Remote turn on wire for aftermarket amp

[Blk00ss]

My son has a 2005 Tahoe. It has the Bose UQ7 with subwoofer and amp under console. We will be changing to a Kenwood Excelon HU and we're adding a Kicker 300.1 mono amp and a Rockford Fosgate P1 10. We are keeping the factory Bose system as well as the center console subwoofer as well, at least for now. I will be using the PAC RP5 GM11 and I'm probably going to have Crutchfield do a ready harness for us to make it as plug and play as possible. I have a good understanding of how this is all going to be installed, but I have a question about the remote turn on wire. Currently, and I suspect with the new HU, the remote turn on wire (I assume blue) will be built in the plug to continue powering the Bose amp as it does today. So since we're adding a separate sub and amp, what do I do for a remote wire for the Kicker amp?

I'm not an electrical type guy, but this is really the only question I have at the moment. I don't like the idea of splicing into wires going into the factory amp, if I can avoid it. Just need some advice on this 1 question. Thanks

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Today's amps can turn on with just the head unit's pre-amp out voltage going into the amp's pre-amp in connectors when you turn the system on, making the remote turn on wire obsolete.

 

[Doubeleive]

My son has a 2005 Tahoe. It has the Bose UQ7 with subwoofer and amp under console. We will be changing to a Kenwood Excelon HU and we're adding a Kicker 300.1 mono amp and a Rockford Fosgate P1 10. We are keeping the factory Bose system as well as the center console subwoofer as well, at least for now. I will be using the PAC RP5 GM11 and I'm probably going to have Crutchfield do a ready harness for us to make it as plug and play as possible. I have a good understanding of how this is all going to be installed, but I have a question about the remote turn on wire. Currently, and I suspect with the new HU, the remote turn on wire (I assume blue) will be built in the plug to continue powering the Bose amp as it does today. So since we're adding a separate sub and amp, what do I do for a remote wire for the Kicker amp?

I'm not an electrical type guy, but this is really the only question I have at the moment. I don't like the idea of splicing into wires going into the factory amp, if I can avoid it. Just need some advice on this 1 question. Thanks

the Kenwood headunit will have a amp turn on wire typically it is a blue wire, as Joseph noted above some newer amps have a option to turn on from input and I have one setup like that in my Silverado but if I do not have the volume turned up enough it does not detect the input and stays off or shuts off if I turn it down to a certain point, kind of annoying I have mine setup differently I am using the factory head unit and a aftermarket amp so there is no turn on wire, well there is but it is digital and requires another adapter and I just have not addressed it yet.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

the Kenwood headunit will have a amp turn on wire typically it is a blue wire, as Joseph noted above some newer amps have a option to turn on from input and I have one setup like that in my Silverado but if I do not have the volume turned up enough it does not detect the input and stays off or shuts off if I turn it down to a certain point, kind of annoying I have mine setup differently I am using the factory head unit and a aftermarket amp so there is no turn on wire, well there is but it is digital and requires another adapter and I just have not addressed it yet.

I've never had my volume low enough for the amp to shut down. LOL

 

[Doubeleive]

I've never had my volume low enough for the amp to shut down. LOL

my Silverado has the bose amp I think at low volume it just doesn't put out enough signal to turn the aftermarket amp on, the module I need is like $350-400 and I haven't decided yet if I want to keep the oem headunit in or not waiting to see what comes out this year if they ever get enough chip's to make any. so if I change the headunit then I don't need the module.

 

[iamdub]

My son has a 2005 Tahoe. It has the Bose UQ7 with subwoofer and amp under console. We will be changing to a Kenwood Excelon HU and we're adding a Kicker 300.1 mono amp and a Rockford Fosgate P1 10. We are keeping the factory Bose system as well as the center console subwoofer as well, at least for now. I will be using the PAC RP5 GM11 and I'm probably going to have Crutchfield do a ready harness for us to make it as plug and play as possible. I have a good understanding of how this is all going to be installed, but I have a question about the remote turn on wire. Currently, and I suspect with the new HU, the remote turn on wire (I assume blue) will be built in the plug to continue powering the Bose amp as it does today. So since we're adding a separate sub and amp, what do I do for a remote wire for the Kicker amp?

I'm not an electrical type guy, but this is really the only question I have at the moment. I don't like the idea of splicing into wires going into the factory amp, if I can avoid it. Just need some advice on this 1 question. Thanks

As the others said, it can be turned on via a direct 12VDC input or when it detects voltage on the high level audio input (a 6V imbalance). If you're using RCAs off the HU (low level), you'll need to use the 12VDC trigger. The HU will have an output for this. For convenience, you can get RCAs with the remote wire built-in. Examples:

 

[Blk00ss]

I appreciate the responses.

I think part of the confusion I’m having is I thought, since the truck has a factory amp (that we’re keeping), that the blue wire coming off the new HU would be utilized to power the it, leaving me with no connection to hook up a new, subwoofer amp. Does the Oe Bose amp not need the blue wire for turn on?

 

[exp500]

If you are worried about too much load on remote wire triggering multiple amps, a relay triggered by remote wire could be a fix.

 

[iamdub]

I appreciate the responses.

I think part of the confusion I’m having is I thought, since the truck has a factory amp (that we’re keeping), that the blue wire coming off the new HU would be utilized to power the it, leaving me with no connection to hook up a new, subwoofer amp. Does the Oe Bose amp not need the blue wire for turn on?

The amperage draw on the turn-on circuit is so low that it'll never overload the power output from the HU. The remote output is not used to power the amp, it just sends a signal telling the amp's circuitry to "wake up" and activate the high power side. Actually, I think the Bose amp uses a digital signal from the CAN bus to turn on, just like the factory HU does. IIRC, one of the functions of that interface (the PAC RP5) is to provide a switched 12V positive by processing the factory digital signal.

People hook up multiple amps and even LEDs to the remote outputs on HUs all the time.

 

[Blk00ss]

If you are worried about too much load on remote wire triggering multiple amps, a relay triggered by remote wire could be a fix.

I'm not neccesarily worried, I'm more confused and trying to understand. I know a new HU will have this blue remote wire, but won't the factory Bose amp need that? If so, I'll basically have to either tap into it for sub amp we're installing, or find another 12v source...correct?

Or, does the OE Bose amp gets its "power on" signal from a different wire that'll be in the new harness I get with the new HU leaving the blue one for me to hook our new subwoofer amp to?