Remote Wire, idea

[kaltenacht]

Ok so check this out, I have had my amps and subs wired up for some time, but one of the amps, i have to disconnect cause there is no remote wire for it. So it stays on all the time... I had the idea of acutally getting a toggle switch and wiring the two hot wires from the amps to the switch, then the switch to the battery. That way, i wouldnt have to worry about a remote wire controling the power, because in a sense i would have bypassed it with the toggle switch... It should work i know it probably will but my question is, what gague wire do i need to run from the toggle switch to the battery? I know the bigger the wire the lest resistance it holds, thus more current flow, but will more current flow increase the chance of the wire getting hot and catching fire?? Can anyone help? :uh:

[lostforawhile]

are you sure the amp without the remote wire isn't an auto sensing amp? some of the new amps sense input signals and turn off after a period of time with no signal. what kind of amp is it and how many watts? you probably could just wire a 25amp bosh relay in line with the power wire to the amp. the coil on the relay would just go to the remote wire. that would do the same thing as a switch but be automatic

[FyreDaug]

You said that ONE of your amps doesnt turn off because of no remote going to it. First off, I assume you mean the remote is a constant 12V going to it, or if there actually IS no remote, thats wierd.

But if there is a remote port (which I have never seen any amp not have one) why not just tap into the other remote wire and run it to that amp aswell? I mean amp1 has a remote to it so it turns on an off, but amp2 doesnt. So make another connection on that remote for amp1 and run it to amp2.

That would be the most logical way of doing it, and it'll cost 25cents

[kaltenacht]

are you sure the amp without the remote wire isn't an auto sensing amp? some of the new amps sense input signals and turn off after a period of time with no signal. what kind of amp is it and how many watts? you probably could just wire a 25amp bosh relay in line with the power wire to the amp. the coil on the relay would just go to the remote wire. that would do the same thing as a switch but be automatic

Im sure it isnt a remote sensing amp because the wiring harness for the remote wire is missing, and was missing when i got the amp... Im not sure how many watts it is either...


You said that ONE of your amps doesnt turn off because of no remote going to it. First off, I assume you mean the remote is a constant 12V going to it, or if there actually IS no remote, thats wierd.

But if there is a remote port (which I have never seen any amp not have one) why not just tap into the other remote wire and run it to that amp aswell? I mean amp1 has a remote to it so it turns on an off, but amp2 doesnt. So make another connection on that remote for amp1 and run it to amp2.

That would be the most logical way of doing it, and it'll cost 25cents

Acutally Fyre, i didnt think of that... And that is a good idea but would the amp draw to much power from the small amp if i did that? And if i did still what gauge wire would i need to run between the two? And also since the remote wire is a two pronged (meaning that there was a wiring harness that plugged into it) I would just have to wire it to the hot wire right?

Thanks for all the feedback, it helped me out alot... But im still confused about what thing... The different Gauges of wire. I understand the basic idea, but I would like to know how I find out what type of gauge wire I would need for anything I want to wire up. Does anyone know of any good websites that describe what the different types of gauges do and how to go about finding what gauge is best for any particular application? And im not talking about just stereo wire, but electricial for say, neons, leds, etc.

[88accordalltheway]

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid183/pa3e737529f2090ae479d0c7215e12258/f2ad7933.jpg
Dont wire it any other way than this unless you know what you are doing.

[catalin]

The remote turn on of an amplifier is usually quite LOW, most likely under 1 ampere.

Why haven't connected the remote output of the headunit?? You could use a power antenna out, or you could use ignition also.

[lostforawhile]

he said the harness for the remote wire was missing,my sugestion was to use a 25 amp bosh relay in line with the power wire,the relay coil can be operated by the remote circuit from the head unit. this would work just like the original amp remote minus the turn on delay. just make sure you have an inline fuse rated the same as the relay rating.

[FyreDaug]

As for what gauge to use, ,anything is fine, hell, rip apart a phone line and use one of those dinky wires. (dont actually do this, im just saying, size doesnt matter for this)

[88accordalltheway]

alright since your missing the remote wire, just tap into the RED wire coming off the stereo. Dont connect it to the powered antenna wire(sometimes the blue w/ white stripe), cause then your amp will only work when your listening to am/fm, not cd or any other function your radio has.

