1984 K10 headunit wiring

[Novasteve]

Ive wired up a few headunits before but not sure on this. I bought a male iso adapter earlier and the only wires from my old original am radio were, +/- for ONE speaker! earth, live and a earth and live connection for the radios illumination.

Connected earth to earth and the live wire to the red and yellow wires on the adapter and although it works I lose all the memory when I turn off the ignition!? I had the same problem with one of my novas before but never sorted it out.

 

[joesouthgate]

Sound liek the red and yellow are the wrong way around, as one it ign live and one permenant for the memory.

 

[richj]

is this question about a non k10 headunit in a k10?

 

[Novasteve]

Yes ive put a cd player in as I could handle only an AM radio!

 

[richj]

get your multimeter out, check you have a permanent live and one that goes live with the ignition. Then connect them up to the headunit. I think red is permanent live and yellow - should be written on the headunit. Check you have a good earth -> should be good to go.

 

[Novasteve]

All there was in the car was a live, which I assume must be ignition, theres just that one wire running to the red and yeloww on the adapter. Where can I run the permanent live from then?

 

[richj]

Sorry mate, I honestly can't remember what I did. Last time I had a look was around a year ago. I know that all I did was get the multimeter out and route around for a permanent live. If the head unit you want to run is powerful, it might be worth running a decent gauge wire straight from the fusebox. The head unit is a job worth doing well the first time, otherwise it can turn into a headache.

 

[Stu_CDX]

Sorry to drag up an old thread, but for reference, take the Permanant Live from the ignition barrel (Pin 1 or 5 IIRC) and run that to the +ve on the head unit. I have a fully working Sony CD player in my 1986 Nissan now.

Stu.

 

[slyboogie]

Sorry to drag up an old thread again again (well i found it on the first page ).

In my experience, drop the original power wires. I had a sony headunit in my old K10 that wasnt exceptionally powerful, was just a standard cd/fm radio. Was listening to music one day to notice my car smelt like a fire, and smoke pouring out under the dash - the original wires were heating up to near burning point. Tore my headunit out and the battery lead off and left the door open for half a day nervous to go near it.

So yeah. Most people might not have this issue but rest assured my wiring was fine (i admit i hacked off the connector but i soldered and shrinked on an ISO connector).

My advice - find the ignition live from the ignition barrel (this just tells the headunit to turn on or off with the key - much like the remote connection does to your amps!) and use just this, then run a new power lead and earth lead from the battery with an appropriate fuse holder and fuse for the permanent live and negative. I did this and never had a problem there after.

Just my experience, my 2p, may or may not help