I just installed a cd player in my car, i cut all the wires cause i didn't get an installation kit, but i know i did a pretty good job connecting them. The only wires that i left out is the brown wire and the gray wire, which i don't know what they do. My stereo works fine when sitting in place, but when driving, it keeps turning on and off. Anybody know what the problem might be?

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Mods:Hooker Aerochamber 3" exhaust, gutted kitty,
March 2 piece underdrive pullies, smog pump gone,;these two made a very noticable difference.
14x4 K&N open air element filter-the best mod so far
Eibach springs with KYB's all around.
Appearance: Harwood cowl hood, Z-28 wing, painted black(7/20/00)-original color was light blue
*All these mods were made this year
Stock Options:117,000 miles on motor, 5spd, TBI, 305, T-tops
Run a best of 16.7 @85mph with traction problem. Have to try again sometime.

 

One of the wires that you did a good job connecting didn't get done quite good enough. What method did you use to connect them?

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I stripped the end of each wire about a 1/4 inch and then i twisted them together. Than i used those round plastic connectors that twist them even more and hold them together pretty tight. I have done this same thing with my two previous stereos and it worked good. I think i'm gonna try soldering them next and see what happens.

 

Hey,congrats on the new deck!I heard the way you connected your wires is not a very good way to do it.Trust me,Im not a genius in car audio by far,but when i was trying to figure out how to put my new cd player i came across a site that said those little things work for awhile but then vibrate off.The best two ways to connect the wires are to solder or crimp.Thats what i did was crimp mine.Hope this helps!

 

Those twist on caps are only good for house wiring. For automotive use, you should get a pack of butt end connectors. You strip some insulation from both wires you want to connect, insert 1 wire into each end and crimp them down.

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-Justin-
T-Top '86 5.0L LG4 700R4 WS6 Now Bilstein equipped!
T-Top '92 5.0L TBI 700R4
My '86 Firebird Homepage
The F-body Model Kit Pictoral Archive (updated 9/18/00)

There can be only one!!

 

We had an installer that used wire nuts, and I've used them on occasion, but they are not that good. They hold solid copper wires together tightly, but with fine stranded wire, they can loosen up. You should either use butt-connectors with a GOOD crimper (not the $5 wall mart job) or solder it. I'm not a huge fan of solder because when you jam the wires back into the dash, the solder can crack. I use butt connectors on all of my installations.

When you start trouble shooting this, you'll see first-hand why you should ALWAYS buy a wiring harness. Now you're going to have to sit there in the car and **** with stripping wire and troubleshooting this thing with tools on your lap. After you install and remove it another couple times, you'll hardly have enough wire left to reach, and you'll have so many extentions on the wire it'll be a miracle that it gets power at all. By using a wiring harness, not only do you get to avoid hacking up the stock wiring, but you can do all of your butt-connections on a well lit work bench, and it makes testing them much easier. If the radio needs to come out, it's as easy as removing the stock one. Best of all, you can remove and reinstall as many times as you need, and the stock wiring won't keep getting shorter. Well worth the $10.

------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

 

Ok, i crimped all the wires together, and still the same problem. I even shook the radio and all the wires when car is standing still, and it works perfectly fine. Its only when i drive , mostly going over small bumps, that it turns off and then turns back on. So it must be something under the hood.

By the way, its not a new deck, i had a brand new sony cdx-4000x for about two months when it got ripped out of my dash about 2 weeks ago. Now i'm putting my old one in.

 

Before you do too much, I'd hook a test light to the Battery and ignition wires (not at the same time) and go for a ride. See if the light flashes on and off. If the battery feed does, just run a new line directly from the battery. If it's the ignition feed, you're going to have some work to do.

------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

 

Hey, that test light was a good idea. Its my antenna wire. It must have gotten damaged somewhere when i had my stereo ripped out of my dash. Now i have to trace it to where it goes and put a new wire in (that's gonna be fun). Well its too dark out right now anyways, but i'm glad i found the problem.

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Mods:Hooker Aerochamber 3" exhaust, gutted kitty,
March 2 piece underdrive pullies, smog pump gone,;these two made a very noticable difference.
14x4 K&N open air element filter-the best mod so far
Eibach springs with KYB's all around.
Appearance: Harwood cowl hood, Z-28 wing, painted black(7/20/00)-original color was light blue
*All these mods were made this year
Stock Options:117,000 miles on motor, 5spd, TBI, 305, T-tops
Run a best of 16.7 @85mph with traction problem. Have to try again sometime.

 

where the heck is my antenna wire connected to under the hood??? does anybody know?

 

To the antenna.

------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

 

Why on earth would you cut up your factory wiring? It might be wise to get yourself a replacement factory harness from a junkyard and reattach it to your car, then get a proper adapter. Or you can buy an aftermarket duplicate of the factory harness at some shops.

 

but that's not what the problem is. I know what each and every wire is and what it does. I've had 2 aftermarket stereos in there before working just fine without spending any money on any harnesses. So i know for sure that i have everything connected right. The problem is in the antenna wire (must have happened after i had my last stereo stolen - yanked out). And i'm not sure how to go about replacing it. Would i have to take off my fender to get to the antenna or what?

 

No. You can get to it by just removing the inner fender. I take it that you have a power antenna?

------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

 

yes, i do have a power antenna. And i did remove the inner fender, but there is only a tiny hole there that the antenna wire goes through to connect to the antenna, and i know its impossible to squeeze my hand through there. I have to take a closer look at it.