[K1NG_TUTTT]

Hey guys I am intalling a newer Pioneer stereo in my '71 Spider and I have come across a couple problems. The radio has a wire which needs a constant 12V to power it and another which needs a constant 12v from the ignition to turn the radio on and off with the car. I got the first wire sorted out using the PO's radio power source. But the PO did not use the wire which goes to the ignition, meaning he had to turn the radio on and off manually. I want the radio to turn off when I turn off the car like the radio was designed to do. There are 4 wires coming out of the ignition and I connected the wire to the black wire which goes back to starter, thinking this would turn the radio on and off with the ignition. I was wrong, The radio does not turn on at all, does anybody know which wire I need to use? The four wires are black, brown, red, and green&black.
Thank you!

Jonathan

 

[Alfajay]

There are 4 wires coming out of the ignition and I connected the wire to the black wire which goes back to starter, thinking this would turn the radio on and off with the ignition. I was wrong, The radio does not turn on at all,...

Are you saying that you did connect the radio's power lead to the wire that goes to the starter solenoid? And that now the radio doesn't come on at all?

If "yes" and "yes", it is possible that you fried your radio. A solenoid produces a voltage spike when it is switched off - sensitive electronics shouldn't be connected there.

The radio should be connected to the circuit that powers the gauges and other components that come on when the ignition is turned on. A little probing with a voltmeter at the fuseblock will identify these circuits.

 

[K1NG_TUTTT]

Hey Alfajay,

No, I worded that poorly. Im sorry! I have the radio connected to a circuit like you described and I have tested it and it seems to work fine. All I want is for the radio to turn on and off with the turn of the key. To do this I need to connect the accessory (ACC) wire from the radio to (I believe) one of the wires connected to the ignition. I just dont know which and cant find out what would work.
Thank you,

Jonathan

 

[Robert Rex]

Radio wiring

Did you figure out the radio wiring. I'm putting a radio in a 74 spider and although the ignition switch as an ACC on it, which should turn the radio on without the key in the full on position, I don't find a connection on the back of the ignition switch that powers up when the key is at ACC. There are empty connectors but three of the four empties are powered when the key is off. The fourth one is powered when the key is full on, not on ACC. Is there a solution? I can wire the radio to go on and off with key if key is full on but it would be nice to listen to the radio without running the fuel pump and having the ignition circuit hot, which is the purpose of the ACC.

 

[K1NG_TUTTT]

Hello Robert,
I managed to make the radio work in ACC mode like I wanted. I took some playing around and troubleshooting. My solution was that I found 4 wires that were not attached to anything, sitting in the center console and i tried a couple of those wires and one worked as an accessory. It's unfortunate for you because I doubt that you will have those random unattatched wires like I did. But you are right with the ignition wires, none of them worked for me as well. If you have a voltmeter, it will come in handy if you are trying to find a place for the ACC wire.
Good Luck!

 

[Robert Rex]

Thanks King_Tuttt.
I've actually got a lot of loose wires in the consule, to who knows what. I've got everything working so they are probably stuff that is no longer hooked up in this old car, like seat belt and various other warnings. I can go through them with a volt meter. I started out to put in carpets, which it never had and new seat upholstery and then got into restoring the rest of the interior. Everything I touch needs something.
Cheers,
Robert

 

[Tino]

I got same question for my 82' spider. I just got it and the previous owner mentioned that the radio seems to drain the battery so he always disconnect the battery. I decided to remove the old non-working radio with lot of unwanted wiring because it have an amplifier. I was able to replace it with amazon cheap boss bluetooth radio and works fine. I follow the wiring diagram from "papajam", thank you. My desired intent is just like the modern cars to have the radio contoled by the ignition switch. Basing from the diagram, the power source for the radio is coming from fuse no. 5. Can anyone recommend where should i tapped it to have the key controlled the power.
Thanks a lot in advance.
Tino