Hey, I ran over a pothole today on the way to work and my empeg just sort of shut off. I restarted my car and that didn't seem to help, but I've plugged it in at work and it seems to work fine. What do you guys think I should check? Is it possible that one of the dock cables came loose? Can you blow a fuse just from a pothole? I didn't install it myself so I'm not really sure how the dock is hooked up.

On the Mk2 at least, if the fuse blows, the empeg still works. I would check if a wire came loose on the dock.

I am not sure on an Mk2a if a blown fuse would still allow the empeg to function.

Hi there,

I'd say, take the sled out of the car and have a quick look at the docking connector, make sure nothing's been yanked out. There should be a yellow wire with a black box connected to it. That's the fuse give that a look at as well. If you're confident opening your player then have a look at the docking connector on that. Plus the connectors to the mainboard.

Other than that, check your accessory fuses in the cars fusebox too. I wouldn't be too worried, if you can use it at home then I very much doubt there is anything seriously wrong.

I think you're right rob, they 'fixed' that on the 2a.

Is it possible that one of the dock cables came loose?

Yes, that is very possible. The relevant FAQ entry is here.

I would also see if the installers connected a power line directly to your battery, and if perhaps that's what's come undone. Or perhaps some other wire connection running between the empeg and the electricity, such as a fuse link coming undone.

It's also possible that if the installers did a poor job with the wiring, the bump caused a bare power connection to touch frame metal, thus blowing an inline fuse. Check all fuses between the empeg and the electricity, including the inline fuse on the yellow power wire.

It's also possible that if the installers did a poor job with the wiring, the bump caused a bare power connection to touch frame metal, thus blowing an inline fuse

Yeah...that happened with my sub amp. They ran the wire too close too a hot part of the engine. The shielding eventually melted and when I hit a bump that let the wire contact the metal, POP there went the fuse to the the amp.

Turns out it was the fuse on the wire coming out of the empeg. I yanked the dock out and replaced the fuse with one off my set of "my stereo's already been stolen" cables. So I think it's safe to say that it doesn't turn on with a blown fuse. Thanks for all the advice.

It's important to note that that fuse blew for a reason. It's good that you replaced it with a new fuse (hopefully of the correct rating) rather than bypass it, but you probably ought to find out what caused it to blow to begin with. It could be dangerous.

yeah....what he said ^

(beaten to the post)

but you probably ought to find out what caused it to blow to begin with.

Yeah. A hard jolt like hitting a pothole wouldn't usually cause the fuse to blow from just force alone. It likely blew because a 12v-positive wire touched a ground somewhere.

Another thing to check: Open the empeg itself and make sure the shock mounts are still intact, per the drive upgrade guide. If the drive tray has come loose, that could be the very thing that's making ground contact.