Outer Limits 4x4 Board

gday i have 92 sierra, about to buy my first radio...
now where can i hook it up for power....
something easy caus im not the most technical minded...

can you do it to cigeret lighter? do you know which one is pos and neg?
cheers

yeh, get ya positive feed from the ciggy lighter, that way it will only work on ACC. just put the negative wire under a screw near by that is touching ground. easy as...........good luck

i think their are 3 wires...
red black and yellow?
pos neg and ground?????

stupid wiring i wish i had plugs

3 wires would possibley indicate a ground(or negative), a constant power, for settings in memory etc, and a switched power to turn the unti off when the car is turned off. Similar to a stereo. There should be a wiring diagram. If having problems get a multimeter or see an auto sparky. It's a pretty simple job.

Just a point to consider - i hard wired mine (to a constant power) so that i could have it on when camping etc with the vehicle off. Just so i could still hear what was going on, or if someone was looking for our camp site etc.

Just remember to turn it off at the unit when finished.

I have mine hooked up the radio fuse, that way it is protected with a fuse of the correct capacity. 5 amp is plenty to run stereo, cb & uhf.

Sorry Micky, but I wouldnt hook it up to the ciggy lighter because they usually run a 25 amp fuse & if you get a short then the cb will frazzle before the fuse does.

a average stereo has a 10 amp fuse not 5amp and a cig plug shouldt have a 25amp fuse in it should only have a 15amp fuse thats about the max you want to run through it

What model is the CB? There should be info somewhere on the web as to what the 3rd wire does - just to make sure.

The BEST way to power your comms gear is directly from the battery. Among other advantages, that way even if your battery doesn't have enough charge to start the vehicle, you can still use the radio to get assistance.

If the unit doesn't have a fuse in line, then just go to Dick Smith or similar and get a cheap inline fuse holder. Just make sure that the fuse is somewhere in the line BEFORE the cable runs thru your firewall (i.e. in the engine bay) to prevent nasty little experiences with fire from short circuits.

okay the other one i saw had 3 wires, this one only had two...
thats good

i hook it up direct to ciggy lighter with a fuse inline and also the ciggy has 15amp fuse...

now when i start the car it blows the fuse inline and the fuse box one...

Im gunna try and do it direct to battery then...

also how do i get antenna cable from outside to inside, i cant see any good openings... or do i pull out the drill?

kingchevy wrote:a average stereo has a 10 amp fuse not 5amp and a cig plug shouldt have a 25amp fuse in it should only have a 15amp fuse thats about the max you want to run through it

My Nissan is 5 amp, most cars I have owned/worked on have been 5 amp with the exception of old holdens which had a 3 amp stumpy glass fuse.

chunkz wrote:okay the other one i saw had 3 wires, this one only had two...
thats good

i hook it up direct to ciggy lighter with a fuse inline and also the ciggy has 15amp fuse...

now when i start the car it blows the fuse inline and the fuse box one...

Im gunna try and do it direct to battery then...

also how do i get antenna cable from outside to inside, i cant see any good openings... or do i pull out the drill?

you shouldnt need to drill a hole, what sorta car is it goin into?

you should see a whole heap of other cables coming through the firewall somewhere, try and squeeze it through there. as others have said about the ciggy lighter having a 25amp fuse, you have two options. the inline fuse (which i think you already have) or just put a smaller fuse in there, the ciggy lighter should be on its own and i dont use mine for lighter anyway. The inline fuse on the actual radio will do just fine though. as for blowing the fuse on start up, it sounds like you just had it wired wrong or bad insulation on one of the joints.

all is well now
except i still have to get antenna cable through fire wall...
and it doesnt fit where the rest of the wires are

this is 92 sierra

Is the plug already fitted onto the antenna cable? If it is you will have to remove the plug. Most likely if you heat the centre conductor with a soldering iron you will be able to pull the cable out of the plug. Makes it easer to run the cable. Then you need to screw the cable back into the plug and then re solder the centre conductor.

The last UHF antenna I bought actually had an F connector on the cable to make it easier to run and then included an F connector adaptor to attach to the UHF.

all is well now
know how to work it
all wires are done

Positive wire from battery. negative wire to body. coaxial to ariel. Easy stuff old mate.

chunkz wrote:all is well now
know how to work it
all wires are done

lol thanks anyway camshaft

There should only be a positive, (Red), and a negative, (black or black stripe on red), for the power supply cable on most radios.

It is always best to take you power direct from the battery if at all possible. Always place a fuse, (2 to 5Amp for 5Watt low power radios, 10Amp for 25Watt high power radios), as close to the positive power supply, (usually within 10 to 20cm). Just in case the power line gets chomped.You want the fuse to blow rather then short the wiring and turn your 4X4 into a crispy. (Note, if you are blowing lot of fuses all the time, you have a short somewhere, wrapping cigg' foil or tin foil around old fuse will probably lead to a crispy situation!)

Why battery power I hear you ask?
A. Battery = Better supply in respect earth, current and voltage.

B. The battery is a type of capacitor in the sense it releases stored energy
at a given voltage and amperage rate. Wiring up to the back of the fuse block, ignition wiring or other can cause problems with not being fused properly, overloading circuts, noise interference etc. The battery will act as a buffer to a lot of this eliminating these potential probs.

Other tips...

Never run any cable through metal trim/fire wall etc without grommets, this may cause damage to the cable and a defect if discovered.

Naturally seal cable runs for water proofing, grommets again, and a touch of silicon can be a help.

Make sure your earth points, terminals etc are secure. Most faults I have found relate to poor wiring and joins. Solder whenever you can, crimp connectors are not always secure enough. Poor joins can lead to corrosion and equipment failure. (And it will be just when you need it!)

Cauliflower, (that white powder/crystal build up), on battery terminals can easily be cleared with a little hot water poured over them. (Don't wipe with fingers and put near mouth or eyes - do it and you'll find out why!)

Don't run cables under floor matts or areas where the esky/jack/tools/feet go. Otherwise you may have another crispy situation
or end up having to replace cables.

Where does all this come from? 20+ years in the communications business!