I am preparing to install my sub tomorrow, and my amp has already arrived so i was going to install that tonight. The only problem is i am not too well educated with this stuff. I have been reading all over the forums and cannot find anything related to the REMOTE wire link from the amp to HU. I know it only needs to be 16/18g but im not sure exactly which wire i feed it to. If someone could give me a description of which wire i wire it to, i would be grateful!

Thanks!
Alex

 

I believe it just needs to be power signal when the ignition is on so the amp knows when to power up.

I don't know the max power on the remote on is though so check that out before you tape it to something like a 12v supply.

 

bump - cmon i know a lot of you guys know more about this stuff

 

bumpity bump...

I'm curious too!

 

OK i actually have my car all taken apart right now. Im guessing the the Remote is one of the 2 blue wires but now ive stumbled upon my next problem. I assumed the stock HU had RCAs in the back but it doesnt. How do i wire it without the RCA jacks?

 

easiest thing to do is wire the amp remote turn on from the cigarette lighter in the back. It will be on whenever the ignition is on.

As for the RCA's, you need line level converters, and you can get them from circuit city or best buy for about $15

 

I'm tackling the same issues.

I haven't installed my system yet, but I'm piecing it together and coming up with a game plan.

I think we can run the remote input to the cigarette lighter hot wire.

Does your amp have high level inputs? You can run the speaker outputs from the HU to those.

If not, you'll have to get a line converter to go from high level to low level RCA signals. Scosche sells one at Wal-Mart. http://scosche.com/scosche/electronic/SLC4.asp

I just picked up a US Acoustics USX-2100 amp that has high level inputs.

Another reason to use a high-level converter is that the sound quality may be better.

 

Since this changes depending on if you have an aftermarket headunit or not, here's two options:

1.) WITH AFTERMARKET HEADUNIT: There is a wire on the headunit harness, it's usually blue, with or without a white stripe. Some headunits have two; in this case one is for a power antenna and the other is for amps. They're usually both blue (one with the white stripe). The remote input on the amp connects to this.

2.) FACTORY HEADUNIT: You will have to find a wire that's hot only when the ignition is set to "accessory" and "on". Possibilities include: The ignition-switch controlled hot going to the factory headunit, the power plug by the glovebox (I haven't used it, so I'm not sure if it's ignition controlled, but I assume it is), or (not recommended) something on the ignition switch itself. If the cig lighter power plug thing is ignition controlled, it is most likely the best option due to location. All you have to do is patch in a line from that hot wire to the amp's remote connection.

18awg wire is more than adequate for a remote connection.

Notes: Using a factory head unit is usually a bad idea for a few reasons:
1.) Factory headunits have lousy sound quality.
2.) You have to use line-out converters, which introduce much more noise and distortion due to their fiddling with the already distorted signal from the factory headunit.
3.) Your amplifier will always be on when the car is on, even if you shut the stereo off.

I highly recommend getting an aftermarket headunit. It doesn't even have to be a particularly pricey one, as the most important parts are still #1: speakers, and #2: amps.