View Full Version : Problem with continuous power to my Sony GT-210
Afternoon all
Just purchased a Sony xplod CDXGT-210 head unit. All the connectors hook up fine to the unit no problems. The manual advised I had to pull apart the bullet connector on the red wire and plug it into the extra connection point on the yellow wire (if that makes sense) to get continuous power.
In fact, this was the only way I could get it to power up, only problem is that it doesn't seem to be getting continuous power so the clock and radio pre-sets get cleared when I turn the ignigtion off.
Am I doing something wrong or do I need to add something?
Any advice appreciated.
Cheers.
Just swap red and yellow over and your problem will be solved.
That's what I tried first but the unit won't even power up that way. It'll only work when the both red & yellow are fed into the head unit through the double connector on the yellow.
Seems like I'm missing a wire somewhere but it's a new unit and the original head unit had never been removed.
Confusing eh.
Lucky Luke!
28-12-06, 04:20 PM
On vauxhall the red and yellow power wires are reversed so to get continuous power you need to plug both the red and yellow from the h/unit into just the red from the ISO block. If it doesnt power up this way you need to check the fuse.
or check the wires could be a short or a cut wire
Thanks for your advice Luke & Philly.
Will check this but I think only the yellow wire running from the h/unit has the double bullet connector; the red one has a single bullet so you can split. So you can't plug both yellow & red into red.
I'm a complete novice with this sort of thing but guess would I need to remove the single bullet off the red and crimp a double bullet or spade connector to it?? Assume I can order these connectors online somewhere?
Cheers.
coochiSR
29-12-06, 01:55 PM
Mines the same mate, i can't figure out why it don't keep the power, tried everything i could think of, would be interested to know if you sort it out,
Dan
H15 NVA
29-12-06, 04:32 PM
the red and yellow from the headunit need to be joined, one is constant feed and one is an ignition feed, consatnt is purly for memory and igntion so unit powers up and works wen ig is on, if u join the head unit red and yellow you'll be able to run the unit with engine off but u must wire these to the cars constant power and not the cars ignition live which is what u seem to be doing.
Lucky Luke!
29-12-06, 06:36 PM
Order online?
Go to halfrauds they will do a little selection box of crimps, make sure you crimp them properly though other wise you will have live wires floating about!
Make sure you leave plenty of wire as well in case you ever need to change it back. If you really are that much of a novice i could make you up a little patch lead.
One last thing, does the unit power up when the wires are just swapped over?
Thanks for replies.
Finally got round to looking at this again after new year! plus don't have a pc at home.
Just to correct something I wrote earlier - The only way to get power is by connecting red & yellow from the h/unit to the yellow double bullet connector which connect to cars ISO connector, this way it only works with ignition on. Also if you remove the red wire from the double bullet it switches off.
The Sony booklet says this is set up 1 of 3. The set up above they say, is for cars without an ACC position (what does this mean? yes I am a novice Luke). This contradicts the advice from h/unit shop and you guys.
So to confirm, it won't power up with red-red/yellow-yellow or red-yellow/yellow-red which are the other two ways of connecting bullets. The picture below is of the Sony patch if that helps.
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m78/john_oconnor00/S7000007-1.jpg
The ISO connector at top of photo hooks into the Car ISO. It has four wires going to it the Sony book says they are as below:
h/unit ISO Red - Switched power supply ----------> to car ISO Red ****NOT CONNECTED RED TO RED AS RUNNING INTO YELLOW DOUBLE BULLET****
h/unit ISO Blue - Power antenna (aerial control)....I guess I don't need this? ----------> to car ISO empty space/blank
h/unit ISO Yellow - Continuous power supply ----------> to car ISO Black
h/unit ISO Black - Earth ----------> to car ISO Brown
The car ISO has different coloured wires to the h/unit ISO (completely confused me). All wires match to another wire, except h/unit blue which I assume is not needed anyway. Above I've shown how the wires match up, hope it makes sense.
Also running into the car ISO is a Green & Grey wire which hooks up to an empty/blank space on the h/unit ISO. I don't know what this wire does, same goes for all the car ISO wires really.
It's don't understand it as I can only get power fed via the h/unit Yellow which Sony say is Continuous power - this doesn't make sense to me because if it's continuous power, why does the h/unit switch off with ignition off? Seems to me the Car/head ISO's don't match correctly or maybe the car's continuous power is dead (cars clock works ok though). My work mate is lending me a meter to test it so see what happens.
Any other suggestions are appreciated, if you're still awake after trawling through this lot that is !!! Cheers.
On vauxhall the red and yellow power wires are reversed so to get continuous power you need to plug both the red and yellow from the h/unit into just the red from the ISO block. If it doesnt power up this way you need to check the fuse.
Just as a further note, I tried this. Pulled back the insulation on the bullets and taped together but h/unit didn't power up. I've borrowed a tester so will check if I have a current on the car ISO red wire. Any advice on my last message would be appreciated especially car ISO block wire functions. Ta da.
The Sony booklet says this is set up 1 of 3. The set up above they say, is for cars without an ACC position (what does this mean? yes I am a novice Luke).
ACC is the ignition accessory circuit. Allows the car to be off, but still have power to any accessory electrical devices (i.e. stereo) - on the ignition barrel it would be OFF - ACC - IGN - START.
h/unit ISO Blue - Power antenna (aerial control)....I guess I don't need this? ----------> to car ISO empty space/blank
Yep, blue is the remote wire - for amps, electric aerials etc.
It should work with both red and yellow from the HU connected to just the red from the car; if not then check the red from the car has a live feed (try connecting it direct to the car, not via the ISO block in case thats duff!). I wired my old hatch stereo in like this, on the saloon however I just wired an independent (fused) power supply in direct from the battery and connected to both red and yellow on the HU.
