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Thread: BAD REMOTE WIRE? |
    
Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 06:34 pm: |
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I hooked up a new sub to a Sony Xplod amp about a month ago. It worked perfect for about a week then just one day quit. The only way i could get the sony amp to power on was by touchin the 12V power terminal and remote terminal at the SAME TIME with the REMOTE WIRE. And another reason i believe the Sony Amp isnt blown is because i had a second amp that i used to use..and i tried to hook it up and its doin the EXACT same thing...Thats the only way these amps will come on (by touchin the remote terminal and power terminal at the same time with the remote wire). I have been told that the sony amp is blown...I have been told that i have a bad remote wire...I have been told maybe the ground is bad...can anyone help me...?? the ground is fine..no paint or anything..straight metal to metal..all fuses are fine. ANY SUGGESTIONS??? I took the amp to a professional audio place and the people just said the amp will not power on, so take it back...but I firmly believe nothing is wrong with my amp... |
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Silver Member Username: Subfanatic
Walton,
Ky
Post Number: 963
Registered: Dec-04
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| Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 07:26 pm: |
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it is possible the way your car is wired that it blew both your amps, and ive also heard of opeople habvgnig problems with amps because tehre RCA's and power wired runnext to eachother thru the car, check that out, what kind of sub is it? |
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| Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 07:48 pm: |
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It is an Audiobahn ALUM15Q subwoofer....if the amp was blown..why would it come on? and also when i get it powered on, it does produce sound cause it makes my sub hit....and yes the RCAs and the power wire were ran next to each other...but that hasnt ever been a problem in the past.. |
Silver Member Username: Subfanatic
Walton,
Ky
Post Number: 967
Registered: Dec-04
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| Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 08:03 pm: |
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i know not with me either, but idk what it is,, and if both amps do it you might be clipping idk we need jonathon or isaac |
Silver Member Username: Jeremyc
Kunsan Afb
South Korea
Post Number: 518
Registered: Jun-04
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| Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 08:15 pm: |
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Redo your remote wire. For some reason it isn't sending power to the amp. I would check the back of your head unit, I bet the wires came apart. |
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| Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 08:51 pm: |
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When u say "if both amps do it you might be clipping"....what is clipping...im not exactly a pro with audio stuff...but I have been told to re run the remote wire. I am going to try that tomorrow. |
Silver Member Username: Marley289
Post Number: 141
Registered: Nov-04
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| Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 09:48 pm: |
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clipping is when the amps gain is up too high and sends DC voltage to the subs, and it ruins the voice coils. |
Bronze Member Username: Kojak28
Augusta,
GA
USA
Post Number: 88
Registered: Feb-05
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| Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 10:29 pm: |
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Kristy, when you took the amp to the "audio place", did they bench test it for you? |
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| Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 10:35 pm: |
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I dropped my amp and car off at the audio place so I really dont know what they did. I saw the man with a lil meter type thing but thats it. All he told me when i came to pick my car up was that the amp will not power on, take it back and exchange it. |
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| Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 10:37 pm: |
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I dropped my amp and car off at the audio place so i do not know what they actually did. I saw the man with a lil meter thing but thats it. All he told me when i came back to get my car was that the AMP WILL NOT POWER ON, TAKE IT BACK AND EXCHANGE IT.... what is bench testing? |
Gold Member Username: Carguy
Post Number: 1883
Registered: Nov-04
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| Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 11:01 pm: |
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Kristy, you are right. The amps are not blown. If they were, it wouldn't come on with the remote wire on pos.
What kind of HU do you have? I hope it's not Sony. They do not make great car audio products. Sony and Pyramid are after newbies and females with their products.
It looks like your HU is not sending any current to the amp. There's a chance that the Sony amp could've blown it. The remote wire from the HU has a limit of 200ma. So you can see it can easily be pushed to the limit by a faulty device.
If you have a DMM, measure the remote wire to see if there's any voltage. If you see 12v, then it's fine. If you see zero, then it's damaged.
In that case, you can either get the HU repaired or attach the remote wire to "accessories" wire or cig lighter wire. This way whenever the car's on, the amp will come on. If you're experienced in electronics, you could attach the remote wire to the HU's power source, so that when it's on, it'll supply current.
