• OFF TOPIC fun forum - NO politics - NO religion - NO jerks. It's not complicated. Thanks!

Radio stays on in my truck

Status
Not open for further replies.

TripleT

New member
Messages
259
Reaction score
0
Location
Iowa
I tried putting a new radio in my truck, but when i did the radio would stay on. Any ideas? It's in an 84 Chevy truck.
 

kendelrk

redneck engineer
Messages
2,425
Reaction score
7
Location
westland michigan
did you use a radio adaptor or wire it in yourself? you may have wired you head unit directly to your battery instead of to your ignition switch.
 

TripleT

New member
Messages
259
Reaction score
0
Location
Iowa
I used somewhat of an adapter that was in the truck with the radio before.
 

kendelrk

redneck engineer
Messages
2,425
Reaction score
7
Location
westland michigan
what head unit is it? did it have the same wire coloring? when i put a new head unit in my moms car i had all matching wires, so i cut them out of the old harness and wired it into the harness that came with it.
 

realfast89gt

Kart Krazy!!
Messages
287
Reaction score
1
Location
cibolo Tx
This is a common problem with people installing their own aftermarket radios, and it is a simple fix. There are normally 2 power wires going to the radio. One of them is only powered with the ignition on, and the other is always powered to keep the radios memory function operating properly. You must have swapped them somehow.

Besides that, it would have to be a defective radio, but 99 times out of 100 it is the 2 wires being switched. It doesnt matter what brand or style radio it is, they all use the same power setup.

Do you have the installation manual? If so read it over and see what color wires are for ignition power and "always on" power. Normally they would be yellow, orange, or red.
After finding which 2 wires they are, use a test light or voltmeter to see which one is showing 12v with the ignition off and wire it correctly.
 

Doc Sprocket

*********
Messages
15,677
Reaction score
151
Location
Ontario, Canada
I don't know if they still do this, but I had a Sony years ago that had a mini switch on the chassis that allowed "always on" as an option. IF your constant power and switched power are wired correctly, look for this option.
 

TripleT

New member
Messages
259
Reaction score
0
Location
Iowa
Thanks for all the replies! I got it figured out and it works great. I think i had the wires switched around. Thanks again!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top