Power light to amp flickers on and off with a voltage of only 8

Hello goup1819,

There are some basic things that you can check without a volt-ohm-milliamp meter (VOM or multimeter), but having a meter really enhances the troubleshooting process.

I'd begin by checking the power and ground. Make sure that you have the appropriate gauge wire and that all of the terminals and connections are tight and solid. Particularly check the ground wire. It should be as short as possible and be connected to BARE METAL on the vehicle chassis or frame. Make sure that there is no primer, paint, undercoating or corrosion impeding the connection. Likewise, the power wire needs a firm connection, preferably using a ring terminal, and be a direct run from the positive battery terminal, through an appropriate fuse, to the amp power terminal, and be as short as possible to minimize voltage drop.

You can also check some of the vehicle wiring. Rusted and corroded connections can reduce the voltage going to your amp. You can loosen the connections and clean them off with a wire brush or sandpaper and then retighten them. Check and clean the connections on both battery cables at both ends, and also the cable coming from the alternator. Do this cleaning with the negative cable disconnected from the battery post.

You can test the amp directly by using a "spare" 12V battery or use the installed vehicle battery by bringing power to the amp using a good set of jumper cables and a couple of short pieces of 8gauge wire. Just be sure to keep exposed portions of the jumper cables away from any metallic surfaces and temporarily covered with plastic or other insulation. If the amp powers up properly with this direct power test, the problem is definitely in the vehicle electrical system or there's too much voltage drop in your amp wiring. If the amp still shows low voltage, then I'd suspect that the amp is defective.

Hope this helps.