Car Stereos: trying to add amplifier to Aiwa cdc-x227 stereo in 1993 Ford f150, aiwa cdc, sony amplifier

Question
Hi Brian,
I have read multiple posts and find you answers very informative.  I appreciate the information. My son just bought a 1993 Ford F150, it has an Aiwa CDC-X227 in the dash.  He bought a XPLOD 1000W XM-1652Z Amplifier and was told it would work with his system. We are not very knowledgeable about stereo/amp installation so we printed off the instructions online for the AMP however when we got to the part to connect to AIWA, we were confused. We were not sure what it means by "connect the remote input terminal to the accessory power supply." I thought I could look it up installation instructions for the stereo and figure it out but I have spent all day on the computer and not one answer that makes this make sense to me.  By the way, we did try to connect the wire to the blue wire coming off the stereo thinking  this was it because it had the fuse on it as the directions spoke of, but the stereo would not come on and the fuse blew.  I am thinking e are confused and need direction.  Have I given enough information for you to answer this puzzle?
Joey

Answer
Hi Joey,

Sorry about the delay in answering this question.

The Sony amplifier needs three connections for power:  

One ground connection, with at least 8-gauge wire, from the amp's GND terminal to a nearby point of clean body or chassis metal;

One power connection, with at least 8-gauge wire, run to the positive battery terminal (and with a fuse located within a few inches of the battery connection);

One remote connection, with wire of any thickness, connected to the head unit's remote output. With your Aiwa head unit, this should be the blue wire.  

The purpose of the remote connection is to tell the amplifier when to turn on and off.  The blue output should have 12 volts when the Aiwa unit is turned on, and 0 volts when it's turned off.  The amplifier uses this voltage as a control input; it shuts itself down when no voltage is detected on the wire. That's why the Sony manual specified an "accessory" power supply:  in car audio terms, and accessory wire is one that's switched on and off, usually with the key switch.  The purpose is to make sure the amplifier doesn't stay on all the time, causing the battery to drain.

If the fuse blew, then either the wire wasn't connected to the correct terminal on the amp, or it was pinched or shorted at some point along its length.  The remote wire can't come into contact with chassis metal, or it will overload the output and blow the fuse.

Hope this helps!

Brian