Your car audio place, is that where you had it installed? Are they advicing you to get the amp exhanged? Did they explain why? If they're any good, they should be able to tell you exactly what the problem is. It's not rocket science.
Before you waste any more money, do that little test I told you about. DMM can cost as little as $10 at Radio Shack.
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Silver Member Username: Byrumjr
Post Number: 115
Registered: Jan-05
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| Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 11:08 pm: |
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Does the amp work and sound good when you touch the remote wire to the power wire. If so your remote wire is bad, not hooked up good, or your head unit remote wire is bad. I would run a new wire and see if that works, if it doesn’t work then your head unit remote wire is burn out. |
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| Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 11:13 pm: |
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My headunit is a Pioneer DEH-P6600... when i looked behind my headunit at which wire the remote wire was hooked to..it was just a plain blue wire..but the wire that said REMOTE was free...could this be why...the remote wire wasnt hooked up to the right wire to begin with....and if i hook my remote wire to the cigarette lighter wire or accessories wire...where can i find those wires at? behind my head unit? or behind the steering column? |
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| Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 11:13 pm: |
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My headunit is a Pioneer DEH-P6600... when i looked behind my headunit at which wire the remote wire was hooked to..it was just a plain blue wire..but the wire that said REMOTE was free...could this be why...the remote wire wasnt hooked up to the right wire to begin with....and if i hook my remote wire to the cigarette lighter wire or accessories wire...where can i find those wires at? behind my head unit? or behind the steering column? |
Bronze Member Username: Kojak28
Augusta,
GA
USA
Post Number: 91
Registered: Feb-05
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| Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 11:14 pm: |
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Bench testing is when you take an item (in this case ur amp). Hook it up outside of its natural environment (outside of the car). See if it powers up, and drives a speaker. If all they did was check it with a Digital multi-meter, I would say they were being LAZY. But, if they said it would NOT power on...in YOUR car? They really needed to take it out & test it. If it turns out it is bad, I say take it back and get a DIFFERENT AMPLIFIER. I am sure that u have read a couple of threads here. SONY is not a welcome name brand. These amps/components/equipment/subwoofers/etc. are HIGHLY overrated, but I am ONLY trying to help...PROMISE. If you would like, give me some specs on your system and I will try to help you find another amp or speakers. On another note, I know from personal experience with SONY....not one of my smarter choices in life. |
Gold Member Username: Carguy
Post Number: 1887
Registered: Nov-04
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| Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 11:21 pm: |
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"it was just a plain blue wire..but the wire that said REMOTE was free". When you say free, are you saying it wasn't connected at all or it has become loose?
Most remote wires are BLUE. Some may have a different strip on it. The remote wire from the amp has to be connected to the HU's remote wire. Or else the amp will never power on. Check that out carefully.
If by any chance the HU's remote power is blown, you can use cig lighter's power wire. Those wires are usually located under your steering column. You might want to check your fuse box for details. It'll tell you exactly what fuse goes with what wire. The cig lighter wire should be easy to find. Just look under the dashboard if possible or near the cig plug. It's usually white and black. White being pos and black, neg.
I would check your remote wire first with DMM. It'll make your life easier.
If you find the wire, measure it to see if there's power when the HU is on.
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| Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 11:24 pm: |
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I know sony sucks but at the time i bought this amp..i did not know...and as far as them bench testin my amp..i dont think they even took it outta my trunk...it didnt even look like it had been moved....another thing...does the remote wire HAVE to be hooked behind the HU...can it be ran to the fuse box by my front seat??? |
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| Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 11:24 pm: |
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I know sony sucks but at the time i bought this amp..i did not know...and as far as them bench testin my amp..i dont think they even took it outta my trunk...it didnt even look like it had been moved....another thing...does the remote wire HAVE to be hooked behind the HU...can it be ran to the fuse box by my front seat??? |
Gold Member Username: Carguy
Post Number: 1889
Registered: Nov-04
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| Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 11:28 pm: |
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Kristy, yes the remote wire has to be hooked up to the HU. You have no choice.
