amp draining battery?

[SlipKnoT]

hi all,
i have noticed that when my amp is left hooked up say over night the next day when i go to start the car, dead battery. Now the amp is connected directly to the battery terminals is this normal or should it be hooked up somewhere else? i didnt hook it up it was done by the previous owner im pretty sure. Thanks for any help in advance.
cheers slipknot

[Mr Hardware]

Connecting anything to a battery is fine, just so long as you have it fused basically.

[ratter]

is the amp hooked up to a cut out switch also? ie when the head unit gets turned off it cuts power to the amp

[FGII-XR6]

if you connect direct to the battery to minimise voltage drop you need to put a relay in the circuit to cut the power when the ignition is off

[SlipKnoT]

i dont think its hooked up to a cut out switch because it dosnt seem to cut out

[karl6792]

Originally Posted by au3xr6

if you connect direct to the battery to minimise voltage drop you need to put a relay in the circuit to cut the power when the ignition is off

the amp should have an inbuilt relay which u can hook up to the ignition power for the radio. if it doesnt have an in built relay than you can install 1. isnt a hard job

[robbyj]

Is the remote wire hooked onto the headunit/any other ignition source, as this will stop the amp drawing power when the car is turned off.

If it is connected to the battery it will be drawing power constantly

[SlipKnoT]

would the inbuilt relay be just an unconnected wire if its not hooked up? ill look for one tomoro if thats the case

[robbyj]

Is the headunit still the stock ford one or is it an aftermarket one?

Im pretty sure your problem is revolved around the remote wire, or lack there of. ( the wire that connects the headunit to the amp, which turns the amp on/off according to whether the headunit is on or off)

In which case you'll need to wire the remote terminal from the amp to a switched accessory wire on the headunit.

[SlipKnoT]

nah its an aftermaket headunit will there be like a plug without anything plugeg into it coming from the headunit because i think i remember seeing a plug is that meant to be pluged into the amp?

[robbyj]

It will be a wire from the wiring harness on the headunit that goes onto the "remote" terminal of the amp.

They all should hopefully be labeled for you

[SlipKnoT]

well i didnt find any wires but i have worked out the head unit needs to be switched off or the battery will drain, turning it off at the ignition isnt enough for some reason so ill just turn the head unit off aswell from now on

[TheInterceptor]

You could always hook up a remote switch wire from the amp (it has to have the provision for it, could be labelled "REM") to the accesories wire on your headunit. Works fine for me.

This way amp goes on when you turn the key to acc and goes off when you turn it to off and key out.

[ratter]

I think your head unit is also wired up incorrectly., it should have 2 poower inputs, 1 from battery power and another from switched power