Radio wiring question, harness thrashed

[JC6715]

Trying to wire up a new radio, the switched power wire of the old harness works, however, the constant power to retain the clock and radio settings wire(s) do not work.

I can't find the problem, so would I be safe in runnging a 16ga wire straight from the battery or do i need to track down why the constant power isn't working?

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[66moneypit]

Trying to wire up a new radio, the switched power wire of the old harness works, however, the constant power to retain the clock and radio settings wire(s) do not work.

I can't find the problem, so would I be safe in runnging a 16ga wire straight from the battery or do i need to track down why the constant power isn't working?

Thanks for the help guys.

What have you looked at as the source of the problem ?
Could be bad fuse, could be bad connection at the fuse box, could be the wire was fried before hand...

 

[JC6715]

Fuses are fine, didn't try the connection at the fuse box. If you can't tell, this is my first classic car, so I'm learnin' as I go here.

 

[67CoupeDriva]

What year is your car? My '67 doesn't have a provision for a continually hot wire for those things, as the old car didn't have clocks, and the dial tuner was retained without benefit of 12v. There's only the switched hot and the dash light feed controlled by the headlight switch.
You'll probably need a small-gauge (fused!!) wire to a constant 12v source (fuse box, ignition switch, battery, your choice).

 

[JC6715]

Ah-hah!

THANK YOU!!! I thought I was going crazy, mine is a '67 also. Any idea on what size fuse I should use? Thanks again.

 

[67CoupeDriva]

If you're just powering the constant 12v you shouldn't need much (250 mA may be plenty). Someone smarter than me could tell you the max sized fuse is for the given wire & distance. Barring that, if you're supplying power to actually run the deck (esp. if it's high powered) you'll need a larger wire & fuse. Just keep in mind the primary reason for a fuse is to prevent the wire from overheating and starting a fire, so I'd use the smallest one that doesn't burn out under normal use.

 

[iskwezm]

If you're just powering the constant 12v you shouldn't need much (250 mA may be plenty). Someone smarter than me could tell you the max sized fuse is for the given wire & distance. Barring that, if you're supplying power to actually run the deck (esp. if it's high powered) you'll need a larger wire & fuse. Just keep in mind the primary reason for a fuse is to prevent the wire from overheating and starting a fire, so I'd use the smallest one that doesn't burn out under normal use.

you can use a 7.5-10 amp fuse,the head unit should have its own 7.5 in line and use a 12-14 GA lead wire