GM’s R.A.P system and an amp
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=53065
Printed Date: May 23, 2024 at 5:21 AM
Topic: GM’s R.A.P system and an amp
Posted By: tenny
Subject: GM’s R.A.P system and an amp
Date Posted: April 02, 2005 at 2:58 PM
Hey guys, I just got done wiring up my amp to the factory deck with aftermarket speakers. I have a question about the Remote Accessory power thingy though! I used the remote turn on wire for teh amp from the dark green wire in the ignition which works fine, except for when the R.A.P system is activated. i.e car is turned off but drivers door has not been opened yet. What happens is that the deck continues to play, BUT because the amp is connected to the dark green ignition wire it turns off and I cannot hear anything. So that's totally not cool. Should I just leave it like this? I am guessing having the amp going without the car running will kill my battery lickidy split! If it won't, then what wire do I use to get this to work? It's a 2004 Oldsmobile Alero Stock Deck Phoenix Gold Tantrum 5.25"
Boston Acoustics 6x9 FX
Power Acousticks LT720 (85x4 RMS) no subs
Replies:
Posted By: tcss
Date Posted: April 02, 2005 at 3:05 PM
You might try a low voltage turn on like the PIE 1vt. It uses the voltage going to your speakers to send a turn on lead to to the amp. So as long as your factory HU is on the amp will stay on .
Posted By: tenny
Date Posted: April 02, 2005 at 3:07 PM
arnt t hose really expensive though?
Posted By: placid warrior
Date Posted: April 02, 2005 at 3:14 PM
definately find another wire to tap into. just use a volt meter and test out different wires for a + 12V . turn the car on, and when u find a 12V source, turn the car off and see if it still has power, if not, use it. I did an amp install on a 2004 sunfire with the stock deck and it turned out that there were 4 different wires that i could use. I ended up having to use 2 of the wires, one for the amp and one for the crossover. i had to check the wires with the deck in the stereo though cause it seems that everything (lights, buzzers, etc...) goes thtough it...when i had the harness out of the deck I only had a 1 constant 12V source. I tapped into the 6x9's with female end RCA connectors..i cant remember which wire it was but i either used only the - wire or only the + wire on the RCA cable, cause hooking up both put the amp into protection mode (not sure why totally) but everything works now and my bud is extremely happy with the setup and all the guys at work are impressed too. But remove the deck, turn the car on...check the wires, find your source and tap into it. I had to use a seperate source for both the amp and x-over cause it was too much power being drawn from the one source and the computer shut it off or something, but it turned back on when i just disconnected the x-over, which is when i did the seperate wire...everything works great.
Posted By: tcss
Date Posted: April 02, 2005 at 3:15 PM
If you consider 20 bucks expensive......
Posted By: tenny
Date Posted: April 02, 2005 at 4:05 PM
placid - I dont think you quite understand what i'm trying to do. I've found the wire that your describing, i'm trying to find the wire that retains power when the car is shut off, but only for 10 minutes or until the drivers side door is open. $20 is expensive compared to the price of just tapping into another wire, if it's that simple.
Posted By: placid warrior
Date Posted: April 02, 2005 at 4:22 PM
Oh..ok! 20 bucks isnt bad, saves a bit o hassle anyways. the wires i tapped into stayed on for about 5-10 seconds after the car turned off, i'm sure one of the wires back there should do it as i didnt test all of them to see how long they stayed on, but maybe not. funny thing is that one of the wires i tapped into (yellow on this car) was for the lights that turn on when the door opens, so when the door is open the x-over turns on. I'll see if i can find a wire on my buds deck that stays on the way u want it...then i'll let u know, and u can see if its the same on your car (probly different color, but we'll see) I should be able to let u know tomorrow afternoon if i find something. I realize they are 2 totally different cars, but both being 2004, the deck probly has a similar setup.
Posted By: tenny
Date Posted: April 02, 2005 at 4:34 PM
THey use the same wiring kits so they are probably very similar. I'm just not sure how the RAP works, I guess i'll have to test all the wires out and see what happens. But I am not certain if it just sends it a signal when to turn off or how it works :( I know they have wiring kits now for aftermarket decks that retain the use of the R.A.P system so it must work. otherwise when you turn the car off the cd keeps playin and you cannot here it until you open the doors. and the dingers for the lights are gone, so you should let your buddy know that.
Posted By: tenny
Date Posted: April 02, 2005 at 4:38 PM
btw I know 20 isnt that bad, but it's still a lot easier to just hook it up to another wire and go buy 20 bucks worth of beer :) otherwise I am going to have to go in on Monday and order the part, wait for it to come in, pay 20 bucks for it, then I still gotta take everything apart to instal it. It would have to go right at the deck, I couldnt just put it on the rear 6x9 since the only time it gets a signal is when the amp is on.
