take everything out and rewired it completely? i've chased a/v wiring problems before and i end up wasting so much time. starting over usually catches it... unless it really is fried or injured (lol)

sorry for the late reply, i lost my internet for almost a month.

I have the infinity with seperate amp yes but the deck is sony, I have an ohm meter and I am handy with car electrics so i'll try it.  I called my audio store and they told me that if one of the skr wires got grounded then the deck I have has a built in safety to prevent indeck amp injury.  I have hooked up the pre-outs and they work fine... it's accually louder cause I hooked up more amps but i'll try the resistance deal.  I think my speakers are 4 ohm so anything over that will be an indication of a short, correct?

Thx