update...there were two black modules attached to the back of the cabinet ,one was attached to the amp, the other I don't know where it goes , I had 12 volts to to the amp , I had tried another small equalizer from another project,it would not run on the power connection either. I removed the module and hooked back up to the amp ...wow that system sure puts out a lot of sound all of a sudden. It had a hum, I had read some other posts about the inline noise filter problems ,so i went to Radio shack and replaced it. Now I'm on to the next project.