Audio Fuse Block & wires

[chato de shamrock]

I'm putting a new radio head unit on my car and had two questions regarding the fuse block and one of the wires.

First off the fuse block. Is it a must to have this or can I connect the wires from my radio to the wires coming from the dashboard? I'm not completely understanding the purpose of the fuse block. I pulled the old radio and noticed the block with black, red and yellow colored wires running from the radio, through the block and into the dash. I'm not sure if the block is original or installed later. I did noticed the wires running from the dash were connected using some plastic ties to the wires that were soldered onto the fuse block, and the wires coming out of the opposite end of the fuse block were connected to the radio wires using some plastic tie. Looks to me like the previous owner might have put in that fuse block. If its a must having this block, can i recycle it and use it on my new radio or is it recommenced to also put a new fuse block?

Moving on. The new radio has 9 wires. 4 of those go to speakers then theres a blue, yellow, red and black. I understand where those run to but the 9th wire, an orange colored w/white stripe, is where i'm stomped. It indicates it goes to the car light control switch. My old radio doesnt have this wire so I'm not sure where I should hook this one up to. Any suggestions?

I'm sorry if these questions are basic stuff but this is my first attempt at hooking up a radio so i'm learning as I go, and thanks for your time guys.

[GSXRJJordan]

*tips hat* This is an area where very few Zilvians help out a very large population. I'll take this one :)

Fuse block - I'm not sure what you're describing is a fuse block. As you'll learn here, pictures help a lot, especially when asking for help. This is a fuse block:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518xrckNpQL._SL500_AA280_.jpg

In the automotive world, these are used to take one large fused connection (like a battery +12v wire) and split it into many smaller fused connections for individual loads - the ability to separate the electrical current into separate circuits keeps everything safer, because less current can pass through each part. There very well may be a fuse block in your car, but the radio would not connect more than one or two wires to this block.

It sounds to me like you're looking at a 'harness adapter' that connects the stock radio plug to the aftermarket head unit's plug:
http://i436.photobucket.com/albums/qq84/aces805/ROEM-NIS2.jpg

These vary widely in looks, but you'll see them connected to the white OEM plugs on one side, then some wire, then the radio plug (which plugs into, or simply enters a hole in, the head unit).

Now, your 'light' wire - this would be wired into any wire that gets +12V when your lights are on. You didn't list which model car you have, so I can't tell you for sure, but all it does is dim the head unit's backlight when you turn the lights on. If you don't care about that, by all means, don't hook it up :) The wires you would need to tap are moderately hard to access.

[chato de shamrock]

That was real stupid of me to forget to mention what model Im working on.

I have a base model 96 240sx. Sorry for not including pictures. Im doing this set up from a family members home so i dont have a camera to take pictures and my computer, which i have pictures of the new radio, was left at home. The radio model is the JVC KD-R600. The fuse block has the red, yellow and black wires come from the stereo, pass through the fuse block and run into the dashboard. Inside the fuse block are two of these fuses pictures in this link:
Other Image Views (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=cat13506&type=page&skuId=8287089&productId=1174091579436&defurl=false&h=387)

One of the fuses is longer then the other.

Thanks for your time Jordan.

[S14DB]

You need one of these.
http://documents.victorytechnologies.com/images/Product/1072.jpg
Metra Electronics Corp. - 70-7550

Connect(solder) all the wires from the radio harness to that harness. Then plug that harness into the dash harness.
Note there is no ground on our harnesses. You have to ground the black wire to the frame.

[g6civcx]

Is it a must to have this or can I connect the wires from my radio to the wires coming from the dashboard?

If its a must having this block, can i recycle it and use it on my new radio or is it recommenced to also put a new fuse block?

In my personal experience, 99% of car audio installers do not know or do not have the time to care about proper wiring.

From the sound of everything, I recommend that you remove everything that was not the original factory wiring. You need to return everything back to stock so you have a baseline to work with.

The purpose of the fuse block is to prevent excessive current draw, such as shorts or malfunctions, from burning down the car. The fuse would blow when the max current is exceeded instead of continually feeding current and overheating the wire.

You need to remove all non-factory wires because I would imagine that they are garbage. You need to then repair the original factory wire harness so you know what's going on with the wires.

I recommend borrowing a friend's stock Nissan radio and plugging into your car and check all radio functionality and speakers for proper functionality.


Moving on. The new radio has 9 wires. 4 of those go to speakers then theres a blue, yellow, red and black. I understand where those run to but the 9th wire, an orange colored w/white stripe, is where i'm stomped. It indicates it goes to the car light control switch. My old radio doesnt have this wire so I'm not sure where I should hook this one up to. Any suggestions?


You need to get the instructions manual from JVC. They will tell you what wires do what. You need to do your homework before asking anyone else. I found this on JVC's site:

http://resources.jvc.com/Resources/00/01/15/GET0580-002A.pdf

It looks organe with white stripe is for the car illumination control. I don't know what colour this is on the S14 off the top of my head.

There are 1,000 ways to install a radio. About 980 of those ways are wrong.

The easiest way is to get a Metra miracle harness for the headunit and the car. Plug and play. No guesswork.

[g6civcx]

As far as running a fuse block for this JVC radio, you do not need to if you're running factory-style speakers with no sub/amp.

The factory has a 15A fuse on the power wire, and the radio also has a 15A fuse on the back.

All the other power draws, namely illumination and accessory switched power, should not exceed the factory fuse ratings as well.

So unless you're running amps and subs, you don't need that fuse block mess. Remove everything and return to stock first. Then ask me if you need help.

[chato de shamrock]

Thanks guys. Ya, I removed the block since I dont have anything flashy to bump. Its just 4 regular speakers and a radio and dont plan on adding anything more.