73-87chevytrucks.com
73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Interior & Equipment => Topic started by: txchainsawgogi on December 26, 2010, 03:50:11 pm
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So I'm replacing the broken factory stereo and blown speakers with a simple 180W pioneer cd player.
Main concern is that the car will handle it ok. I.E. no burned out overheated wires or a ruined alternator.
Ill be running 4 6.5 speakers, no tweeters or subs.
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It'll run it fine. Just a radio shouldn't pull much current.
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Alright I'm stuck. Now the new radio isn't working. I've wired up radios before and never has it been such a pain! There are only three wires in the main harness, and if the stock radio was atleast coming on then this shouldn't be happening.
Ill label them as my haynes has them
Yellow: hot
Grey: interior lights
Black: ground
And now what the cd player manual asks for
Yellow: connect to constant 12v
Red: connect to igniton
Black: ground
As I have it hooked up:
Black: black
Yellow(radio):grey
Red(radio):yellow(truck)
I tried switching the yellow to yellow but still nothing.
It won't even come on. The inline fuse is fine and the radio fuse on the fuse box looks fine too.
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it may be easier if you just ran the yellow from your stereo to a constant hot on the fuse block. thats how mine is done. Your interior lights are not always on, and may not have the full 12 v the stereo requires.
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So how would I go about finding a safe wire to splice for constant 12v?
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You'll need a test light or multimeter; (your fuse box is a good place to check but doesn't have to be)
from the stereo;
Yellow---Check for power present with key on and off. (probably at the fuse box)
red------Check for power present only when the key is on. (you can probably find this from an old stereo wire check your yellow wire from the truck)
black----connect to ground (pretty much any metal screw or bolt that connects to metal)
Also plug in your antenna.
this will power up your deck.
run new speaker wires from the back of your deck for each speaker.
when you buy the speaker wire try to find one with a stripe on one side or some way to seperate them from + to - and hook them up accordingly.
Avoid using electrical tape and get some heat shrink tubing for connections.
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btw your gray wire from the truck will go unused but make sure cut it and cap it as it will be hot when your turn on your lights.
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With my multimeter, what numbers should I be looking for? Also? When testing at the fuse box do I put a post at either end of the fuse? Then after that am I splicing into the wire leading to or ffrom the box?
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You're just looking for a 12V source, so a simple test light will work. You'll probably find unused ports in the fuse box that you can plug a wire & spade connector into. You just need a constant hot, and a switched hot. I would run new wires and not splice into anything else. The first head unit I put in my pickup I just used the wires that were there from the old tape deck, and it was spliced into the cig lighter. I plugged in my phone charger one day and magic smoke came out of the cd player.
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so can I slide in a spade between the top of the fuse and the little holder?
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What I was suggesting is that there might be open slots in the fuse panel that aren't being used. I wouldn't use anything in conjunction with any existing fuses. I think there is one marked IGN or ACC that would work for the switched power. Poke around in the unused ports with a test light and see what you have.
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I have an unused acc tab, so that would be my switched 12v, and a ground is easy..what about the constant? Any suggestions on that?
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What about blue? The remote wire?(it was blue on mine) or you don't want it to keep time?
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The remote wire is energized when the head unit is on to turn on an amplifier.
Did you find any un-used port that is constant 12v?
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This sounds sad but I'm not sure what setting to put my multimeter on
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But I've found 4 open ports on my fuse box, two ACC, one IGN and one that might read LTS(rubbed off a bit)
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One acc and the ign are putting out current when the key is turned. None I've found are putting out with the key off.
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From the original radio harness, are there any wires that are constant hot? If so use one of those. They should be from the radio fuse on the fusebox, but I would still run an inline fuse holder in that wire. A regular test light will work in lieu of a multimeter, but if that's all you have set it to DC volts, range 20 I think. You can check it directly at your battery to check that you have it in the right range. Just don't turn the dial and switch ranges with it hooked up to a circuit.
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That's the weird part...the factory radio would atleast come on and pick up a station or two. And now the new one won't do anything. The grey wire which should be constant is now dead? And the yellow wire is putting out what seems to be too low of a current.
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Check the radio fuse at the box. Do you have a test light?
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No I need to grab a few things from radio shack to make one. The fuse is fine.the previous owner had a 30a in there but I put a 15a in since that what its labeled as needing. Oh and none of the lights in the factory radio ever worked.
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Does the new pioneer require more power or something to work? The old one turns on and actually got pretty loud.
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I wouldn't bother making one. You can find one at any parts store, harbor freight, etc. for ten bucks or so that works fine, or spend way too much on a blue point one from the snap-on guy like I did. You can figure this out with your multimeter also. For the Pioneer you will need:
Constant 12V source (typically to the yellow wire, fused)
Switched 12V source (typically red)
Ground (black)
8 speaker wires for the 4 channels
If it has a blue and a blue with white stripe wires for remote and power antenna you should isolate those and cap them, as they will be hot with the head unit on, unless you are using an amp (remote turn-on) or power antenna (which you most likely don't have). If it has an illumination wire (typically orange), you shouldn't need that for anything either.
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Ok..cool. the only thing I'm having trouble with is a constant source.
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Just a thought, but the factory dial radio probably didn't have a constant 12V (memory) wire because there wouldn't have been anything to remember (bass/treble settings, what station you were listening to, etc.) because they were manually dialed in. I may be wrong.
Somebody else chime in if you have a better idea.... but this is what I would do IF you don't have an un-used constant 12v source at the fuse box: Run a new wire from the distribution block on the firewall, with a fuse close to that source, through the firewall in an existing harness by the steering column, and up to the radio.
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Sounds do able I think... where exactly on the dist. block? I've never done that before.
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That's the weird part...the factory radio would atleast come on and pick up a station or two. And now the new one won't do anything. The grey wire which should be constant is now dead? And the yellow wire is putting out what seems to be too low of a current.
The grey is NOT constant....it is a DIMMER to your dash lights (only on when lights are on).
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Ok so then there was never a constant in the original 1978 am/fm wiring harness? The lights in the radio never worked, which might explain why that wire seems dead.
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Found an open BAT port on the fuse box...got everything figured out FINALLY. Thanks dude!