Incidentally, where abouts in Somerset are you?
Thanks Jack.
Yep, think I have a ACC on my ignition but don't think it works.
Borrowed a mates testing probe and guess what, the none of the car ISO points are live with ignition off!, so my continuous live is dead somehow. The Car ISO black is my ignition live that's what's feeding power to the HU via the yellow double bullet to the red HU wire.
Now the question is, how best to provide a new cont.live feed to the car ISO. What would be best/easiest: running one from the battery, fuse box or is the dash clock an option (as it's close by)?
Before starting this I will also check all my fuses again but I think they're all good. Are there any onther obvious checks anyone recommends?
And to answer your last question, I live in between W-S-M and Bristol close to M5.
I didn't realise that you were that close to me or I'd have said just head over.
Run a perm live from the battery, with a fuse as close to the battery as possible.
Yeah, permanent live is the way forward IMO too.
The clock/cigarette lighter both have feeds, but the wiring is far from ideal for supplying the HU power, not to mention the car fuses will probably pop. HU's don't take that much power but best to err on the safe side - if something goes wrong with something else then at least you know the HU is on its own separate power supply.
Couple of us in that area; Craig Green and Untaimedgirl are both from Bridgwater :thumb:
Cheers to my fellow local yokel's for the advice!
Will go for the feed from battery direct then with an in line fuse, would 10A be ok? same as on the HU.
Where's the best place to get access to the HU space from engine compartment, is it a case of pulling back some sound proofing?
I'll have a rummage about when I unchain myself from my work desk but if you know a good way would appreciate a pointer.
Cheers.
If the HU runs with a 10A fuse, that should be fine for the power lead.
The only suitable hole through the bulkhead that I can think of off the top of my head is the one where the main car loom comes through. From memory its on the driver's side, you should be able to see it from the engine bay. As Bump said, fuse it as near to the battery as possible, then run the cable into the engine bay (on my first Nova I drilled a hole through the firewall) and through the hole into the engine bay. Tidiest solution would be to attach the wire to the existing car loom across and then down to the head unit, but you'll need small hands to get up behind the dash!
Again from memory, you shouldn't need to remove any soundproofing to get to the point in the bulkhead where the wiring comes through.
[edit] Just had a thought - might be wise, before you route the wiring all through the car, to try taking the HU out and connecting it to the battery (fused wire of course) and earth directly and see if all works ok. Just to make sure its not a problem with the HU itself!
Cheers for that. I'll try and crack it on the weekend.
Lucky Luke!
05-01-07, 05:25 PM
Sorry for replying so late mate!
Not much else to say really! if you dot wanna run an independant wire check the fuses, if they are all okay you have a break in the wire and its much easier to run a new one.
Good luck and hope you get it done!
There is a grommet near the battery tray that appears at the back of the fuse box.
You'll either need small hands, or failing that my method of getting gradually smaller hands as you leave skin behind on bits of the dash.
aswrally
05-01-07, 11:43 PM
take it off the permenant feed on the back of the ignition switch alot tydier than wires running everywhere
red perm live
black switched for aux 1st position
other black switched feeds coil dash lights etc on 2nd position
red/black starter motor solenoid feed
coochiSR
21-01-07, 09:09 PM
Did you ever get this problem sorted mate? cos im interested to know how.
Morning
Funny you should ask mate as I got this sorted (finally) this weekend.
Basically the problem was that my continuous live on the car's HU loom was dead. I proved this by using a testing probe earthed to the door hinge.
I looked at all the options suggested above; such as taking power off the steering wheel column, running a stand alone live from battery through the bulk head to the rear of the fuse panel. My lack of knowledge on electrics put me off these. I was also amazed (probably stupidly) at how many wires and ISO blocks etc are hidden up under the dash and I couldn't for the life of me see how I would feed the wire up without taking some of the dash off and maybe dislodging some wires along the way.
In the end I plumped for the 'smash & grab' technique!!
At the rear of the HU space is an oval hole and through that hole you meet the firewall (correct name?). I poked a long screwdriver through the hole and punched a small indent so I could see where to drill on the engine bay side.
Access to the spot was difficult as you have the large plastic cover in the way which protects the ventilation system fan/ducts. I removed the battery and carefully pulled the cover towards the space left by the battery; I was worried it might crack or tear but it was fine, although it was a squeeze.
With this shifted the space is still restricted and getting a drill in there is tight and I could only drill on an angle. Plastic cover replaced I fed the new live though the hole and tidied the wire behind the cover to keep it protected and away from the wiper arm mechanism.
I then crimped a new female bullet connector on the HU end and zip tied the new wire to the car's HU loom to keep it tidy ready to hook up to the HU male bullet.
To the other end of the wire in the engine compartment I fitted female spade connector and plugged this into the in-line 'blade type' fuse holder with a 10A fuse. To keep the fuse close to the battery a short section of wire was fitted to the other side finished with a half ring terminal and screwed to the battery terminal. I sealed the in-line fuse holder inside a square of clear plastic closed off with electrical tape.
I then needed to seal the hole in the bulkhead. I was going to use silicone but I luckily found a blob of stray sealant putty (correct name?) in the engine bay which I squeezed around the wire to prevent chaffing and keep the damp out! Hopefully this will also stop the bare metal from rusting.
That done I hooked up the HU and bugger me, the radio pre-sets hold!! Perfect. Just hope the job was done right and I won't get any future problems.
In the end it was fairly simple job but very satisfying for me as I didn't have a clue about electrics. Thanks for all those who helped.
Coochie,
In case you go down this route here's a picy of the stand-alone fused live feed I made up. I tinned up/soldered all the bare ends before I crimped them; this may have been over the top but I felt it gave me a more solid end to crimp to.
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m78/john_oconnor00/DSCF2784.jpg
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