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New member Username: James_b0ngPost Number: 1 Registered: Apr-05 | ok, here goes: i have a 2005 Chevy CObalt. i got a hi/lo converter to tap into the two back speakers, which i did. i connected the rca outputs on the hi/lo converter as well as the amp, wired the amp to the subs, the amp to the ground, and the amp to the battery. i did nto know to connect the remote cable to the amp, i learned that yesterday. i'm obviously a rookie. but whatever... my problem was before that the amp was not getting power, but i then hooked up the remote cable from the amp to a positive lead on one of my speakers, adn the amp came on, but still the whole system was not working correctly, if i touched the volume or the settings on my cd player, the sound cut out and there was nothing. so my question is: what do i hookup the remote cable to? and can i get this to work without having to take out my factory head unit? please help here, or email me: kr0nz1putt@hotmail.com i thank you in advance... |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 2652 Registered: Nov-04 | What is the brand/model of your amp? I'm guessing from your post that you're using speaker to rca converter right? That will not give you much sound quality. If your stock HU has rca output, then use it. The remote wire on the amp has to be connected to the remote wire on the HU or power antenna. If you don't have that, then use the ignition wire or cig lighter plug. Basically that remote wire needs a pos voltage to turn on the amp. Also if the amp is cutting out, check your gain/level control. Set that according to your HU's preout voltage. It's usually around 4v. |
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New member Username: James_b0ngPost Number: 2 Registered: Apr-05 | ok, this is what i did, i connected the remote wire from the amp to a positive feed on one of my rear speakers so that it would turn on.i know the problem has to be that remote wire, but i dont have a power antenna so i can't use that, you said to use the cig lighter? but mind you i'm an amature at wiring car audio, so i dont want to have to pull any wires out that aren't already visible. what i was trying to avoid before was having to take out my stock HU to see what connections it has, that is the reason i ws goign for the speaker tap method. but what can be done to salvage my system here? thank you for the advice you've alredy given me, but i'm so stumped right now and this has me so frustrated, i'll be at work all day checkin the board for answers so hit me back... |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 2658 Registered: Nov-04 | Pulling out your stock HU is the best choice. If that can't be done, then your next best thing is to get a cig lighter plug wire ($3 from most stores) and use that as a remote starter. Find the pos wire, usually it has a red strip on it, and fish that to your amp's location. Then attach it to the remote terminal. Now whenever the engine is on, it'll turn on the amp. |
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New member Username: James_b0ngPost Number: 3 Registered: Apr-05 | i dont know how to pull out my stock HU, that's my problem, other wise i would happily do that. and since my car is 2005, it's almost impossible to find instructions anywhere, unless you guys know how. it's a 2005 Chevy Cobalt. any other suggestions than the cig lighter plug? i mean, there has to be something else i can do to make it work... |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 2660 Registered: Nov-04 | You don't have much choice Josh. For the amp to turn on and off, it needs a trigger. On your HU, there is a remote wire (blue/blue with white stripe) that is used for controlling external devices. Cig lighter plug is part of that. This is why with your key in acc or ignition, it provides power to the radio. |
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New member Username: James_b0ngPost Number: 5 Registered: Apr-05 | so where might you recommend finding this cig lighter plug wire? and could you briefly (or in great detail rather) explain to me how i might hook it up>? the more specific th ebetter obvisouly, and i can't tell you how much i appreciate your time and effort to help me... of course i dont know how much effort you're giving since you obviously know much more than i do =) but yea, get back to me on that, thanks a million~! peace out |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 2662 Registered: Nov-04 | If you have some audio stores near by, Walmart/CrappyBuy/Circuit City etc., they all sell power adaptors for the car. All you basically need is the plug with the wire. If you have some old cell phone car power adaptors stored away, that'll work too. It shouldn't cost you no more than $6. Junk stores are the cheapest. Once you get it, plug it into the cig lighter. Now cut the wire and find the pos wire (usually has some kind of stripe or marking). Ignore the other wire cause it's the ground. Now take the positive wire and pull it to the place where you have the amp. If the wire is too short, you will have to get an extention for it. Hook it up to your amp's remote terminal. Now if you turn the key to acc or ignition, it will start the amp. |
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New member Username: James_b0ngPost Number: 6 Registered: Apr-05 | okay, now that being said, my next question is IF i take out my factory HU and it does NOT have the RCA output, what adapter do i need to buy in order to hook it up to the amp, and how do i hook it up? also, i was in Crappybuy the other day and i was talking to one of the caraudio techs, and he recommened a Line Out adapter... which i'm pretty sure that it hooks up the HU and converts it to RCA output for the amp, but do i need to connect that line out adapter directly to the HU ? thanks again... ~Josh |
