head unit not turning amp on?

[Toast]

hey guys! im hopin someone here can help me get my music running... i have a kenwood head unit, and old alpine v12 amp + aftermarket speakers that used to work.
My Problem: amp isn't turning on = no music
What I know: amp works(can be powered directly from 12v, but stays on after car is off), head unit works(plays radio, etc.), speakers work. fuses are all good. there is NO power coming out of my remote wire. from what i understand, this jump-starts the amp, or tells it when to turn on and off - right?
i pulled the harness off the back of the radio, tested what i thought was my power line(red wire that my remote wire was spliced into) - no power. tested the terminals on the harness and back of radio - no power.

is my HU fucked or am i missing something here. im not that great with audio stuff, but this seems like there is nothing to do but buy a new HU. any help or suggestions are appreciated.
-Matt

[PezCore]

the remote wire from the HU is low voltage, not 12v, but yes it tells the amp to turn on.

you're testing these other wires from the car or from the radio harness?

yellow should go to yellow (or direct to bettery)
red should go to red
blue (remote) should go to amp
black should be grounded to chassis

and dont forget to ground the amp

[bert0mac]

find a switchable 12v source (any open fuse locations in your fuse box will work, just make sure it only has power when the key is turned to run) and plug your power wire in there.

then you dont need to worry about the head units remote wire at all.

good luck, let me know how it turns out

[Toast]

Originally Posted by bert0mac

find a switchable 12v source (any open fuse locations in your fuse box will work, just make sure it only has power when the key is turned to run) and plug your power wire in there.

then you dont need to worry about the head units remote wire at all.

good luck, let me know how it turns out

this sounds like a good idea, and i think i will have to do that... my first thought is to wire it to something in the int. - but that wont work if i dont have parking lights on. so fuse box? any suggestions as to what fuse to wire? or do i have to go through and check each one?

[Toast]

Originally Posted by PezCore

the remote wire from the HU is low voltage, not 12v, but yes it tells the amp to turn on.

you're testing these other wires from the car or from the radio harness?

yellow should go to yellow (or direct to bettery)
red should go to red
blue (remote) should go to amp
black should be grounded to chassis

and dont forget to ground the amp

thanks for the help, everything was wired correctly, but that remote is currently hooked up to a red wire (im thinking its power, but it has none). i will try linking to a fuse and see what happens.

by the way, your clear corners - do you just have a blue bulb in there? it flashes blue or white? ...looks sick

[bert0mac]

its easy enough to check each one with one of them voltage checker thingys. it looks like an awl(pointy screwdriver) with a wire coming out of the handle that lights up when it gets power. i used the one just beneath the 4a/t fuse i think.

there should only be a few open spots so just check them all, one of them will work.

just make sure it comes on when the switch is on and isnt on all the time. and make sure you do this with all the lights off just in case.

let me know how it goes man
-semper-

[EvilNCarnate]

I tapped my remote wire into the line going to the 12 v plug in front of the stereo. This gave me a good location as I wont have to re run the wire when I get a new headunit that has a remote line.

[Toast]

i havent had a chance to look at this yet, was at UMG for the weekend. i dont have a voltmeter or the tester - i do the hillbilly way of wire on wire/other end on metal. lol. ill try to look at this this week.

[snakeyedsl]

i had this problem last week. i got in sub worked then quit. amp wasnt coming on. i blew the inline fuse on my power wire. replaced it, sub worked for a few mins then amp went off. my amp wasnt 2 ohm stable so it kept shutting down. i had to rewire my subs to a 8 ohm load. check the wireing for your speakers.

[Toast]

bump!
so i finally got some time to work on this. i located a fuse that will work in the fusebox down by the pedals. How do i wire my remote wire to the fuse?? soldering it directly to the fuse doesnt seem smart.
i also was thinking of using the blue "buzz" wire behind the radio...is it ok to have my amp on when the key is just in the ingnition?