Help! Need an experienced audio tech in Bucks County,PA...

Just have the tech provide the power to the amp via a relay Like one used for fog lights or a starter in a std car) that only activates when your Prius is in "ready" mode.

JeffD

 

Here is how I connected mine.
12v+ (red wire) directly to the positive terminal of the 12v battery
Negative ground (Black wire) directly to the negative terminal of the 12v battery
Remote turn on wire I connected directly to the fuse box (underneath the drivers side dash) and I connected it to either the fuse for the rear wiper or rear defrost, I can't remember. Either way the amp will now only power on if the car is in Ready or Accessory. I hope this helps.

 

Here's the wire color chart for a 2G Prius.
Car Radio Battery Constant 12v+ Wire: Light Blue
Car Radio Accessory Switched 12v+ Wire: Gray
Car Radio Ground Wire: Brown
Car Radio Illumination Wire: Green
Car Stereo Dimmer Wire: N/A
Car Stereo Antenna Trigger Wire: Orange
Car Stereo Amp Trigger Wire: N/A
Car Stereo Amplifier Location: N/A
Car Audio Front Speakers Size: N/A
Car Audio Front Speakers Location: N/A
Left Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Pink
Left Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Violet
Right Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Light Green
Right Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Blue
Car Audio Rear Speakers Size: N/A
Car Audio Rear Speakers Location: N/A
Left Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Black
Left Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Yellow
Right Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Red
Right Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): White

I wired mine in like this:
Positive to positive on my battery. Ground to the body.
Then for the acc wire (which is a gray wire) I spliced into it on the amp under the seat, for my amp to turn on and off with the car.
I have the JBL system, not sure if you do though.
I also put a cap in....just incase.


btw, you can also run a wire from the positive and acc in, to the front seat with a switch. Then you can turn it on and off when you want.

 

Wow... don't use the rear defogger as a remote turn on. A good spot to pull the ACC (remote turn-on) signal is from the center console 12 volt port. The center console can be removed by taking out the screws from the bottom of the console interior. They're covered by a mat.

 

Besides being a duct-tape sort of solution, it's also kinda Mickey Mouse to have to turn on the rear defog to turn on the stereo system. If the window isn't foggy, it's also a waste of power. Let the power state of the car (ACC) control the power to the stereo. You can put a switch on wire, since there isn't much current going through it, if you want semi-manual power control.

 

Acc wire is the accessory wire. It only receives power when the ignition is turned on. Which is what you'd want. From the sounds of it the car is currently wired so that the amp always receives power, which is what is draining the battery.
If you wired it off the acc wire, then the amp will only turn on when the car is turned on.

As for putting a manual switch on, you'd just need to run a wire from the constant power on your amp to the front seat, put a switch in, then run the wire back to the acc/remote on the amp.

I'm willing to bet that the way the amp is currently set up, they've got a wire running from the constant to the acc/remote...which would keep it on all the time.

Maybe you could take a pic of your amp?
This way we can see how they've got it set up.