What would a "+12 Vdc source" be?

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

From my understanding, it has a more advanced illumination feature then most remote knobs that just have the blue/green/whatever color LED showing that power is on.
I'm not sure though, never really seen a bass knob that needed a seperate +12V power source

Has to be in order to need all 3. Seems like it has a relay inside of it.

 

[Mass Car Audio 10+ year member]

Or he could just find a constant +12v source from his vehicle's fuse box.

 

[drpeeb 10+ year member]

From my understanding, it has a more advanced illumination feature then most remote knobs that just have the blue/green/whatever color LED showing that power is on.
I'm not sure though, never really seen a bass knob that needed a seperate +12V power source

Doesn't matter, low LED light or advanced illumination, still requires 12VDC power.

 

[drpeeb 10+ year member]

Or he could just find a constant +12v source from his vehicle's fuse box.

"Constant" will make it be on all the time, & run the battery dead. It needs to be wired to a switched power source.

 

[x2o 10+ year member]

Doesn't matter, low LED light or advanced illumination, still requires 12VDC power.

Obviously...

Note I said "seperate"....

Normally enough power is introduced through the phone cable used, but apparently his knob is using a different system.

 

[Mass Car Audio 10+ year member]

I dunno...it doesn't take that much voltage to turn on an amp.
I would splice into cigarette lighter or some shit like the other guy said.

Still curious why it needs a constant? Does it have a memory or something. It doesn't take that much power to light a bulb.

The amp needs a constant 12 volt's or more for the remote circuit. If he splices into that remote wire it could easily not get the 12 volt's it needs. The remote wire from your HU is only about .5 amps.

 

[Mass Car Audio 10+ year member]

"Constant" will make it be on all the time, & run the battery dead. It needs to be wired to a switched power source.

Then wire it to the ignitions ACC source from the fuse box.

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

The amp needs a constant 12 volt's or more for the remote circuit. If he splices into that remote wire it could easily not get the 12 volt's it needs. The remote wire from your HU is only about .5 amps.

I have spliced remote wires hooking up 2 amps in the past without issue...I dunno how much this remote knob draws though.

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

I am betting the stupid thing has a relay inside of it and won't be drawing the constant at all times, just when the car is in on/acc.

 

[Mass Car Audio 10+ year member]

I dunno how much this remote knob draws though.

That's what I was worried about.

 

[drpeeb 10+ year member]

Oops ... You're right, he needs to tap a switched source.

Sorry ... I was right the first time. He mentioned tapping into the amp's remote wire. That wire should already be fed by a switched power source, so again, back to what I originally wrote ... Yes, you can tap into that wire.

 

[Mass Car Audio 10+ year member]

Sorry ... I was right the first time. He mentioned tapping into the amp's remote wire. That wire should already be fed by a switched power source, so again, back to what I originally wrote ... Yes, you can tap into that wire.

I wouldn't recommend splicing into the amplifiers remote wire. Like I said earlier just find the ignitions acc at the fuse box.

 

[drpeeb 10+ year member]

I wouldn't recommend splicing into the amplifiers remote wire. Like I said earlier just find the ignitions acc at the fuse box.

The only two possible problems I see would be if the remote knob is drawing too much power for the wire and/ or the fuse: Unlikely

... or if the remote knob is electrically noisy, connecting it directly to the amp could make it worse. See my setup in my sig: I use a PAC remote volume knob, and when I get it close to my iPod, incredible noise.

 

[Mass Car Audio 10+ year member]

The only two possible problems I see would be if the remote knob is drawing too much power for the wire and/ or the fuse: Unlikely
... or if the remote knob is electrically noisy, connecting it directly to the amp could make it worse. See my setup in my sig: I use a PAC remote volume knob, and when I get it close to my iPod, incredible noise.

If the amp's remote circuit and the remote bass knob illumination is drawing off the same remote wire and the HU gets a voltage drop because of a weaker electrical it might not be able to supply the amplifier and remote bass knob with 12 volts. The HU's remote wire is only about .5 amps at 12 volts.

Just like wiring 2 amplifiers to one remote wire, sometimes one of the amps will not turn on because the HU can not supply both of the amplifiers remote circuits with a constant 12 volts.

 

[nuugen 10+ year member]

First of all, he does NOT need a constant source as it will stay on all the time..Second, you don't want it on the remote wire, most remotes are only rated at @ a half amp or less..Third, you don't even need an acc or ignition source, all you need is an illumination wire to turn the lights on the remote knob on whenever your headlights are on..So find your illumination wire, either on the head unit or at the dimmer switch, and connect it there..What type of car is it?