Stereo Amps Won't Turn Off

[Jonnin]

Recently since the winter i have had troubles with my car amplifiers all of a sudden my amps wont turn off anymore i once disconnected them from the battery for a week or 2 then reconnected them and my amps were off when my car was off then when i went to work my stereo worked fine and my amps were shutting off when the car was off then after work when i was going home my amps were on and stayed on with the car being off and i tried disconnecting the remote wire going to the headunit and the RCA cables and the amps still wont turn off...any suggestions? i want to get it solved before making the problems worse

[rdyzz]

the remote wire should be the only thing acting like a signal to turn on your amps. the rca's should have nothing to do with your amp staying on. if disconnecting your remote wire doesn't turn on the amp i would imagine the fault is in the amps. you could hook up a electrical "light" test on it. if the light turns on then its getting power and your problem is internally in your amps. however the remote signals do not need a very strong voltage so who knows if it might even work.

also im not doubting your work but you do have the remote wire in the back of the deck hooked up to the blue wire/white strip right (it was the basic color fo most remote setups back in the day when i used to have stereo systems, lol maybe this info is 10yr old info). not a bright orange or red wire. this could also be a problem since the red or orange ones could have constant 12v depending on how things are rigged. just wondering although i think you said it just happend.

lol or maybe you have a couple strands of 12v power wire touching your remote bolt.

[REN69]

on the Corollas, it should be the blue "power ant" wire that gives you the signal for amps.

[dylangumby]

Assuming he does not have a factory deck if he has an amp, any after market deck will have a wire marked 'remote' or 'amp remote' or 'amp turn on'. If its factory I don't know.

Never hook an amp to a power antenna line! http://www.bcae1.com/ -> Click on head unit (Section 22), and read the section under "Remote or Power Antenna Output"

Other than that, rdyzz is correct, your amp is likely blown, or your head unit's internally shorted on that circuit. Its always a good idea to fuse that line at something very low like 1a or 3a max. If you ran any fans or anything off that line, that will be your culprit. If not... bad luck basically. =(

[Jonnin]

i have 2 amps 1 for speakers and 1 for subwoofers and the "remote wire" that is coming from the stereo to my speakers amp is giving the amp power and then there is a remote wire going from that amp to my second amp. my subwoofer amp is actually provide power of its own back to my other amp so there is a short in my amp that wont make it turn off unless i have a switch on my direct power wire which makes my bass not hit as hard as it should is it possible to get a bigger switch for the direct power line? or do i need a new amp?

[dylangumby]

Slightly confusing, I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that. You should have a power distribution block and then 2 wires to each amp. Don't share wires between amps. You should also have a remote turn on from your deck (FUSED at 1-3amps) and have that wire split to both amps individually, again, 2 wires in 1 connection of your amp is rarely a good idea.

Your switch should be rated at the same amps as the wire that it is controlling. Both the wire and the switch should be protected by a fuse that is rated lower than the wire is capable of carrying.
example: You have 4 gauge wire, so you can safely transmit 60amps. You should have a switch that is rated at 60 amps (OR MORE) and a fuse that is rated at 60 amps (OR LESS).

Now, other than that, you can get a small switch and an in-line glass fuse holder with a 1-3amp fuse in it. Solder that into the SMALL BLUE 'remote power' or 'remote turn on' wire, mount fuse and switch safely in your vehicle, and you can use a much smaller switch. I prefer this method because logically your amp always has power and ground, it only uses these things when it detects the 12volts coming from your 'remote power' or 'remote turn on'.

Hope that helps to clear things up. Please read Basic Car Audio Electronics it is full of great knowledge, and if you have your wiring set up properly I think you would not have this problem.

[Jonnin]

Originally Posted by dylangumby

Slightly confusing, I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that. You should have a power distribution block and then 2 wires to each amp. Don't share wires between amps. You should also have a remote turn on from your deck (FUSED at 1-3amps) and have that wire split to both amps individually, again, 2 wires in 1 connection of your amp is rarely a good idea.

Your switch should be rated at the same amps as the wire that it is controlling. Both the wire and the switch should be protected by a fuse that is rated lower than the wire is capable of carrying.
example: You have 4 gauge wire, so you can safely transmit 60amps. You should have a switch that is rated at 60 amps (OR MORE) and a fuse that is rated at 60 amps (OR LESS).

Now, other than that, you can get a small switch and an in-line glass fuse holder with a 1-3amp fuse in it. Solder that into the SMALL BLUE 'remote power' or 'remote turn on' wire, mount fuse and switch safely in your vehicle, and you can use a much smaller switch. I prefer this method because logically your amp always has power and ground, it only uses these things when it detects the 12volts coming from your 'remote power' or 'remote turn on'.

Hope that helps to clear things up. Please read Basic Car Audio Electronics it is full of great knowledge, and if you have your wiring set up properly I think you would not have this problem.

i didnt install my sound system myself it was professionally installed and the hooked it up that way with one head unit wire running from each amp and its been fine for a year until now

[dylangumby]

Then perhaps you should take it back to whoever installed it, and ask them? They would be the best people to ask because its their wiring. I thought you did the wiring yourself.

Or maybe someone else has a better opinion than mine, but from what I can understand of your setup, your amps have a fried circuit involving the remote turn on, or your deck has a problem and is constantly powering that wire.

[REN69]

Originally Posted by dylangumby

Assuming he does not have a factory deck if he has an amp, any after market deck will have a wire marked 'remote' or 'amp remote' or 'amp turn on'. If its factory I don't know.

Never hook an amp to a power antenna line! http://www.bcae1.com/ -> Click on head unit (Section 22), and read the section under "Remote or Power Antenna Output"

Other than that, rdyzz is correct, your amp is likely blown, or your head unit's internally shorted on that circuit. Its always a good idea to fuse that line at something very low like 1a or 3a max. If you ran any fans or anything off that line, that will be your culprit. If not... bad luck basically. =(

you're right... he never said he had an aftermarket deck, I assumed oem deck.

Jonnin, have you checked the actual power wires (red most likely) coming from the battery to the amps to provide 12V power? maybe the fuse is blown by the battery.

Even the grounds (black wires) coming out from the amps could cause no power if they're lose or failing to touch the body properly, find the grounds take them off and with a piece of sand paper or a wool cloth clean the spot so that the body is exposed again, then ground the wires back.

[ae924af]

After working with amp and subs my guess is going to have to be the problem is in the amp. the only thing that should be turning the amp on is a single wire that is around 14 gauge. If it is turning on without that wire then something on the inside of the amp is causeing your problems