Posted By: placid warrior
Date Posted: April 02, 2005 at 7:48 PM
tenny] wrote:
p>THey use the same wiring kits so they are probably very similar. I'm just not sure how the RAP works, I guess i'll have to test all the wires out and see what happens. But I am not certain if it just sends it a signal when to turn off or how it works :( I know they have wiring kits now for aftermarket decks that retain the use of the R.A.P system so it must work. otherwise when you turn the car off the cd keeps playin and you cannot here it until you open the doors. and the dingers for the lights are gone, so you should let your buddy know that.
BTW when the X-over turns on when the door opens, it also stays on when the car is turned on, not just when the doors are open...we made an 8hr round trip with the setup working fine the whole time. not sure how the car is wired up..all i know is that the amp install worked, lol. *realize maybe its not connected to the door lights but to interior light...cause that turns on too with door open the remote wire (R.A.P) sends a power signal to the amp to complete a full circuit enabling the amp to turn on. If theres more to it then maybe someone else will respond. we never actually tried listening to it with the car off, but it just might actually work...i never thought about it, but if its connected to the interior lights (interior light turns on with door open too) then it should work cause while we were installing the system, we had the car off with the interior light on, which would shut off after 10 min or so...I'll check it out and let u know...maybe u can buy your beer after all.
Posted By: tenny
Date Posted: April 02, 2005 at 8:26 PM
RAP has nothing to do with the remote turn on wire. it is a system in GM cars that allows you to retain accessory power even wtih teh car shut off and the key in the OFF position. i.e you stop at a store and turn the car off, the radio will keep playing, passenger gets out and goes in the store, radio still plays. it will contuine to play until the drivers side door is opened or 10 minutes has passed. with all speakers running off the amp, i've lost the RAP function since the amp is run off the ignition wire.
Posted By: NismaX
Date Posted: April 03, 2005 at 9:50 AM
Hi,
Have you looked for a RAP relay in the fuse box? I've been lucky to find such a thing in Olds and Buicks. I've never had to find one in a truck though. On the factory GM radios 00 and up (I think) There is a wire that can be used as an amp turn on. The problem is that it doesn't exist in all harnesses but does exist in all radios. You need to cannibalize a harness to get the pin to put into the factory harness to use it. It is easy to find close to the orange power lead. Use your computer safe test light to test for it or a meter.
Posted By: placid warrior
Date Posted: April 03, 2005 at 6:13 PM
oh..OK..lol, sounded similar so i wasnt sure. well i listened to the stereo last night with the car off, and the sub stayed on with the music, so its fine to tap into the wires in the back. check the dark blue wire, that one is the better of the two that i used (yellow and dark blue...but the wires in the back of the deck will stay on with the RAP and nothing is negativly effected. right now we're trying to cover the box in fleece. I'll take some pics of the setup and the wiring.
Posted By: tenny
Date Posted: April 03, 2005 at 6:29 PM
ok thanks I checked with a volt meter today and couldnt find a good source for the remote wire, so I think my car must be wired differently
Posted By: placid warrior
Date Posted: April 04, 2005 at 11:58 AM
actually, i never used a volt meter...i assumed they were putting out 12 volts, probly arent. I used an automotive lightbulb to test the sunfire as i couldnt find the voltmeter at the time...the bulb didnt glow as bright as if it was connected to a direct 12V source (meaning i never really thought about it not being 12V) but it served its purpose...check it with a bulb if u have one. I got some pics taken but They're on my buds computer so i gotta get em from him still. The only wires i can remember are a couple on the bottom row....starting from the drivers side there is black, Dark blue, light blue....other wires....and orange on the far passenger side which is constant power. and i believe the second wire on the top from the drivers side is the yellow wire. I'll try to get the pics as soon as i can. but try the light bulb.
Posted By: jstruckman
Date Posted: April 04, 2005 at 5:46 PM
The RAP relay is done digitally, there is no wire that you can tap into to keep the RAP relay, with out using an interface.SoundGate makes a peice called the GMACC. You tap into the Class 2 wire(which controls the RAP relay), it then gives you a 12 volt ignition that come on and off with the RAP system, i think it retails for about 30 bucks. This is exaclty what you need to do what you want.
Jazzy
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Posted By: tenny
Date Posted: April 04, 2005 at 7:01 PM
Thank you Jazzy! I just spent about 2 hours going over the car becuase it was tickin me off trying to find a wire. I thought the antenna is in the window and has some box that improves reception, that must have power, take the rear deck off, test it, NOPE nothing there. looks like i'm going to have to buy one of those boxes that you mentioned or the one that checks speaker levels and converts to a remote turn on.
Posted By: placid warrior
Date Posted: April 04, 2005 at 8:15 PM
i dont get it then...what does the sunfire have if its not a RAP? the car stays on with the key out for like 10 min or so or untill u open the door...does the sunfire have a non digital RAP?
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