| yeahtoast |
Thu Jul 12, 2012 1:36 pm |
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I've read the FAQ's, searched the site for every variance I can think of, thrown my wiring diagram from Bently across the garage and cursed more than I knew I could.
How on earth do I get 12V power to a new head unit? I can't seem to tie into ANYTHING with the proper power to run it.
It's driving me crazy.
1978 Type II |
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| Randy in Maine |
Thu Jul 12, 2012 1:38 pm |
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| Fuse number 7. |
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| yeahtoast |
Thu Jul 12, 2012 1:40 pm |
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Randy in Maine wrote: Fuse number 7.
Tie into the front of it or chase the line to whatever it powers? |
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| Randy in Maine |
Thu Jul 12, 2012 1:41 pm |
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Tie into the front of it. Test it with your VOM to make sure it is getting 12 volts.
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| Ace |
Thu Jul 12, 2012 2:09 pm |
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| Battery power should have a wire run to the battery. Never try to run battery power from the fuse block. Switched power is fine though. This advice is for modern aftermarket radios though. |
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| Wildthings |
Thu Jul 12, 2012 3:25 pm |
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Ace wrote: Battery power should have a wire run to the battery. Never try to run battery power from the fuse block. Switched power is fine though. This advice is for modern aftermarket radios though.
That would totally depend on the level of the draw. |
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| Ace |
Thu Jul 12, 2012 3:48 pm |
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| Most aftermarket head units are fused at 20 amps or more. You are also prone to noise by not doing this. |
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| david_594 |
Thu Jul 12, 2012 5:21 pm |
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Ace wrote: Most aftermarket head units are fused at 20 amps or more. You are also prone to noise by not doing this.
Most stereos only have like a 13x4 watt rms amp so when playing at max volume are barely pulling 5 amps.
I see no issue with wiring both the always on and switched power from the fuse box. |
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| Ace |
Thu Jul 12, 2012 6:39 pm |
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| That is my advice, take it or leave it. Different amplifier circuitries has different Idle and operating current draws too (Class A, B, AB, D etc). The amplifier section isn't the only part that draws current. |
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| grandpa pete |
Thu Jul 12, 2012 8:12 pm |
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| what is a head unit? some kind of pot smoking thing??? |
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| Boesen |
Fri Jul 13, 2012 3:36 am |
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grandpa pete wrote: what is a head unit? some kind of pot smoking thing???
:lol:
Basically it's a fancy name for Stereo. 8) Some people and shops refer to them as Head Units. |
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| TheRealMacGyver |
Fri Jul 13, 2012 4:49 am |
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grandpa pete wrote: what is a head unit? some kind of pot smoking thing???
Man I'm glad someone asked this question!
Why not use the original radio power? |
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| Wildthings |
Fri Jul 13, 2012 5:09 am |
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TheRealMacGyver wrote: grandpa pete wrote: what is a head unit? some kind of pot smoking thing???
Man I'm glad someone asked this question!
Why not use the original radio power?
Because the electrons for a head unit need to be filtered thru a bong? |
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| Jody '71 |
Fri Jul 13, 2012 5:46 am |
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| bongs should also be jetted properly. |
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| nathansnathan |
Fri Jul 13, 2012 5:57 am |
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| A relevant tip for a radio install is not to use the keyed power, but to use a toggle switch. There is no real "accessory" position of the key, and leaving it forward without it running will cook your coil. |
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| Randy in Maine |
Fri Jul 13, 2012 6:42 am |
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My head unit is powered all of the time, so no key is required.
My power amp runs on a separate line from the battery though. |
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| ccpalmer |
Fri Jul 13, 2012 6:45 am |
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| My ceramic bongs come pre-tested and jetted... |
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| Ace |
Fri Jul 13, 2012 7:11 am |
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Randy in Maine wrote: My head unit is powered all of the time, so no key is required.
Be sure to disconnect your battery if it sits for more than 3 days. |
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| Bala |
Fri Jul 13, 2012 9:16 am |
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When I ran "fancy" stereos I would install a three position toggle switch.
-OFF, to save the battery (some stereos do draw enough power to drain your battery relatively quickly) You may or may not lose your presets and clock, but worth it really. Head units these days may have a built in computer to deal with that, dunno.
-IGNITION, this is where it sat most of the time, only got power when the key was on.
-ACC, this one was a constant hot line coming in. That way you could always just flip it here and have tunes without draining your battery, frying your points, or killing your coil or electric fuel pump.
It takes a little longer to wire up, but is well worth it in my opinion.
I also rely heavily on a test light when hooking stereos up, never used a volt meter. |
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| yeahtoast |
Tue Jul 17, 2012 6:24 pm |
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Son of a...
I'm completely discouraged and I'm fairly angry at myself for not figuring this out.
The head unit is fine, wired into the battery direct it powers on and works like it should. Funny thing is, introducing new wires to the process wired directly to the battery fails...but this was after being incredibly frustrated and I probably crossed something somewhere at this point.
Incoming huge pictures.
Red wire coming from battery that bypasses fuse box that I wired into. (note that this also somehow tripped the fuse...i think...that powers my turn signals, which now don't work):
Closer:
Terrible awful fuse box...sans fuse that fell apart when I was examining it:
And this little fellow who used to light up. I figured what the hey, let's wire the head unit up to the power lead on it...then I pulled it off and accidentally touched it to something else sending sparks flying and thus...shorting it out too after I re-wired it. It no longer turns green.
Anyone care to help out an OBVIOUSLY inept electrician? Good grief, my carb conversion and full engine rebuild wasn't this complicated. |
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