You should register, makes it lot easier to ask questions. |
New member Username: Lk_r_i_s_t_y
Post Number: 1
Registered: Mar-05
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| Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 11:34 pm: |
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So if my headunit remote wire is messed up...i dont need a new HU...i can just used the cigarette lighter wire....i hope that works |
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| Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 11:42 pm: |
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on the back of my headunit is just a playin blue wire which my remote wire was hooked to..but then there was another blue wire that read REMOTE..that nothin was attached to |
Gold Member Username: Carguy
Post Number: 1892
Registered: Nov-04
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| Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 11:46 pm: |
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Kristy, test your HU's remote wire first. It could just be that it's loose.
If it's damaged, then yes you can use the cig lighter/accessories wire. They both will work fine. If you're not into cutting wires or looking for one under the dashboard, then the easist way is to get a cig lighter plug. It can be purchased from any electronic store including Radio Shack for $5. Then use the positive wire from that to connect to the remote wire.
But I would recommend you to test the remote wire first. |
New member Username: Lk_r_i_s_t_y
South Carolina
USA
Post Number: 2
Registered: Mar-05
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| Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 11:48 pm: |
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Okay, thank you so much. |
Gold Member Username: Carguy
Post Number: 1895
Registered: Nov-04
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| Posted on Sunday, March 13, 2005 - 11:51 pm: |
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You're welcome. Hope it'll work out for you. |
New member Username: Lk_r_i_s_t_y
South Carolina
USA
Post Number: 3
Registered: Mar-05
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| Posted on Monday, March 14, 2005 - 12:01 am: |
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I will try it out tomorrow and let ya'll know :D |
Silver Member Username: Subfanatic
Walton,
Ky
Post Number: 983
Registered: Dec-04
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| Posted on Monday, March 14, 2005 - 12:12 am: |
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i know this is a weird questions lol..but since your from sc do you know someone named maz ezzel he is 17 lol |
New member Username: Lk_r_i_s_t_y
South Carolina
USA
Post Number: 4
Registered: Mar-05
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| Posted on Monday, March 14, 2005 - 05:58 pm: |
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**UpDATE** Today i tried to re run my remote wire to my headunit...the amp still wouldnt come on..so then i ran the remote wire to the cigarette lighter wire as instructed...and the amp still wasnt gettin power...what is the problem?? |
Gold Member Username: Carguy
Post Number: 1916
Registered: Nov-04
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| Posted on Monday, March 14, 2005 - 07:38 pm: |
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When you connected the remote wire to the cig lighter, was your car running? Have you tested the remote wire to see if it's good? Maybe it's cut somewhere?
There should be enough juice in the cig plug to kick start your amp. Since you said it didn't do anything, I'm suspecting the wire is cut. Can you do this as a test. Attach a fresh wire from the cig lighter's pos wire and connect it to the amp's remote wire terminal? Bypass your current remote wire in the car.
That will tell you if there's something wrong with the amp or the wire. If it doesn't power the amp, then it is defective. That remote terminal on the amp is not suppose to draw no more than 20ma. That is the average.
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New member Username: Lk_r_i_s_t_y
South Carolina
USA
Post Number: 5
Registered: Mar-05
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| Posted on Tuesday, March 15, 2005 - 12:23 am: |
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I dont think my car was running when i hooked the remote wire to the cigarette lighter but my car was turned on enough to where the cigarette lighter itself was working...there was two wires comin outta the cigarette lighter..a black striped one..and a green striped one...i used the green one...was this correct? I also tried to run the remote wire the the Acc. wire too..and still no luck... |
New member Username: Lk_r_i_s_t_y
South Carolina
USA
Post Number: 6
Registered: Mar-05
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| Posted on Tuesday, March 15, 2005 - 12:26 am: |
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I think before i mess with the wires anymore because im not really a pro with it...i am goin to take it to a diff audio place...and express my opinions about it to them..thanks to yalls suggestions :D...and see if they can somehow fix it...if it is indeed my amp..i guess i need a new amp  |
Gold Member Username: Carguy
Post Number: 1920
Registered: Nov-04
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| Posted on Tuesday, March 15, 2005 - 01:00 am: |
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Kristy, that would be a good choice. However, if you had a DMM, then it's not hard at all. It would tell you exactly if the wire was cut or which wire was positive and negative. What the voltage was etc.
You're actually pretty close to getting your answer to the problem. Do you know anyone that has a DMM you can borrow? I can show you where to measure/look.
If the audio place isn't going to charge you or you have cash to burn then go that route. If not, either buy a $20 DMM or borrow. You'll learn something new. 
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