Car Stereos: 95 sable wagon premium sound amp install, sable wagon, rca cables

Question
Hi I'm installing a amp and sub in my 95 sable wagon premium sound w factory amp and 4 some reason the remote wire will not work everything is wired correctly the amp is on an both amp and sub and even head unit are brand new the head unit works fine w just the highs but when I try to Wire the remote wire from the amp to the remote wire hook up on head unit I get nothing the only way I get sound at all is by connecting the amp turn on from the car harness to the remote turn on from the h.u. harness and still nothing from the amp even w both fact amp turn on wire and remote turn on from after market amp wired together which is making me think I somehow have to totally bypass the factory amp somehow but not sure please help me its driving me crazy! much appreciated thanks

Answer
Hi,

Sorry about the delay in answering your question. If I'm understanding you correctly, your new head unit is playing through the factory amp and speakers, but you can't get your after-market amp to work?  Is this correct?

If you're getting a power light on the amplifier, then it's not likely that the remote wire is the problem. You can test this by disconnecting the remote wire from the amp, and temporarily connecting a jumper between the main power terminal and the remote terminal on the amplifier. If everything else is connected properly, the amp should turn on and work with the jumper in place; if it still doesn't work, then the problem is something other than the remote wire.  

If the amp will power on, but won't produce sound through the sub, there are a wide variety of possible causes.  Your RCA cables may be connected to the wrong output at the head unit, or the wrong input at the amp; the amp's built-in crossover may not be adjusted correctly, or the subwoofer may not be wired correctly.  

There is a pretty simple way of bypassing the factory amplifier using an after-market bypass harness, providing that you can get to the amp--it's located under the side panel in the cargo area, so it's not all that easy to reach.  However, if you're getting sound through the factory speakers, then bypassing the amp isn't necessary.

I realize there's a pretty good chance you've solved your problem by now, but if you're still having trouble, please send me a follow-up with more detail and I'll see if I can help you troubleshoot some more.

Hope this helps!

Brian