[lostforawhile]

just to clarify,when you said the remote wire was missing,what do you mean? is there no where to attach it to the amp,or is the wire coming from the head unit missing? there are two completly diferent ways to fix this depending on which end is missing.

[88accordalltheway]

the remote wire from the radio is missing.

[lostforawhile]

all you have to do is tie into the power wire from the radio,the power not the memory wire, this will serve as the remote wire

[XBoom135]

First of all, 88accordalltheway's diagram is exactly how I had my system hooked up previously. It works. After selling some things off, I reconfigured my wiring due to a faulty remote out from my deck. I think I fried it somehow. Anyway, now no remote turn on function. I ran a piece of speaker wire from my battery to the amp remote connection with a toggle switch in between and it works like a charm. Later added a 1 farad capacitor and it works for that too. Good luck. There are some great little panels in the dash you can mount the toggle switch to for a more professional look as well. Four bucks at O'reilly's I think.

[lostforawhile]

you ran speaker wire from the battery to inside the car? are you trying to burn up your car? not putting you down,but i've seen it happen. one short in that wire in the car and hundreds of amps trying to go through it will set your car ablaze quicker then you can do anything about it. all i was saying is if there is a remote wire at the amp, just run a wire from the radio power wire to each of those remote input wires on the amps. all it is is a twelve volt signal to tell the amp to turn on. when there is no power to the radio i.e. the key is off, the amps turn off too. if you have a power wire coming from your battery going to your amps there should be a fuse within three inches of the battery. that is the standard that most people go by. i'm sorry to get bent out of shape about the wire but i don't want anybody dead because of a stereo system.sadly it has happened many times. quote:2.5 I heard that I should run my power wire directly to my car's battery. Why should I bother, and how do I do it? [JSC]
For some components, like head units and equalizers, it's acceptable to use the stock wiring for power. However, amplifiers generally require large amounts of power, and accordingly will draw large amounts of current. The factory wiring in most cars is not designed to handle large amounts of current, and most wires have 10-20A fuses on them. Thus, you will almost always want to run the power line for your amplifier directly to the positive terminal of the battery. This could require drilling a hole through the car's firewall, or at least spending time hunting for an existing hole (the steering column is a good place to start looking). Always remember to place a fuse on your wire as near to the battery as possible! For various reasons, such as an accident or simple wear and tear, your wire's insulation may eventually crack, which could allow the conducting wire to make contact with the chassis of the car and short the battery through this wire, which could lead to a serious fire. The closer you place a fuse to the battery, the more protected you are. Also, when running wire through areas with sharp metal corners, it is a good idea to use rubber grommets to provide extra protection against tearing through your wire's insulation.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[XBoom135]

Ooo. Good point. Forgot to tell you to include a fuse close to the battery. Unintentional attempt at arson. Sorry! And now that I think about it, I may be relocating my "remote wire." I always flipped the toggle switch off when I didn't need the thump. But I suppose it could still come loose from the switch and make a contact. Good lookin' out man.

[lostforawhile]

why not just run the wire from an ignition switched source? it's just going to the remote turn on right? i would think that would be eaisier then running it all the way to the battery? i remember a guy one time who wanted me to put in an amp for him,he had it all rigged with wires coming from the battery going around the outside of the door jamb through the door and laying across the back seat. he didn't like the price, and the next day i saw the car burned up on the side of the road. i can take one guess why. I am fanatical about wiring, if i can i even unwrap the factory harnesses and run the wires with the factory wires. i have used up all the empty locations for fuses in the factory fuse box, i just insert new connectors into the back of the factory plugs in the empty locations. i want everything to be as close to original as possible. I guess it comes from my electrical background, i've been building motor controls and stuff since i was about ten.

[88accordalltheway]

nothing should be ran straight to the battery unless it is for an amp.

[FyreDaug]

nothing should be ran straight to the battery unless it is for an amp.

Or anything that requires a decent amount of power, should have its own line to the battery

[XBoom135]

Running ANY wiring through a pinch point isn't a very good idea to say the least. I even used the stock gaskets in my firewall to run the wire through. No matter. Switched the wire to an inside source today. Just to be safe. The car is dangerous enough as is without adding the possibility of explosion to it.