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Righty ho, well the last few sunny days have made me realise that there is nothing I want more right now than some choons in the car so that I can cruise along, with the aviators on, in the pImp, listening to the liquid maestro that is High Contrast... So, I bobbed down to the local scrappy, who told me to wander round until I saw some speakers I wanted and then remove them myself.... so I went for some from a Rover  Now, wiring in a stereo. It looks rather simple I must say.... just want to double check two connections... Wiring diagram for the stereo is here: pdf.crse.com/manuals/2348404231.pdfThe two connections I'm querying are the switched and continuous power supplies (red and yellow wires respectively). Does the continuous go to the ACC part of bit on the ignition barrel (same as lights etc) and then does the switched one go on the next part of the barrel, where the key is when the engine is running etc? Quite pleased with the install thus far, so piccies later. Cheers all. |
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The continuous feed should go to a permanent live (Battery) to keep the memory when the car is off, and the switched feed to the ACC wire so the stereo comes on and off with the ignition. You could wire it to position three, so it only comes on with the engine running, but I would go for ACC for simplicity.
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Ah OK kool cheers.
Just realised I've made an error in my original post anyway... as the "lights etc" that I'm referring to are connected to the permanent live anyway aren't they. So either way, that's what I need to connect the yellow one too.
So it's
Yellow- Permanent live- Same as headlights
and
Red- ACC- Same as wipers
Sound right?
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bxer
Part of things
Posts: 457
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Yes, does sound right if the wipers come on before the iginition lights, so you can have the stereo running on the key, but without necessarily having the coil etc on too.
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May 13, 2009 10:26:59 GMT
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Hi frank. Is your imp a mark 3? If so, and if i remember correctly, on the back of the ignition switch, the spade connectors are numbered. I think it's number 3 you want for the switched live.
check with a test bulb though, it's been a few years...
ta,
Rich
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May 13, 2009 13:19:18 GMT
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I run the permanent live from the back of the headlight switch, and the switched live from the feed to the heater switch.
The head unit is in a DIN cage, cable tied to the bottom right of the dash. There is a slot in the dash by the support rail that is very useful.
Speakers can go in door cards, over the back pockets or even under the seats.
James
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orangecords
Part of things
yawner extraordinaire
Posts: 892
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May 13, 2009 14:57:19 GMT
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personally id wire the whole unit on permanent live (I'm assuming its a face removable jobby-once the face is removed its only using power to hold memory etc)
fuse by battery terminal and another by the head unit to be safe. connect both the stereos lives to this with crimp connectors and insulate heavily with tape. for the earth id find a screw/bolt in the body as close to the head unit as possible. then its a case of speaker wires
I wire all mine on the classic/retros in the fleet to stay on permanent live mainly so I don't forget the face and for a safety aspect. I find using the switch live on older vehicles to be a nightmare as older cars wiring is generally weaker then the new stuff. doing it this way is essentially putting it on a seperate loom so not overloading aging factory stuff. also it generally helps stop interference from coil/alternater etc
I'm not saying all old cars wiring is 5h1te by the way ;D its just I like to be safe and it would pi55 me right off if my car went smokey for the sake of listening to serious choonage at a suitable volume!
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I then wanted to start cleaning the interior as it stinks of wood (the material not the smell of a boner) best quote ever! |
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May 13, 2009 18:27:56 GMT
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If you need a hand i'm local on saturday.
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Volvo back as my main squeeze, more boost and some interior goodies on the way.
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May 13, 2009 20:04:51 GMT
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As said I would run a live directly to the battery and run both the switched and permanent live from it. This means you wont have to have the ignition on to listen to the music. Fuse as close to the battery as possible. Make the earth short too. Solder any joints if you can, if not make doubly sure the connections are sound. I had two fuses on one of my systems and one kept blowing. I did away with one and it was fine forevermore.
If you can locate the speakers in the front they will sound best as naturally you face sound and not stand with it to your back. I wouldnt personally choose second hand speakers, they are normally ragged and speakers do breakdown with age and sun exposure. I would definately not make any mods to trim or the car to fit second hand speakers (no speaker for that matter). Anyway, new speakers are not expensive!
