usually a blue wire about 14-18gauge. This wire tells the amplifier to turn on.

Then there should be 1 pair of RCA pre-amp cables that connect to the amplifer; 2 pairs of the amplifier is 4 channels (1 pair for front, 1 pair for rear channel). These cables privide the actual sound signal from the head unit to the amplifier for amplification.


The amplifier itself will then require a direct, fused power connection to the battery; the gauge of cable will depend on the amplifier output, and a seperate ground cable as well.

Let us know what you have wired; take some photos and post them if you can, and we will help you get this set-up. It's actually very simple