Complaint Review: Post Falls Meineke - Post Falls Idaho

I messed up in my report on here.  Toyota confirmed it wasnt my amp but the clowns who installed the altenator.  They also said they would go to bat for me on this if it went to court.  They also gave me written confirmation of this too.

Yeah toyota said it wasnt from my amp but muffler shop hooking up altenator incorrect and would go to bat for me on that one if it goes to small claims.

..if, the dealership actually confirmed this by more then just noticing an amp was installed and not conducting an actual investigation as to the cause. As I stated earlier, the dealership in most cases will blame a stereo or alarm system for problems without really diagnosing anything, they don't want to deal with electrical issues, and they honestly do not know how..hence most dealerships farm this kind of work out to professional installers.

Now, you state the amplifier was professionally installed. So bring it to those pros..or have those pros go to the vehicle to see if THEY are actually the ones responsible. If these pros are no longer around, or located too far to check their install, find another stereo shop that you can trust to look the amp installation over. If it is concluded by someone who actually knows how an amplifier is supposed to be hooked up that it was done wrong, the lawsuit or damage claim should be handled by the original installer.

If the amps main power wire was professionally installed the right way and fused, there is little to no chance it was the cause of the entire fusebox under the hood to fry. If the installer can verify the amp was properly installed and fused by the power junction or battery, it will stand up in court because the guy actually knows what he is talking about and should have experience and credentials in the field...hence make the case a slam dunk.

Who are you planning to sue? By your admission, the dealership confirmed what Meineke told you...the incorrectly installed amplifier blew out your electrical system. It's also the root cause of the alternator failure.

To Bill d...No, you do not need a separate battery to run an amplifier. In certain cases where a vehicle is a show or competition vehicle, it may need or use additional batteries because the sound system will be operated for extended periods of time without the vehicle running. So in that case, an aux battery makes sense.

For the average person, they want the stereo louder or to sound better so they have an amp installed. If the amp is installed properly, and does not exceed the current rating of the ALTERNATOR, all will be fine. You see, once a vehicle is running, the electrical system is supplied current by the alternator and charges the battery as well. So in a sense, an additional battery is actually an additional load on the charging system. Most amplifiers designed for use in vehicles have been around for 30+ years and are designed to work in a vehicle without needing any upgrades to the battery or charging system in most cases. If someone is using an amplifier that exceeds the current rating of the charging system, they will notice things like lights dimming as a sure sign the alternator can not keep up. And in that case, an alternator upgrade is required. In some cases where it is border line, upgrading the main wire from the alternator to battery to a larger gauge as well has main battery to ground and engine block to ground will suffice to help with the additional current requirements. Once again, as long as you are not exceeding 110% of the alternators rating and this includes all accessories in the vehicle PLUS the sound system, which is the general rule, it won't cause any harm to the charging system. The purpose of the battery is to start the vehicle. If the battery can start the vehicle, it is doing it's job.

To Jim from Millbrook, you are being a little presumptuous here. We do not know this poster is a clown who thumps around, nor do we know if the amplifier caused the problem. I all to often see mechanics and dealerships blame the stereo and other aftermarket equipment for problems, and do no real testing to determine if this is the case. For example the muffler shop did not even have a meter..so how on earth are they qualified to troubleshoot electrical issues?

Now to the OP. Who installed the amplifier? The amplifiers main power wire should be connected directly to the + battery post, or junction point at the main fuse panel under the hood. And, by any professional would know it should have been fused 6-10" from the battery. This way the wire itself is protected from burning up the car. The amplifier itself will have fuses on the casing, and those are there to prevent the amp itself from burning up if it develops an internal problem or short.

Now, if the amplifiers main power wire was not fused and it gets pinched to ground somewhere (a short), the amplifiers wire will burn from the power point connection, to wherever it is shorting, it would be quite obvious if this happened as you would trace the burnt wire from the power point, to the short.

Now the mystery in your case, is how it is possible for the alternator, OR the amplifier to burn up an entire fuse box. The alternator is connected to the main junction point or directly to the + of the battery terminal, same as the amp. So in other words, by all physical properties of electronics, if the alternator wire shorted, it would blow a main fuse or link, or just burn the wire from it's output, to the point of where the short occurred.. and if the amplifier wire shorted, it would burn the amplifiers power wire or blow it's own independent fuse (which is why it is there), and have NO effect on the rest of the main fuse panel whatsoever. Electrons travel very fast so a fuse will blow in an instant, however if it is unfused, then a short can certainly cause a wire to burn, and that can lead to burning other things as well, fire travels.

So, in conclusion, neither the dealer, or the muffler shop have verified anything. They are just taking the easy way out and blame an amplifier that is designed for everyday automotive vehicle use, and MILLIONS of them are on the road today causing no meltdowns of the fuse panels.

What you need to do, is have a GOOD stereo shop look over the system. These guys do this everyday, and make sure they are MECP and or ASE certified in automotive electronics systems. They will determine what caused this, and you will then know if it was the fault of the initial amp installation, the muffler shop or something else unrelated to both.

Now since an alternator installation is very easy, and only one wire has to run from it to the battery or main fuse panel junction, there is a chance if the alternator had a bad internal regulator, that it put out too much voltage, which could fry the fuse panel, as well as other electronics in the vehicle. But before you go to small claims, where this very well may end up, make sure a real pro at vehicle electronics can bear witness for you..as you and these "mechanics" no NOTHING about how electronics actually work or electronic principles, they are wrench turners. You don't have a carpenter diagnose the electronics in your home..right?

If your stereo blew anything you must be one of those clowns who go around ratling the other car's windows with your BOOM THUMP.

Serves you right to burn out your electrical system, now your BOOM THUMP won't be a problem to us around you.

Seriously, if the alternator was connected and promptly fried the electrical system you must have REMOVED OR BYPASSED the Fuse Link (A heavy wire at the alternator, deigned to melt, it's a kind of heavy amperage fuse) if this was bypassed you WILL fry the system (as you now know).

No sympathy here.

umm---i suggest you re read your report so that you may see how dumb you look---if i am not mistaken--but aren't you suppose to have a separate battery specifically for the radio cause of the extra power?!?!?!