# Running remote wire question



## PriusNnyc (Nov 6, 2009)

Hi guys,

I know that running power alongside speaker wire is to be avoided in order to keep noise down, but is the same true for the remote turn on wire? I will be running RCA cables from the HU to the amp in the back. I was going to run the remote lead with them (I've noticed some wire manufacturers tie them all together sometimes) but thought I'd ask the experts first. (That's you!) 

Is this a bad idea? Acceptable idea? Or something I don't need to worry about?

Thanks!


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## 89grand (Nov 23, 2006)

You can run the remote wire right along the RCA's. I always do that. In fact, I've ran my main power wire right next to my RCA's and never had noise.

It's more of a myth than anything else. I wouldn't worry about where you run any wires.


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## Bruno Sardine (Dec 19, 2009)

Yeah, running remote wire next to RCA's is no big deal at all. I don't know if they still do it, but I know Monster Cable used to have a set of RCA's that had a remote wire bundled into the outer shielding. Shouldn't make a difference.


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## don_chuwish (Oct 29, 2009)

PriusNnyc - doing this in a Prius? Running the RCAs to the back is pretty easy along the right side of the floor. I found it difficult to run alongside the factory wiring due to fit interference. I couldn't find any good pics of my final routing, but hopefully these attachments will show you what I mean.
First one is looking forward from the rear hatch, split loom routed to the right through the strut tower structure. Second photo shows the floor well, note the factory wiring along the sills on the right. Below that on the floor you can see spaces under the seat mount points, I ran the wire along the floor through those. Last photo shows my floor after vibration damping and the bundle of RCAs coming out from the rear, ready to route along the floor.

- D


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## MarkZ (Dec 5, 2005)

Power wire + speaker wire is high level. Run them together if you want. Power wire + RCA is the "bad" one (and even that's debatable...). Remote can go just about anywhere. It's not going to induce much of anything -- it's low current and doesn't have much of an AC component to it.


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## SoundChaser (Apr 3, 2009)

MarkZ said:


> Power wire + speaker wire is high level. Run them together if you want. Power wire + RCA is the "bad" one (and even that's debatable...). Remote can go just about anywhere. It's not going to induce much of anything -- it's low current and doesn't have much of an AC component to it.


Are you suggesting running speaker and powering wires together and rca’s separate? I’ve always ran power on one side of the car and speaker + rca’s on the other side. Never had noise issues running them that way, but than again i’ve only done 2 major installs in my life.


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## MarkZ (Dec 5, 2005)

SoundChaser said:


> Are you suggesting running speaker and powering wires together and rca’s separate? I’ve always ran power on one side of the car and speaker + rca’s on the other side. Never had noise issues running them that way, but than again i’ve only done 2 major installs in my life.


The RCAs are the only wires you can potentially induce audible stuff into. Speaker outputs are low impedance and high voltage. So if you're going to split sides, better to run the RCAs alone and keep them away from electrically noisy stuff. But... it's not a big deal to run speaker wires alongside RCAs because the noise induced from speaker wires is correlated with the RCA signal, so you're probably not going to hear anything even if it DID induce appreciable noise in them.

Thing is... in a car, it really doesn't matter where you run this stuff. Unless maybe if your power system is a total nightmare and you've got the damned power wire tied to the RCAs for 20 feet. 

I tend to run all the wires together. Not necessarily in the same loom, but definitely down the same side. I don't think I've ever been able to induce audible noise in wires even if I tried. Maybe I've been blessed with dealing with cars with clean electrical systems. 

I think a lot of the times people blame their ground loops on induction noise. It might be worthwhile reading some of the shielding threads while you're at it. Good stuff in there.


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## Brucegbombara (Mar 30, 2011)

Can I run speaker wire and RCA s next to eachother if the speaker wire is kicker 12 gauge in a flex jacket and I put the RCA s in wire loom? Will the loom protect them from noise? The RCA s are streetwires zn7


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

Brucegbombara said:


> Can I run speaker wire and RCA s next to eachother if the speaker wire is kicker 12 gauge in a flex jacket and I put the RCA s in wire loom? Will the loom protect them from noise? The RCA s are streetwires zn7


The brand of speaker wire you use is irrelevant. The flexibility of the rubber jacket on the wire is irrelevant. The signals running from the amplifier(s) through the speaker wires are, for all intents and purposes, noise-proof; they simply can't take on any outside signal.

The routing of your RCA cables and the quality of the shielding and connections will be determining factors if noise will be induced or not. As it has been debated above, running the RCA cables near the +12 volt line may or may not induce noise, and any shielding on the cable may help block this, but the routing and spacing of the cables is a much bigger factor. Plastic wire loom will have little or no effect as a shield.

For the record, those Streetwires cables do not appear to have any shielding at all, based on a quick check of their product photos on streetwires.com.


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## littlejuanito (Apr 29, 2010)

Bruno Sardine said:


> Yeah, running remote wire next to RCA's is no big deal at all. I don't know if they still do it, but I know Monster Cable used to have a set of RCA's that had a remote wire bundled into the outer shielding. Shouldn't make a difference.


I'm using a really old set of Monster Cable RCA's that have a wire sticking out. Is this wire for the remote? cause I always thought it was some sort of ground wire.


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## tneig002 (Aug 6, 2010)

littlejuanito said:


> I'm using a really old set of Monster Cable RCA's that have a wire sticking out. Is this wire for the remote? cause I always thought it was some sort of ground wire.


Yes, it is just for that convenience. Technically you could use it for whatever you want but it's purpose is for turn-on.


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## littlejuanito (Apr 29, 2010)

tneig002 said:


> Yes, it is just for that convenience. Technically you could use it for whatever you want but it's purpose is for turn-on.


Cool, thanks. Wow, I've been running these RCA's for over 12 years and I can't believe I never used that wire as a remote turn-on lead.


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

littlejuanito said:


> I'm using a really old set of Monster Cable RCA's that have a wire sticking out. Is this wire for the remote? cause I always thought it was some sort of ground wire.


If it's just some bare silver wire strands sticking out from under the "cable pants" at one end, it's to ground the shield.


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## littlejuanito (Apr 29, 2010)

HondAudio said:


> If it's just some bare silver wire strands sticking out from under the "cable pants" at one end, it's to ground the shield.


Yes, that's exactly what they are. I've never really grounded them to anything, just left them loose.


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