Does amp draw power with nothing hooked up?
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Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2001
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From: Orlando FL
St. Jude Donor '08-'09
Does amp draw power with nothing hooked up?
Quick question on an amp drawing power.
I usually like to work on my audio system while the car is on so I can tweak stuff on the fly. Of course running the car in the garage sucks and the battery only lasts so long.
The main draw of power would obviously be the sub, which can drain the battery pretty quickly.
If I unhooked the sub speaker itself from the sub's amp, would the amp still continue to draw XX amount of power to power whatever is supposed to be hooked up to it, or will it just kind of be sitting there doing nothing since there is no speaker hooked up to it and use very little power?
I usually like to work on my audio system while the car is on so I can tweak stuff on the fly. Of course running the car in the garage sucks and the battery only lasts so long.
The main draw of power would obviously be the sub, which can drain the battery pretty quickly.
If I unhooked the sub speaker itself from the sub's amp, would the amp still continue to draw XX amount of power to power whatever is supposed to be hooked up to it, or will it just kind of be sitting there doing nothing since there is no speaker hooked up to it and use very little power?
Melting Slicks
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From: Tampa Bay, Go BUCS!!!Go Rays!!!Go Lightning!!!
St. Jude Donor '12-'13-'14
It's still going to draw a little current just because it's on. Very little, but some. If you want it to draw 0 then unhook the "amp-on" wire coming to it from the head. That should be as easy as unhooking the sub speaker (or easier since it is a much smaller wire).
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St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 26,196
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From: Orlando FL
St. Jude Donor '08-'09
Cool thanks guys thats exactly what I was thinking 
Project Xbox/CarPC nearing stage 1 completion (test fit and wiring all done)
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Project Xbox/CarPC nearing stage 1 completion (test fit and wiring all done)
More to come in new post soon
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2007
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I might worry about the vanity lights more than an idle amplifier.
If you need the doors open for a while, disconnect the negative battery terminal. Reconnect as needed to verify connections etc.
Once most of the work is done, connect the batt, pull it into the driveway, and leave it running. The voltage of just the battery will be 12 but while its running it will be 14 or more. You want to do the last tweaks at the running voltage. Also, the noise\rumble of the motor might change how you set the EQ
The draw of the amplifier at idle depends on the "Class" - A, D, etc - how the power supply switches. So its hard to say what its drawing even when its not being driven into a load unless you looked at those specs. Best to disconnect the turn on remote or the battery first.
If you need the doors open for a while, disconnect the negative battery terminal. Reconnect as needed to verify connections etc.
Once most of the work is done, connect the batt, pull it into the driveway, and leave it running. The voltage of just the battery will be 12 but while its running it will be 14 or more. You want to do the last tweaks at the running voltage. Also, the noise\rumble of the motor might change how you set the EQ
The draw of the amplifier at idle depends on the "Class" - A, D, etc - how the power supply switches. So its hard to say what its drawing even when its not being driven into a load unless you looked at those specs. Best to disconnect the turn on remote or the battery first.
