# Amp powered by RCA and Remote??



## 87national (Oct 21, 2016)

Hi! Today i attempted installing subs and an amplifier in my car and got all of the wiring from the trunk to the battery, radio, etc.. but no matter what i do i cannot get the green (power) light to turn on, on the amp. I can get it to a red (protection) light but heres the catch. I took off all connections on the amp and tried putting them on in different order to try and single out the problem. While doing so, i ended up plugging in the RCA's and the Remote wire and that alone made the amp power onto protection mode. How is this possible if the power wire AND ground wire were not even attached?? Any help/ advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


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## jacampb2 (Dec 3, 2010)

It is probably getting it's ground via the RCA shield which is normally the amps secondary ground, however it is normally connected to primary ground via resistor internally in the amp. The other possibility is that it is getting ground from the physical connection of the amp to the metal in the vehicle.

When you connect the remote wire it will actually power the IC that controls the SMPS. The remote wire also sometimes powers other low current circuits possibly including the LEDs that display status.

As for why it does not power up properly in the first place, it is probably damaged and the protection circuit is doing it's job.

Good luck,
Jason


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## Sine Swept (Sep 3, 2010)

I have used computer power supplies to low power bench test any unknown condition amp, before putting it into the car. I think the electrical cord cost me more than the actual power supply.

Hook up power and ground, then jump a lead from remote wire to + battery. Amp should turn on and remain stable. Apply a source to the amp, possibly on a wire from your phone. I will even use a junked OEM speaker to test it out. I can at least hear if it is somewhat full range coming out of the amp The worst that happens is I burn out an OEM speaker. Much easier to find out these issues before it is all mounted inside a car.

If it is a larger amp, you will likely want a battery as a buffer on your power supply. I have turned on a lot of amps though with my adjustable voltage 5 amp power supply.


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