Wiring Problem.. oh hell....

[Anonymous]

I'm trying to wire in a new Kenwood tape deck and autochanger control, after my other one woz nicked ( although they left the autochanger and don't appear to have damaged the wiring ). But... the larger brown wire, which I guess is the main supply does not appear to be live when I put a tester on it, although the smaller red wire ( which I reckon is the constant live, for station memory etc) is live. Am I wrong, doing, or have the b**t**ds x-( who pinched my old one done more damage than just taking my original???

[Anonymous]

large brown is probably earth,

[Anonymous]

Brown is allways earth. The fact it is large suggest a large current is required. You are probably correct in saying that red is constant live but if there is a BIG brown there should be a BIG red. Have a look for it. This will be the one that is supplied power when the ignition is on. OK mate?

[Anonymous]

Brown is earth, red is constant live, black is live after ignition. (the red wire is a little to thin for my liking!).

[Anonymous]

constant live is only for memory saving so it dont need to supply loads of current, therefore it dont need to be that thick

BEng Hons Automotive Electronics Engineering worship my electronics skills :D

[Anonymous]

Thats funny, `cause the constant live wire on my head unit (Pioneer Minidisk) is fused and a thicker gauge than the rest! The live after ignition is just to tell the unit to turn on.