[RESOLVED] Some Stereo System Help Needed

[BoostedinSoFla]

Alright, so I finally got some time today to install my new head unit and hook my system back up. I first hooked up the head unit and got that working after a little trouble (radio fuse was blown, the one in fusebox in the engine bay and not the one on the back of the actual head unit).

I went to hook up the system and ran into a little bit, well...shit a problem that has left me baffled. I can't seem to get any power to my amp. I retraced my power wire from the battery all the way back to the amp and it's fine, no damage or anything. I checked the fuse in the engine bay coming from the battery and it's not blown.

The next thing I checked was the ground and that's fine. I put it back in same ground spot it's always been. So with those two ruled out I started to focus on the remote wire coming from the back of the headunit.

Now, the new head unit came with the Sony harness which I hooked up properly but I noticed that the Sony harness coming from the head unit has 2 blue wires. One says "Amp remote wire" and other says '' Antenna wire" so I connected the antenna to the harness as usual and then connected my remote wire to the "Amp remote wire" and there's still no power to the amp when I turn the head unit on. WTF, Im completely stumped.

I just checked the amp to see if it's working and it gets power fine. I hooked it up to a 12v battery and the little green light comes on so I know it works. The light doesn't come on though when installed in the car. I checked it by connecting a wire from the 12v on the amp and also one from the remote. I twisted them together and hooked it up to the battery along with the ground and I got power so why won't it work in the car?

 

[Jeff99GS]

You need to get a test light or Voltage meter and check the wires at the amp. If you have NO power on that remote wire then something is either wrong with the wire you ran, or the Radio itself. The wire could be broke on the inside of the insulation.

 

[BoostedinSoFla]

Yea, it is pretty flimsy. Think it's 20 gauge or sumthin'. Alright lemme go check, I'll report back.

Multimeter crapped out on me in the middle of testing. F*ck!!

 

[RedTurboEclipse]

the remote wire doesn't have to be too big, i've ran some high gauge wire for remote turn on just fine.

there seems to be a problem with the deck side's remote wire.

you don't need to hook up the blue antenna wire from the stereo since you have a 95 and we dont have power antennas unless you changed it.

try to connect that blue antenna wire to the amp, see then if the amp turns on when on the RADIO source. I say this because its only setup to turn on for radios since it uses the antenna... why have the power antenna up when using a CD or mp3, but this doesn't apply to us since we dont have power antennas. (95-96) we're just doing this for test purposes..

so if the amp does turn on with this wire, then the remote wire from the deck might be the problem. remove the harness from the deck and see that the remote wire pin is secure and pushed in so it makes contact when you connect the harness to the deck.

if that still doesnt work, run the ign (red) wire to the amp also, now THIS should turn it on most definitely, its the ghetto way, but if it works this should narrow down your problem.

 

[BoostedinSoFla]

Tested the "Amp remote wire" coming from the head unit harness and it's getting 11.5 v constant so maybe there's a problem with the wire I'm using to connect to the amp. I also noticed something strange. I went ahead and tested the power wire going to the amp (I tested right where it's connected to the amp) and I'm getting like 7.5V so Idk WTF is going on. I wonder if that's the problem. Oh boy...

Now I gotta check it at the fuse and trace it all the way back which is a PITA. Any suggestions?


Redturbo, you were right about the antenna so I'll be using the "Amp remote wire". I'm planning on installing a power antenna in the near future so I can see where this is going.

 

[BoostedinSoFla]

It was the fuse in the engine bay. It wasn't blown but I guess the contacts weren't doing their job. Replaced it with a new fuse and fuse holder and everything is fine now. Man, I never used a tester/multimeter this much in my life. Lol

 

[Jeff99GS]

Thats great that you figured out the problem! A test light and/or Multimeter can be your best FRIEND in these electrical situations.