My iPhone fried my amplifier

A pretty good example of service dept ignorance. A certain number of amps commit suicide regardless of how they are used. The JBL amp is completely separate from the head unit, (maybe under the floor), and it doesn't know what the source of the music is, nor would it matter. Since all the speakers apparently went dead, its likely a cooked power supply in the amp, which is something that just happens. It's also fully covered under warranty, don't let them tell you different. You'll also want to confirm that all speakers are functioning normally once it's repaired, occasionally an amp can take some speakers with it when it dies.

 

yeah, you damaged it by using it. luckily they are understanding..

 

Using iPhone 4S with USB and Bluetooth no issues.

We're you playing music when it popped?

Radio or DVD?

Was it raining out or any power surge?

Was there a Funny smell like burnt wires?

Most likely the car stereo was defective or some power surge fried it

 

Sounds like a defective unit.

What model iPhone ?

Is the USB cable old and dried out rubber?

 

Probably an alien death ray. They can listen to your thoughts when you turn on the satellite radio.

Anyhow, just remember that the "stereo" in the dash and the JBL amp are 2 separate physical devices. I doubt the service goons even know that. Hopefully they replace the right thing.

 

I didn't realize the iPhone was powerful enough to zap an amp! The service tech likely was giving you an excuse trying to make them look like the good guys. Sometimes you just want to tell them they're full of it, and just fix the damn thing!

 

I think your iPhone is not the culprit. Just a defective car stereo. I'm not a electronics expert but I did stay in a Holiday Inn once.

 

Sounds like you'll have to take the other Prius out.

 

My guess:

First time, the amp power supply was at fault. Just a bad part. When it went, it also took your tweeter.

The service department did a quick replacement without checking anything and the damaged speaker is now pulling tens or hundreds of times the power it should be depending on the method of failure and killed the new otherwise good amp.

Make sure when they replace it and the tweeter the third time, they ohm all speaker connections and verify the speakers are not shorted or opened.

 

Jeeze, I'm smart.
It's a pretty simply thing to put an ohmmeter on each speaker, measure DC resistance across the speaker posts. The only thing you need to look for is identical speakers that measure very different resistance, or no resistance, or infinite resistance. This can be done at the wiring harness, no need to pull speakers.

I hope they bother to check ALL the speakers before firing it up again, this could get expensive if they don't. Usually a tweeter doesn't have the ability to draw enough juice to cook an amp, it takes a woofer to do that.

 

^^^
One other thing; its also very possible you have developed a short in the wiring somewhere. Checking DC resistance at the plug on the amp will expose any shorts in the wires to the speakers. Of course, shorts can be intermittent too.

 

Gremlin

 

Consider asking then to let you take it to a stereo shop where someone with actual knowledge of audio troubleshooting can sort this out. They must know of a shop that does custom installs or high-end work. Odds are it wouldn't be difficult to fix in the hands of an expert. My money is on an intermittent short.