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New member Username: James_b0ngPost Number: 7 Registered: Apr-05 | oh yea, almost forgot to ask, do you think that by using the cig plug wire it would solve my problem with the system as a whole? because like i said before, when i turn on my cd player, it will play unless i change the volume or bass or treble and then it cuts out, so i dont know if i'm shorting something or the amp just isn't getting a good signal from the HU... there's some food for thought for ya... |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 2663 Registered: Nov-04 | On your first post, you said you were already using line converter (speaker to rca). So why would you want to get another one? Most amps nowdays come with that option already built in. So you don't have to purchase it. As for your amp shutting down whenever you change volume etc., it's probably cause you have the remote wire on the amp connected to your pos speaker wire. Take that off and attach it to the cig lighter and it should be fine. Also check the gain/level control on the amp. Have it set correctly (4v for most HUs). |
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New member Username: James_b0ngPost Number: 8 Registered: Apr-05 | alright nice, i think i'm golden, im gonna go on lunch right now and go grab this cig lighter wire. but one last question, is there a special cig lighter wire that they sell for car audio installation? probably not i'm guessing, but what would be the best adaptor to use? you said just the adapter with the wire is all i need, so what should i invest in? i know i'm asking a lot of questions, for that i am sorry, but i want to be sure i'm buying the right thing here. |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 2665 Registered: Nov-04 | Any cig lighter plug with wire will work. If it's the straight one, then better. Some of the plugs come with wires in coils, like a spring. Most of them will be 6' long, so you might have to get extra 18-16gauge wire, just long enought to reach your amp. |
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New member Username: James_b0ngPost Number: 9 Registered: Apr-05 | merci beaucoup monsieur =) much appreciated. |
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New member Username: James_b0ngPost Number: 10 Registered: Apr-05 | ok umm... this is what i did... i went to walmart, bought a cheap car charger, cut the end and took the red wire, (the other one was white) and hooked it up to the remote wire to the amp. i then turned on my cd player and it was playing, i was able to change the volume and what not, but it still seemed like the amp was not turning on... and i know for a fact that cigarette outlet works because i use it for charging my phone. so the normal stereo was working, but the amp was not powering the subs... where do i go from here...? *so confused* |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 2671 Registered: Nov-04 | Do you have a DMM? If you do, use it to measure the cig plug you bought. See if the red is really positive and that you're getting 12v. If there's voltage on the wire, it will turn on the amp. |
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Bronze Member Username: James_b0ngPost Number: 11 Registered: Apr-05 | hmm, i dont have one here at work, even though i work at a car dealership, i dont want to go out and do it now, but should i try the other wire and see if that works? this stupid amp has me so frustrated! =\ also, could it be that the wire taps in the back speakers are faulty? meaning that the two wires are not touching? could that possible be what the problem is if the amp is getting power, it might not be getting the signal from the HU? |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 2673 Registered: Nov-04 | You don't want to guess with the wires. Use the DMM to find voltage and the positive wire. Once you get that, then test the amp with it. Did you make sure you disconnected the speaker wire that you were using with the remote terminal? |
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Bronze Member Username: James_b0ngPost Number: 12 Registered: Apr-05 | yea, i disconnected that speaker wire that i was using with the remote terminal... im gonna go test the other wire right now, but what else could it be?... |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 2675 Registered: Nov-04 | If it doesn't work with the other wire, then make sure there is voltage on it. It could be that your plug is not getting any power. To test your amp, using a small piece of wire, attach it to the remote terminal and lightly touch the pos power wire. This should turn on the amp. If not, then you have amp issue. |
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Bronze Member Username: James_b0ngPost Number: 13 Registered: Apr-05 | well the amp isn't the issue, it's the wiring somewhere, because last night, me and my friend were trying to figure it out, and we got the amp to have power, but it kept cutting out. we thought it was the ground and the power cable because they werea little loose. well we tightened them up, and got the amp to get power, but it still was not picking up the signal from the HU. so i just tried the other wire and that did not do anything, so the red wire in the charger is the power wire, i just need to figure out why the amp isnt' picking up the signal when it has power... ;lkjasdf9oauweo;rijq235098lkj oy.... what to do... what to do.... |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 2678 Registered: Nov-04 | So is there power on the cig plug? If there is, then it has to trigger the amp to turn on. For testing, unhook all wires/cables except the power. Then with the cig lighter wire(be certain it has power), connect it to the remote terminal. See if the amp comes on. Have you tried that little test by connecting a wire from remote to pos? |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 2679 Registered: Nov-04 | It is a simple problem. If the remote does not get 12v, then the amp will not power up. |
