Hooking up a car audio amp

May 24, 2007 4 Replies

I have this old car amp that I don't know much about. It is a Motorola PA-4000. I want to hook it up and see if it will work without frying it.



There are two groups of wire, One group is Red, Blue & Black.



The other group is Long Black with an inline fuse, Medium length Black, Two short Blacks, short Orange and a short Yellow.



On the side, there is a sticker that says "Speaker connections, Left Channel Yellow Black, Right Channel Orange Black. See Owners Manual."



Typically, I would hook the red to + and the black from the first group to Black, but what about the blue wire?



And why is the fuse on what looks like a ground wire?


The blue wire is remote power on, so the amp can be switched on by a low current source, usually the power antenna or amp lead of the head unit. Not sure why there's a fuse in that other bunch, if you open up the amp you may be able to identify where it goes.

Hey James - did you manage to find out from your uncle about the traffic light cable loops ?

Agree with you on the blue wire being remote power on. He can just hook it to supply '+' to test the amp comes on.

Arfa

It's probably already fried, otherwise wouldn't it be being used?

I've got a number of old car amps people have given me. They get upgraded regularly by enthusiasts, ripped out of cars that were being sold or got wrecked, or pulled out of cars that came with systems installed which the new owner doesn't want. Just because it's out doesn't mean it's bad.

Join the Discussion

Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.

Didn't find your answer?

Ask the community — no account required