remote turn on wire

Im hooking up a pair of subs to my stock radio, so i have a loc and all that jazz. I just wanted to test the amp to make sure it powered on before i wired the remote turn on wire, so i hooked up 12+ on amp to pos. battery terminal, and i ran a wire out of the amp to a ground in the car. I thought this would make the amp power lights come on but no matter what I did (put the keys in, put it in acc., started the car) the amp would not turn on.

Now it was my understanding the remote turn on wire is used so the amp turns on when it gets a 12v signal, but i thought as long as the amp is getting power and is grounded it would still turn on? Am i wrong, or am i right and somethings either wrong with my wires or my amp?

Any help to that question would be great, thanks!

The amp needs 3 things to turn on.  12 volts on the power connection.  Ground on the ground connection, and 12 volts on the turn on wire.  For testing purposes, connect a short wire to the remote connection and touch it to the battery connection.  The amp should come on.  Remove the wire from the battery wire and it will turn off.

Gotta have the remote wire connected or it's never gonna turn on. Think of it as the ignition switch in your car. Sure the battery is hooked up but until you turn the key...

So where would you hook up the remote turn on lead from the amp to?

it depends on the car. Some stock systems have a remote turn on for factory amps, or a power antenna wire that is on no matter what source is playing. If there is nothing like that, then the accy wire that triggers the factory radio to come on is a common choice.

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