Radio doesn't work when i turn my headlights on???

9674 Views 9 Replies 9 Participants Last post by pjs91gst, Nov 29, 2005

mbbiker

Discussion Starter · Nov 18, 2005

I have an older pioneer cd player installed in my 90 talon and I didn't hack any wires so i'm 99.9% sure the install is not the problem. No subs, no amps just a cd player running stock speakers.

-I can turn it up as loud as i want while the car is running so i don't think it's a voltage thing,

-checked all the grounds and they seem good, filed the paint off from under the grounds where their was some.

-made sure the terminals on the battery were clean and i had the wires clamped tight.

The only time it doesn't work is when i flip my headlights up, i loose all my settings every time i turn on the lights. Any ideas???

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Briuah

· #2 · Nov 18, 2005

It sounds like something is grounding out.

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Slownis

· #3 · Nov 18, 2005

Does your radio have a dimmer wire, that dimms the display when the lights are turned on? If so, try disconnecting it and see what happens.

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XCalibirTsi95

· #4 · Nov 18, 2005

do you have a multi meter, if you do,, test the wire that you use for constant, see if it changes polaritywhen you have your headlights on. if not.. test the rest of the wires. if you put a dimmer wire on any lead that it should not be on, it may cause a short and your radio will turn off..

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DRSully

· #5 · Nov 20, 2005

XcalibirGST97 said:
do you have a multi meter, if you do,, test the wire that you use for constant, see if it changes polaritywhen you have your headlights on. if not.. test the rest of the wires. if you put a dimmer wire on any lead that it should not be on, it may cause a short and your radio will turn off..

That sound like the issue to me. Sounds like it is also affecting the memory, if you lose your settings everytime this happens too.

Take care,

David

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pb4ugotobed

· #6 · Nov 21, 2005

i'll bet you wired your ground wire into the illumination lead.

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BOOSTEDTALONts

· #7 · Nov 23, 2005

pb4ugotobed said:
i'll bet you wired your ground wire into the illumination lead.

-I couldn't agree more... $10 bux says your are right!

-The 1G's radio harness does not have a ground wire on it... The way the factory radio gets its ground is through the metal ISO mount brackets. In your case, just cut the Pioneer's black wire and attach it to any part of the metal dash frame. Enjoy.

As for the Dimmer and Illumination leads (found on the radio harness), one of these wires will show 12v+ when the parking lights (the green/white illumination lead, so you can see the back lit buttons on the radio at night time). The other dimmer wire (black with a yellow stripe) will show a percentage of ground, depending on how the rheostat is adjusted. A higher percentage of ground will make the lights brighter. -This function is used for the OE radios for the LCD backlight only. -It is also a good way to wire in the illumination of your aftermarket guages... use the green/white (12v+ illumination) and the black/yellow (rheostat's groung output) so that your guages will dim with the rest of your interior lighting at night.

Hope this helps

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high-psi-tsi

· #8 · Nov 23, 2005

I have a similiar problem except it causes my dash lights to cut out too sometimes. I just checked all the wiring today and the dimmer ground was connected to the ground of the cd player (this is what happens when you let other people wire stuff for you). Anyway, I ironed that out and the problem still exists. Anyone have any ideas why the dash lights would cut out along with the radio?

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mbbiker

Discussion Starter · #9 · Nov 27, 2005

"The way the factory radio gets its ground is through the metal ISO mount brackets. In your case, just cut the Pioneer's black wire and attach it to any part of the metal dash frame. Enjoy."

I didn't know that, The car had the factory hu in when i bought it so i just bought the plugs that the stock wiring and splice into the wires off the hu. Cut the black one bolted it to the dash frame and it all works.

Thanks for the help.

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pjs91gst

· #10 · Nov 29, 2005

sounds like ur 12volt constant yellow wire is hooked up to ur dimmer or illumination wire if not run a 16gauge wire to ur steering collum u can find a 12volt wit ur multimeter

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