Car Stereos: Amp wont work with cd, rca cables, power antenna

Question
I have a Panasonic deck that I installed in my sons car. i dont know the model number, but my problem is that when I put a cd in the radio, the amp and subs dont work. When I take the cd out, they start working again.  Do you think I might ahve plugged the rca cables in the wrong plug in the back of the deck?  There are four plugs in the back, I have the cables plugged in the one thats labeled "subs" .  Any help would be appreciated.

Answer
Hi Garth,

You're in luck; this should be a simple fix.

In addition to the RCA cables, there should be a "remote" wire that runs from the head unit to the amplifier.  Whenever there's voltage on the remote wire, the amp will switch on.  Remove the voltage, and the amp turns off.

Right now the remote wire is connected to a power antenna output at the back of the head unit.  The power antenna output is designed to activate an antenna when the tuner is selected, but lower it again when you select the CD as a source.  As you're finding, it doesn't work as a control output for the amplifier.

There should be a true remote output at the back of the head unit as well.  All you need to do is switch the amp's remote wire to the correct output.

Right now your amp remote is connected to a blue wire.  The correct wire is blue with a white stripe.  Disconnect the blue wire, connect the blue/white, and your problem should be solved.

Hope this helps!

Brian