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Bronze Member Username: James_b0ngPost Number: 14 Registered: Apr-05 | yea, that's how me and my friend got the amp to power up, we connected the remote wire to the positive feed on one of the rear speakers and it came on, just i dont think it was getting a good signal from the HU. im gonna go home after work and hopefully get this badboy working... but right now as it stands, i cannot get the amp to receive the signal from the HU when it has power... that's my main problem.. and would it matter if the remote wire is only a certain gauge? what SHOULD it be if i have a 200 watt jensen amp... even though it's a POS... hehe |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 2680 Registered: Nov-04 | There isn't much current on remote wire. 200ma the most, so 18gauge wire will do. When you do test again later, have all wires/cables disconnected except the power and cig lighter wire. Try and make the amp power up using the remote wire. If it does, then the setup is fine. Now are you using the Jensen's built in speaker to rca converter? FYI, speaker's positive wire were never meant to be used as remote wire. So don't use it. |
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Bronze Member Username: James_b0ngPost Number: 15 Registered: Apr-05 | no the amp does not have a built in speaker to rca converter, i purchased a speaker to rca converter from walmart... yes gold ol' walmart. it's made by scosche... and they have a diagram in the instructions but not a very good one at all mind you. yea, if you have any light bulbs light up in your head about my situation, let me know, i'm all ears. i'll try what you said and give it a whirl... hopefully i get this thing to work... thanks again! |
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Bronze Member Username: James_b0ngPost Number: 16 Registered: Apr-05 | interesting fact... i just called this car audio shop called Hollywood Sounds where i live, they told me the remote wire goes to the fuse box?? what do you think of that... |
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Bronze Member Username: James_b0ngPost Number: 17 Registered: Apr-05 | ok, this is where i stand... the amp remote wire is connected to the 12v cig lighter. it has power from the battery, it is grounded and is hooked up to a line out converter which is tapped into my two rear speakers. the amp is powered up and everything, the only thing wrong is that amp is not telling the subwoofers to hit, the subwoofers are not working, but the amp is getting power, just no signal from the HU... so what should i do? |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 2699 Registered: Nov-04 | Ok that means the cig lighter wire is working cause it's turning on the amp. The problem lies with the line converter (speaker to rca). If you were to attach a speaker and bypass the converter, do you get music? If you do, then you need to read the instruction manual again. Somehow it's installed incorrectly. If you don't understand, then post the instructions on here. |
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Bronze Member Username: James_b0ngPost Number: 19 Registered: Apr-05 | see, thats the weird thing, im getting music now as it stands. i cna play my cds in the cd player and stuff, but the sub woofers are not working... the instructions on my line out converter don't say anything, all there is in the instructions is a simple schematics diamgram which i followed, but it's not very detailed, so i have no idea what to do... im thinking about just putting in a new deck, but that would be so much harder for me to do because i dont know how to take out the factory deck. but aside from tha tlittle bird walk, you're saying the problem lies in the line out converter? you do not think it is installed properly? i can make a simple schematics for you of what i did in paint real fast if you'd like. with differnt colors and everything haha but yea, the music plays right now. |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 2701 Registered: Nov-04 | Well if the amp is on and stock HU is playing music, then the only thing stopping the sub from pounding is the input converter. Do you have a portable CD/mp3 player? If so, attach it to the amp's input rca. If it produces sound, then you know for sure, the problem is with the converter. I'd try that experiment to be 100%. |
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Bronze Member Username: James_b0ngPost Number: 20 Registered: Apr-05 | what kinda converter would i need to attach the cd/mp3 player to the amp's RCA input? and another thing, after i finally got this thing close to working last night, i went to bestbuy to pick up a decent lineout converter because the one i have hooked up right now is from walmart, so it is not very reliable. should i try hooking up that other line out adapter to see if that one will work? |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 2704 Registered: Nov-04 | You need the phone jack to rca cable. Almost every audio store has it. It's the same cable your computer uses with external speakers. I would try this experiment first to be 100% sure that the amp is working. You can try the new converter afterwards. |
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Bronze Member Username: James_b0ngPost Number: 21 Registered: Apr-05 | ahhh... very good, thank you, i already have one hooked up to my computer that i can use, sounds great, i will try that tonight! i'll let you know how it works out, thanks again isaac. |
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Nick_sq Unregistered guest | the remote wire DOES NOT get wired to the speakers, im suprised you have not cooked your stock head unit. The Remote wire is to turn the amp on and off with your head unit. If you dont want to pull the head unit, go buy a lenght of wire, hardwire it to the positive on the battery, Fuse it, put a simple on/off switch somewhere reachable to you in the car, and hook it up to the Remote terminal of the amp. This will allow you to turn your amp on and off as you please...downside to this is if you forget to turn it off when you get out of your car it can kill the battery. The power antenna lead on the head unit is automatically switched on/off with the head unit preventing accidental dead batteries. |