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May 13, 2009 20:56:26 GMT
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Hi all, Cheers for the advice, got it done an I'm fairly happy popup- cheers for the offer, i'm kicking back in Swansea these days though, so not that local  The speakers were £5 a pop, which agrees with my student ways  TO be honest, I'm not particularly fussed with the quality of the music. The head unit is one i've had kicking around for a while and nothing special anyway. Besides... most music is going to be drowned out by the sound of a screaming janspeed!! I decided to switch it, but I am a stupid idiot tbh, and would almost definately come back and find my car with the battery drained most of the time! The Earth is just below the stereo and the wire is only 10cm long or so. Can't be much shorter as I have to account for the fact that the glovebox is being opened and shut. Some joints were soldered, some crimped. The stereo is in the glove box, mounted in a DIN cage, which in turn is in a halfords mounting tray bolted to the glovebox. The front two speakers are mounted in the actual door itself (not the door bin), which although probably won't give the best sound, they fit very nicely and take up effectively no room. The switched feed uses a spare spade on the ignition barrel and the continuous feed comes off a piggy back terminal on the headlight switch. All the wiring is nicely tucked away (including the proper speaker cable) and any additions to bits of loom have been taped up nicely, very happy overall The wiring round the stereo itself could be tidier and the door cards need replacing (I had to trim them to go round the speaker, and the only thing I had handy was tin snips ) I have to smaller speakers to go in the space under the rear seats (impers will probably know the space I mean) once I've crafted something to hold them, but also something to protect them from heels! Finally.... only other issue is that the stereo cuts out sometimes at idle, especially when cold. This is because the battery is not charging enough I expect, as it's when the ignition/battery charge light comes on. I assume that if I go over to an alternator, this will be resolved? Pics tomorrow if anyone is particularly interested. I was very suprised how simple it all was to wire in to be honest! |
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May 13, 2009 21:12:47 GMT
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Good job getting it in so quick.
I would assume thats the reason it cuts out, try a wire directly off the battery to see if it cures it.
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May 13, 2009 22:09:55 GMT
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Good job getting it in so quick. I would assume thats the reason it cuts out, try a wire directly off the battery to see if it cures it. Cheers man. I'll give it a go tomorrow, I have wire that runs from the battery in the back to a now unused relay in the front. Fingers crossed it's long enough (although I doubt it!) |
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May 13, 2009 22:42:58 GMT
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I suspect that your stereo is a clever thing with a low-voltage-power-off function, to stop you from flattening the battery. With a dynamo at idle the voltage might dip below the setting in the radio - especially if you have other things running at the same time (headlights, wipers etc.).
My stereo just has a 1-hour timer to turn itself off, which is nice.
James
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May 13, 2009 23:37:36 GMT
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I suspect that your stereo is a clever thing with a low-voltage-power-off function, to stop you from flattening the battery. With a dynamo at idle the voltage might dip below the setting in the radio - especially if you have other things running at the same time (headlights, wipers etc.). Hmmm I see. So an alternator would help dya reckon? I'll have a look in the specs and see if there's any mention of it. It's just a dirt cheap stereo so I'd be suprised... we shall see. |
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you can fit 6x9's in the rear side panels which sound ace in an imp because they;re right behind the drivers seat and the sound travels everywhere despite not facing the driver. In my old Stiletto, I had a two sony xplod 6x9's in the rear and cut holes in the front door to fit 13cm sony front speakers too. sounded immense. The 10 CD changer went in the basket holes under the rear seats.
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May 17, 2009 23:47:38 GMT
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Can I ask why it is recommended to put extra fuses into the feed to stereos?
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'cos the fuse at the stereo is to protect the stereo and not the wiring, the further away from the battery the fuse is, the more unfused wire there is that could get damaged and cause a fire, thats why you should really always take your feed from the fuse box rather than direct onto the battery terminal, but in practise its often easier just to add a new wire and fuse.
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Volvo back as my main squeeze, more boost and some interior goodies on the way.
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May 18, 2009 23:27:27 GMT
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Ah OK. Thankfully my system takes power from the fuse box but has an inline fuse on the wire. The 2amp fuse blew as soon as I turned the stereo up though, so what value would you reccomend/
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May 18, 2009 23:39:24 GMT
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I'd check there are no issues causing it to blow, if it all seems ok then try a 5amp, my small amp only has a 10amp fuse in it so a head unit shouldn't need a large fuse unless its a particulally high output unit running with no seperate amps. Check the instruction manual, if you don't have one you should be able to download it, don't just keep fitting bigger fuses or you may find you have some issues.  |
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Volvo back as my main squeeze, more boost and some interior goodies on the way.
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TO be honest, I'm not particularly fussed with the quality of the music. The head unit is one i've had kicking around for a while and nothing special anyway. Besides... most music is going to be drowned out by the sound of a screaming janspeed!!
