New RCA's... whats the 3rd wire for?!

[C.Palmer]

Ok I went and bought a nicer RCA line today to run from the deck to sub amp and I noticed a small 3rd wire between the red and white. Whats up with that I've never seen that before... Is it a video line? I'm lost. The cable I bought is the Rockford Fosgate punch twisted pair signal cable (CPST-500)

Thanks guys

[wheeldog63]

It is prob. the line so you can remotely turn the amp on and off (i.e. spliced into the radio's power so the amp is only on when the radio is) that is how mine was in my Probe, so thats what I am guessing.

[EyeOutThere]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by wheeldog63:
It is prob. the line so you can remotely turn the amp on and off (i.e. spliced into the radio's power so the amp is only on when the radio is) that is how mine was in my Probe, so thats what I am guessing.<hr></blockquote>

Yep, it should be the blue remote on wire. You need it, or they amp won't turn on.

Your headunit whould have an output for it. It should be a blue wire also.

[C.Palmer]

:mad: I knew it!!! I already ran a nice RF remote line that came with the multi-amp install kit. I might as well pull it out and just put this one in. Oh well it's not that hard but I'm just being a baby about it [img]graemlins/crybaby.gif[/img]

[Firebrd9783]

It might be a ground wire, I know my kenwood amp has a screw next to the RCA input for an RCA groud line, not sure how it works, but I know the ground wire is connected to the RCAs.

[Justin96Bird]

yes i would have to agree that it's a ground wire. you should never run a 12V power wire in parallel line with your signal cables it could cause engine noise.

[98Bird]

Its not a remoted wire. Im 200% positive its a Ground wire. I have the same thing you do and I have to ground out some engine noise. Buddy of mine is Audio Certified and he told me that is what its used for.

[C.Palmer]

See now I've had audio certified people here tell me that it's meant to be used as a remote wire but in that case, i'm risking unwanted noise. I'll play with it once I get my box from steve and let everyone in on how it goes. Either way... I have an infinite supply of remote wire now :rolleyes:

[Brian Dieckman]

IT ALL DEPENDS

Most of the "line wire" (some people call it zip cord, but that's not the correct term) RCA's don't shield that middle wire.

In the case of RCA's that are NOT shielded, ONLY USE THE WIRE FOR GROUND, if your amp is equipped. If your amp is not equipped, tape it off and forget about it. Like someone earlier said, noise can bleed in there.

If the midle wire is shielded, you can use it for whatever you want. Ground, remote, whatever! (I've even been known to use it as an aux wire for alarm systems that open the trunk)

The key here is that the middle wire is SHIELDED. I've only seen three of these in my life, and they were all Lightning Audio. That's not to say that they're the only manufacturer, though.

-Brian

[Birdie2000]

Is this the stuff you have?
RF Patch Cord
This is the RF Gamma Technology cable, they make them in speaker, rca, and power cable form. I don't believe that middle wire is intended to be used. It seems to be made out of some special material that helps the other two wires conduct better, so if this is the cable you have, I suggest that you just leave that middle wire alone.

[Backfire]

There is a lot of marketing hype when it comes to audio wiring. I have heard that the third wire was originally pushed by manufacturors as a ground wire for noise rejection. However, this wire actually increased noise, so they changed their stance and called it a turn on wire.

The best wires to use for line level signals are supposed to be unshielded twisted pairs. I make my own from Cat5 network cable. Never had a noise problem. There are many who feel the same way. The CarSound Forum is a great resource for audio information, and there is a ton of info on wiring.

[C.Palmer]

*sigh :rolleyes: I'm just gonna leave it alone. Which means I get to pull my deck (again) tomorrow. Oh well... the only thing that irritates me now is a did a killer job running the RCA wire under my center console, then under the carpet to under the passenger side rear seat to the spare tire well so I have to pull the rear seat and center console out again. No it's not that big of a deal... but damn it I've already done it a bunch of times! [img]graemlins/crybaby.gif[/img]