radio help

[stoneguy56]

i have a AC Delco am fm digital cassette player. my truck has all the connections except the connector for the 2 wires that come out of the radio which are orange and brown. does anybody know where the orange and brown wires go? thanks, joe

[ray_mcavoy]

Hi Joe,

The orange wire goes to a constant +12V source. It's used by the clock and digital tuner presets. Factory wiring usually had it plugged into the "BAT" socket on the fuse box.

The brown wire goes to the parking/tail light circuit. It's used to dim the display when the lights are on. Factory wiring usually had it connected to the brown wire on the headlight switch.

[grs]

get an am- fm- with a cd player.

[stoneguy56]

Thanks ray......do you know if the radio will still work without them hooked up because the radio dosen't work now without them hooked up.....so my question is do they need to be hooked up for it to work.......thanks

[ray_mcavoy]

You're welcome Joe!

Yes, the orange constant +12V wire does need to be hooked up in order for the radio to work.

I don't think the brown wire is absolutely necessary though. If I remember correctly, the display will just stay on at full brightness with that wire unhooked.

[stoneguy56]

ray...Thanks again...I was starting to think something else was wrong with the radio............Have a good night.................joe

[motornut]

Originally Posted by stoneguy56

Thanks ray......do you know if the radio will still work without them hooked up because the radio dosen't work now without them hooked up.....so my question is do they need to be hooked up for it to work.......thanks

I don't think it will work with out that hookup,you can power both for testing,and there are two types of plugs used back there.
I had to switch the plug on the wires for mine

[stoneguy56]

My truck i'm sure it had a am-fm casette not digital ,so there is no plug in the harness for those 2 wires ,i did get a plug end i need from another truck just didn't know where those wires went and if you needed them at all i will try hooking the orange to a battery this morning to see if it works then i will hook up the brown one....thanks guys for your help......joe.....

[DemonikKamik]

Hello all ive been looking through different radio threads and i think this is the one I need Is this the same digital radio that you have?? and also Its not keeping the presets memorized how can I fix that??
and also was this a factory option or not?? new to these trucks and their history

[ray_mcavoy]

Originally Posted by DemonikKamik

Hello all ive been looking through different radio threads and i think this is the one I need Is this the same digital radio that you have?? and also Its not keeping the presets memorized how can I fix that??
and also was this a factory option or not?? new to these trucks and their history

That appears to be an aftermarket radio. The original Delco digital stereos look like the bottom one in this pic:



It does sound like there is a problem with the constant +12V feed to your radio which is related to the subject of this thread.

However, being an aftermarket unit, the orange and brown color codes mentioned earlier will not apply to your radio. Instead, many aftermarket radios use a red wire for the switched +12V feed and a yellow wire for the constant +12V feed. But just to be on the safe side, it'd probably be a good idea to see if you can find a label somewhere on your radio that identifies the manufacturer & model number so you can look up the wiring diagram.

Edit: I can't quite see it clear enough in the pic to be sure, but it looks like "Realistic" printed on the face of your cassette door. If that's the case, that would have been sold through RadioShack back in the 80's or 90's.

[motornut]

Originally Posted by DemonikKamik

Hello all ive been looking through different radio threads and i think this is the one I need Is this the same digital radio that you have?? and also Its not keeping the presets memorized how can I fix that??
and also was this a factory option or not?? new to these trucks and their history

Most find they can use the lighter orange wire for the memory power , what colours does it have coming out?