TurboS60 Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 So i was having a rough time starting my car when left for a few days so i took it to the dealer and they said my aftermarket amp is draining my battery. I dont know how true this is or if its just an excuse but i know for a fact that when i turn the ignition off the amp does shut down as the LED for the power shuts off. Is there any way its drawing power even if the amp shuts off? Btw it has a brand new battery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HPTDoh Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 Dealers like to blame aftermarket stuff all the time. Get a voltmeter to test the volts at the remote power terminal when the car is off. It should be 0; especially since the power light goes off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilled man Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 your dealer = sorry amps do not draw power when the 12v 16 wire to it is off. only thing is what are you useing to power the amp ? and what are you using to power that 12v 16wire to the amps some sort of switch or something that turns off when the car is off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishey Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 Hook up a meter and start pulling fuses untill you see the current draw reduced that will tell you what circuit the drain is on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Get Some Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 or one other thing is .. when you start your car your amp is off.. but once you start it your amp tries to draw A LOT of current cuasing stress on the alternator an easy fix is just wire a power switch into your dash for your amp so that you can turn your amp on and off (more so when you get in and out of your car) thus allowing the alternator to give its power to starting your engine .. anothe thing that will also help if your boasting a pretty decent systm is a capacitor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboS60 Posted March 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 It was wired (switched) to the headlamp wiper fuse, what is the correct place to connect it? I have one for the in car phone that i dont have and one for the nav too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEJinFBK Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 Here's the skinny...Any amp that's installed correctly shouldn't drain your battery in just a few days.It really shouldn't draw squat when the stereo is off. BUT- a defective amp could do it.The way to check is to put an ammeter on the B+ lead and see if it's pulling juice when it's not on. You may see a few milliamps, but there shouldn't be any significant current going through that big, fat cable when the amp is asleep.A GOOD shop might tell you it's the amp if it really IS the amp.Was your amp new or has it been around. They do fail. Especiallyif they haven't been installed incorrectly or get just plain overdriven.Any decent wrencher is gonna know how to use the right meter and sure, they're gonna look at after market stuff 'cuz a lot of it gets put in by people that may give a damn, but just don't really know what they're doin'.So when the service writer tells you "It's the amp, dude", ask to talk to the guy who actually worked on the car and told him that. If the mechanic's not spouting BS, he'll be happy to tell you how he got those results and you can take care of the problem and know who to take it to next time.Some shops have been at this long enough to know what they're doing. Remember them!When the amp sees 12 volts on the remote turn-on lead then it might show somecurrent draw for just a second while the internal caps charge, but until you really put the volume knob to it and start hitting with some heavy bass, it shouldn't go too high.And a capacitor is not gonna fix this... Big power caps will keep the voltage up for veryshort periods ( milliseconds ) between heavy bass hits when you're really bumpin', but they will do absolutely nothing for a battery going flat over several days. And finally, the way the remote really oughta be hooked up is to the remote-on at the HU.That brings up the amp whenever you turn on the HU. Automatically. No switch neccessary.Save the dash switches for the fog lights, autostarts and under body neon...Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnknownSoldier Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 here's the batt drain write-up from hot 4's and performance cars mag.Hope it helps, ow i'll go look for the Remote. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboS60 Posted March 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 And finally, the way the remote really oughta be hooked up is to the remote-on at the HU.That brings up the amp whenever you turn on the HU. Automatically. No switch neccessary.Save the dash switches for the fog lights, autostarts and under body neon...Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilled man Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 Cut the wire to the rear fog light . Extend that wire to your 12v in for the amp Done. Now to turn the subs on you click the rear foglight switch and your golden. I do that on every car I own and it works perfect. Not like you really ever use the rear fog anyhow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnknownSoldier Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 Not like you really ever use the rear fog anyhow.lol. Only when ppl are highbeaming me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEJinFBK Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 I dont have any way to connect it to the HU itself, i was wondering what would be the best place to wire the remote line in the dash fuseholder.Whatcha got for an HU?I haven't seen very many that haven't got a remote turn on output.Most of the Volvo stockers have a 6 pin DIN AMP output. There's one in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboS60 Posted March 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 Yea but im too lazy to take my whole dash apart, and i use my rear fog light alot. Would wiring it to the cigarette lighter fuse be fine? It turns on with the ignition most likely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnknownSoldier Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 Yep that's what i used to use. try it out, as long as it switches on with the ignition, should be fine.Also,with the power wires to the amp, i suggest getting 4GA or 8GA, 4ga will be better if u plan on adding stuff later and also i'd change the power to the amp by getting a fused wire, the wiring is pretty cheap, the inline fuse and holder should not be more than 10-15 bucks, also since our batteries are in the back the power run to ur battery is much shorter thus aloowing less drop out and battery drainage, use gold plated lugs for the power cables and make sure u give the ground connection a bit of a filing so that the neg has a better connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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