I'm installing a Custom Autosound stereo in my 69 Cutlass and I can't figure out how to connect it to the Ignition. There's a wire from the stereo labeled "Ignition" but from my electrical cluster under the dash I only see the battery wire.

I also noticed that my orange curtesy lights wire is not connected under the dash...it must have been disconnected by the previous owner for some reason.

Appreciate any guidance here.

 

Yellow wire is for radio, it's only hot with key on. Orange is for cig lighter, courtesy should be hot full time. Do yours work? A test light or volt meter helps a bit

 

Your fuse block should have a male spade terminal labeled "IGN," another labeled "ACC," and another labeled "BAT"

IGN is the Ignition tap, ACC is the Accessories tap, and BAT is hot all the time.

Or just take the Accessories power from the yellow wire that powered the original radio.

The Orange wire is hot all the time, through the "CTSY" fuse, and powers the dome and courtesy lights and the cigarette lighter.
Guess #1 is that the lighter shorted out and someone yanked the wire.

- Eric

 

Couldn't that orange wire be for a clock? Does this car have a clock? If not, the wire might be there but just not used. My '67 Delta does not have a clock, but it had a wire, orange I believe, that was just hanging back there behind the dash where the clock would have been. It was 12V all the time. I used it for the aftermarket radio I put in which required a 12V constant source to remember the time and station presets.

 

Yup. Clock, too.

- Eric

 

Picking up on this old thread... I just installed a Ken Harrison Vintage/new radio and looks/sounds great. A bit cheap in some aspects (buttons/*****)... but otherwise a good radio...

When I installed the radio, I noticed an orange wire hanging from the ignition wiring harness cluster (I connected the yellow wire to the radio for the ignition, which worked).

However, reading this thread, I see the orange wire may be for the cig lighter (which had not worked since I owned the car). All courtesy lights work, however.

The orange wire has a male adapter at the end, does this somehow plug into the cigarette lighter? Is it actually supposed to be wired directly to the lighter?

thanks in advance,

kevin

 

The orange wire probably connects right to the cigarette lighter... Unless it connects to the clock, or the map light, or the glove compartment light, or one of the door switches...

Knowing the model and year would help, but the orange wire could connect to anything that is powered by that circuit.

Beware of connecting it to the cigarette lighter, because old lighters are often not in the best condition, and it may have a short in it.

- Eric

 

thanks Eric... well, the clock works (sometimes) and the map light works. Both door switches work. The light in the glove compartment is missing, so the wire could be for that.

The Lighter and housing appear pretty new... I imagine if take out that housing (do I have to do that from under the dash?) I'll see if it is connected or not... Is there any hazard in connecting that orange wire, if it happens to not be for the lighter, or might it work either way?

I'd like to get that lighter to work so I can charge accessories...

 

The only hazard is if the lighter is shorted, you will either blow a fuse or melt the entire dash harness.

The rear cup of the lighter should unscrew from the back, then the center portion should pull out from the front.
Generic replacements are easily available if it's destroyed.

- Eric

 

Thanks again Eric... being that I just took apart the underneath of the dash / venting to put in the radio, I'm feeling a bit dumb for not checking the lighter while it was apart.. I guess I'll be doing it again.

(The biggest pain was getting the plastic defogger housing to stay connected to the venting... )

Hopefully I don't melt the dash, but the cup does look quite new, so I'm going to hope it simply is not connected... Seems that would explain the random orange wire too...

 

The Orange wire is probably for the lighter. You don't need to worry about shorting anything if the lighter is not plugged in to the socket, and the fuse will blow long before you melt the wiring.........

 

Okay, so is what you're saying is I should connect the orange wire to the lighter housing and see if any of charging devices work (or even the lighter itself).

Likely, if there is any issue with the socket, the fuse will blow.... that it?

 

In a perfect world.

I have taken apart several cars where the orange wire was overheated, with nearly all insulation melted off - this could not have happened if the fuse had blown.

- Eric

 

Over time the insulation begins to degrade and will withstand less heat. That being said, if a circuit is fused properly, the fuse should always blow before a fire will start.

 

You could/should check the voltage on the wire with a DVM. If it reads a constant 12v, hook it up to the socket, plug in a device to see if it will work/charge.

 

Oh, I agree.

- Eric

 

Even a 30 amp fuse should blow if you have a direct short on the orange wire. That being said, I have seen fuses that had gum wrappers around them creating an almost un-blowable fuse. I have also seen fuses replaced with a solid bolt!

The yellow wire is designed to operate the radio/stereo and the orange lead can be used as a 12 volt constant source for the memory back-up lead. As long as the fuses have not been bypassed or the car has been sitting in the middle of the Sahara desert for the last 40 years, the wiring the insulation should not lose integrity.

Many times I have seen cigarette lighters that have unscrewed and shorted the lighter socket. If you have a problem with the fuse blowing, I would look at that first!

 

As said, the orange wire is the 12V lead for the cig lighter. There is a straight terminal in the the rear center of the lighter housing that the orange wire plugs straight onto.

I tapped into that wire for the radio constant power using a 3M electrical tap.

 

Thanks for the info, I was just about to install a new radio this weekend. Already pulled the old one out compared to the new Retrosound.
So yellow is radio, black is ground, orange is constant but I thought red goes to the battery? I will measure it though with a meter.