# rocker switch amp turn on



## fastabetter (Dec 15, 2010)

So I wanna hook up a switch to the remote on wire. I have one of those 30amp lighted rocker switches. It doesn't have instructions but seems straight forward.

So top post is positive, middle is (A) accessory I'm guessing and bottom is negative. 

Would it be correct to wire the headunit remote on to the positive post and middle a post to the amp itself? 
Do I need the negative wired? 
Will any of this put a load on the head unit?


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## IDGAF (Dec 27, 2009)

You have it right. The + is the source and the middle is the switch. The ground is really just for the little light on the switch so go ahead and ground it.

But, why do you want a switch on your amp in the first place?


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## ride2wheels (Dec 20, 2010)

I am going to be doing the same thing. I want to be able to turn off the sub when needed for passengers and such.


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## IDGAF (Dec 27, 2009)

ride2wheels said:


> I am going to be doing the same thing. I want to be able to turn off the sub when needed for passengers and such.



That's fine, I guess, if your HU doesn't have a sub "on/off," but most of the time I see people who just want unnecessary switches because they think they look cool.


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## fastabetter (Dec 15, 2010)

i want mine for the same reason as ride 2 wheels. my sub is right behind the rear seat and sometimes i have passengers that i dont want to blow their brains out (gf little brother for instance)

secondly i want it in case i run the battery dead. turn off the amp and wait awhile then try to turn it back over. although i could always pull off the face plate.  and itd do the same thing


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

We're gonna do the same thing in the Saab, not because it looks cool or because of passengers, but to be able to physically turn the sub-amp off instead of just muting it.

We're gonna do an IB install with the subwoofer in the rear-deck, but we want to be able to get it out when we want to transport stuff that doesn't fit underneath the rear-deck.
It would be a shame to fry the sub-amp (it's oldskool and rare) because the speakerwires coming from it short because they hit something that's made from metal...

If you're not sure about what pin of the switch has which function, first make sure with a DMM that the pin you want to connect the headunits remote wire to never shorts with the pin you want to connect the ground wire to.
Personally, I wouldn't use the light in the switch when switching current directly coming from the remote-wire of the headunit, since this remote-connection isn't made to power lights, but only to make amplifiers turn on and off or give signal (but no power) to electrical antenna's.

Isabelle


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## ride2wheels (Dec 20, 2010)

I am going to use this one. Small in size and I'm using an empty slot on my dash for aesthetics. A light isn't necessary for me.

http://rsk.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pRS1C-4484042w345.jpg


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## FAUEE (Jul 22, 2010)

If you're using a headunit you should be able to turn off your sub (or at the very least turn it down) fairly easily. If not, you can hook your sub's lineout to your front speakers and fade the radio to the front to turn the sub off. Or you could just turn the whole thing down.

As an aside, a big switch isn't necessary for a remote turn on line. Remote turn ons are like, less than 1A, typically around 250-500mA.


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## ride2wheels (Dec 20, 2010)

FAUEE said:


> If you're using a headunit you should be able to turn off your sub (or at the very least turn it down) fairly easily. If not, you can hook your sub's lineout to your front speakers and fade the radio to the front to turn the sub off. Or you could just turn the whole thing down.
> 
> As an aside, a big switch isn't necessary for a remote turn on line. Remote turn ons are like, less than 1A, typically around 250-500mA.


Switch is allot easier and that switch style is what I meant, not the amperage.


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## fastabetter (Dec 15, 2010)

I don't rlly need the light but if I ever did need one, it'd be better to run the remote on to a relay then from the relay to the switch then to the amp right?


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## FAUEE (Jul 22, 2010)

An LED light should be fine off a remote turn on wire. Incandescent I'd probably run a relay.

But that's getting very involved for something totally unnecessary, lol.


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

Well, if you use multiple amps, it's already safer to run the remote wires trough a relay and use a dedicated fused wire to really turn on the amps (headunit-remote + ground on the coil, fused wire + amp-remotes on the contact).
This way, the headunit will never "see" more than just the coil of the relay, no matter if you're using 2 amps or 10 amps and 10 switches with lights in them.

If this is already the case, you can easily put a switch with a light in between the relay and amp, since the light will use the power coming from the dedicated fused wire instead of the remote-wire from the headunit.

PS.: We already bought 2 stock buttons for the saab (1 to turn on/off the entire install so the source-button of the headunit doesn't wear off and 1 for the sub-amp), so it'll look factory...

Isabelle


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## IDGAF (Dec 27, 2009)

Candisa said:


> Well, if you use multiple amps, it's already safer to run the remote wires trough a relay and use a dedicated fused wire to really turn on the amps (headunit-remote + ground on the coil, fused wire + amp-remotes on the contact).
> This way, the headunit will never "see" more than just the coil of the relay, no matter if you're using 2 amps or 10 amps and 10 switches with lights in them.
> Isabelle


Great info. I've never heard this before.


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