Im needing help on a radio install

[Anonymous No.657402]

Hey, I am planning on installing a single din cd player and a single din CB radio into a double din opening. I dont really want to tap into the fuse box, but rather into the cd player wiring.
The CB radio has 3 wires (red,black,orange). the red and black makes sense, but I'm lost on what I would do with the orange.
Any help would be appreciated, I've been stuck on what to do with this. thank you.
>pic related:desired outcome

[Anonymous No.657408]

Hey OP I have the same radio (cobra 18 wx st ii). Just a heads up this is a hell of a lot easier to figure out if you have a multimeter.

First off the orange wire is for constant voltage, ie you turn off the vehicle and it is still supplying power. This is so you don't lose any settings on the radio. This is best to run directly to the battery but I'll go over connections in a bit.
The red wire is for accessory power, ie you turn off the vehicle and the power is no longer supplied. This just makes the radio turn on and off with the vehicle, you can also turn it on if the key is set to the accessory position.
Black is ground. Best to go directly to the negative terminal on the battery.

Here's where the multimeter comes in - find a bundle of wires. Any wires, its better if they're going into something that you can prod with the multimeter. You might need to disassemble the dash a bit or if you're lucky they'll just be under the dash accessible via the footwell. You're looking for a wire that will supply 12v when the key is turned to accessory. Once found splice the red wire onto it (solder and heat shrink splices!!).
From there you can either use the same method to find a constant 12v, but it is much easier to just run the orange and black directly to the battery, buy some proper wire for the run don't use speaker wire or crap like that.

[Anonymous No.657411]

>>657408
thanks for the reply. how do you like the cobra? What kind of antenna you running with it?

So there is no way to just splice into a wire coming out of the radio to keep it simple and local?

Also, I've never messed with hardwiring so mind my ignorance.. how do you go about "running it directly to battery?"

And stupid question, but if the orange is constant power, wouldn't that drain the battery? I'm sure its just like a regular cd player, I guess Im just trying to find some clarity with that.

So once installed, if correct.. i should have a reading of 0 when off, 12v on the red when key is turned, and 12v on orange.. even when its off?

[Anonymous No.657412]

[Anonymous No.657413]

also, any opinion on just running them to the fuse box and using an add-a-circuit for the orange and red?

Technically the instructions say to just run the red and orange to the fuse box, but from my research that seems kind of sketchy.. and this seems like a less-sketchy way of doing it.

[Anonymous No.657421]

>>657411
>thanks for the reply. how do you like the cobra? What kind of antenna you running with it?
So far the cobra is pretty decent for the price, transmits and receives pretty good when wheeling in the trails. I think it could perform a bit better with a decent antenna though, I'm using an old Metz I picked up for $10 and its seen better days.

>So there is no way to just splice into a wire coming out of the radio to keep it simple and local?
You could most likely find all the wires you need from the car radio, if the radio has a sheet with the values of each wire it would save you from needing a multimeter.

>Also, I've never messed with hardwiring so mind my ignorance.. how do you go about "running it directly to battery?"
If you did want to run directly to the battery you would need to find a hole through the firewall. Some vehicles already have spots for this but if not a drill always works as long as you know whats on the other side. It would pretty much just save you the hassle of splicing two more connections into the wiring harness. On the battery usually you can use an existing bolt on the terminal leads.

>And stupid question, but if the orange is constant power, wouldn't that drain the battery? I'm sure its just like a regular cd player, I guess Im just trying to find some clarity with that.
Even though orange is constant power it uses pretty much nothing, its just keeping a RAM chip in the radio alive so when you turn it on it remembers what channel you were on and maybe a couple of other settings. The power draw is miniscule.

>So once installed, if correct.. i should have a reading of 0 when off, 12v on the red when key is turned, and 12v on orange.. even when its off?
Yep.

[Anonymous No.657424]

>>657421
ok that makes sense. I appreciate the help.

I will probably just try to figure out what wires to splice the two into and then ground into the chassis.

So is orange the universal "constant power" the same was red and black are universal? And I would assume the black orange and red off of a cd player are hot ground and constant?

[Anonymous No.657426]

>>657413
You can and it might be easier to prod around in there and figure out the values of the wires, especially if the fuse box is in the dash somewhere. I don't really care for installations like that though just because the end result usually looks like pic related here, it looks sloppy, its not soldered and stuff like that comes loose eventually. The fusebox in general is kind of a tentacle monster, a lone bundle closer to the radio can be easier to deal with and get the wiring looking neat. Good wiring helps for troubleshooting problems that might come up with other electronics in the vehicle.

[Anonymous No.657428]

>>657424
>So is orange the universal "constant power" the same was red and black are universal? And I would assume the black orange and red off of a cd player are hot ground and constant?
I wouldn't assume voltage values based on the wire colour, a $15 multimeter doesn't assume and can save components that cost 20x that much. Can't be too careful with vehicle wiring, just shorting out the wrong wire could cook the ECU or worse.

[Anonymous No.657429]

>>657426
Yeah I agree. Plus there are fuses in the line on the CB, so if I have them close the radio, I can just pop off the small piece on the dash and have instant access.

Have any good ways to splice? The way I know is to cut the outer part of wire, pull it open a bit, push a pen through to get an opening, put the other wire through and wrap it around, then solder or tape it

[Anonymous No.657430]

>>657428
yeah i would never just assume with wiring. already nervous as it is, hah.

[Anonymous No.657435]

What is the CB make / model?

>Orange wire

There are some sets that have a radio mute wire now so don't just assume its power.

[Anonymous No.657436]

>>657435
its definitely the constant power wire. Says so in the manual and it tells you to run it through a constant power fuse.

its a cobra 18 wx st II by the way.

Main features that sold me:
>front facing speaker for dash mounting
>scan feature
>fits perfectly in single din

[Anonymous No.657438]

>>657436
Ok. There seemed some suggestion in the op that the picture was not the actual unit in question.

[Anonymous No.657440]

>>657429
>Have any good ways to splice? The way I know is to cut the outer part of wire, pull it open a bit, push a pen through to get an opening, put the other wire through and wrap it around, then solder or tape it
I find the cleanest way is to first cut the wire you want to splice into, so you can get the heatshrink tube around the entire thing. Kinda like the pic here. If you only strip the existing wire a bit rather than cutting it will be pretty much impossible to heatshink it. To solder I wouldn't go crazy with twisting the wires or anything, a quick half turn twist just to keep them together for soldering helps, though if possible the best way to to not twist them at all. Just hold the wires parallel to each other and solder, its a better surface for the solder to make contact and really the solder should be what is keeping the wires together - not twisting them. Once the connections are soldered slide the tube of heatshink over the connection and use a lighter to secure it. I strongly recommend against using any sort of tape - in a pinch as a last resort then maybe.. but if you can get heatshink then forget the tape. The stuff is usually pretty cheap and will last way longer than tape ever will.

[Anonymous No.657443]

>>657440
how about...get actual connectors? otherwise the simplest way is to just strip both wires, twist and electrical tape. but why not get a pack of crimp connectors?