My son and his buddy recently installed an amphlified stereo system on our center console and there is something strange going on that I can't figure out. It is a Clarion stereo with a JBL amp. The boat has two batteries and a Perko switch to go between them. All the other electronics on the boat (VHF, GPS, depht finder, etc) all work fine. The mystery is with the stereo. If you turn it on at the radio itself, it powers up (the display), but no sound. The amp does not automatically power up. Both the amp and the radio have separate direct lines to the spare battery. Everything else on the boat is powered off the primary battery via the Perko route. The strange thing is, if I disconned the ground strap between the two batteries, the stereo system comes on and will play fine. If I hook the ground strap back up while it is playing, no problems. But turn it off and try to turn it back on, no dice. Disconnet the ground and POOF, back in business. The + and - connections for the amp go directly to the battery on dedicated wire. The radio has a larger gauge "power" wire, a smaller "switched power" line, and a separate black ground wire. The two "power" wires are joined together and tied to a direct line to the battery. The ground also goes directly to the battery. The radio also has a blue "signal on/off" line that goes to the amp to turn it on and off based on what the radio is doing. That is also a separate line to the amp and appears to be working properly (when the ground strap between the two batteries is off anyway). Can you provide me with any idea of idea what this is or the steps I can take to trouble shoot it?

I'm not 100% certain if it will work, but if not, I would say try searching Google or something online for marine audio hookup diagrams, you may be able to find something that will help you troubleshoot. Is a marine battery also 12V like a car battery? I'm not 100% certain if it will work, but if not, I would say try searching Google or something online for marine audio hookup diagrams, you may be able to find something that will help you troubleshoot. Is a marine battery also 12V like a car battery?

Well in a car, the whole thing is steel, so anywhere metal is connected to the battery, so connecting the amp to a metal part of the car is indirectly hooking it to the battery. I see what you mean, though, I have one other thought, and that is that there is a problem with the remote turn-on line. Once I had a stereo that didn't send out a remote turn on signal, I just ran a lead off the positive cable to the remote spot on the amp, with a switch so I could turn it on and off. I don't know if that will do anything, it doesn't seem like that would have anything to do with the problem since the amp does turn on sometimes. Sometimes electronics can act up at times, and things that hardly make sense end up solving the problem. Well in a car, the whole thing is steel, so anywhere metal is connected to the battery, so connecting the amp to a metal part of the car is indirectly hooking it to the battery. I see what you mean, though, I have one other thought, and that is that there is a problem with the remote turn-on line. Once I had a stereo that didn't send out a remote turn on signal, I just ran a lead off the positive cable to the remote spot on the amp, with a switch so I could turn it on and off. I don't know if that will do anything, it doesn't seem like that would have anything to do with the problem since the amp does turn on sometimes. Sometimes electronics can act up at times, and things that hardly make sense end up solving the problem.