Car stereo constant voltage wire?

Tiny
WISH30
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  • 1999 FORD COUGAR
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Dears, I put an amplifier in the trunk, and connected it with the original radio constant + wire (orange, black) because it was free (the radio takes constant from some other wire (previous owner used) and it worked fine till a couple of days ago. Suddenly it stopped, then started again, but today it did not start at all.
My question is, if someone knows does this wire is directly to the car battery (through a fuse) or maybe there is some relay that could cause my problem? (I measured the voltage on amplifier, it have switching power of 12v that comes from the radio, but no the constant. Thanks in advance.
Friday, June 2nd, 2023 AT 3:00 PM

5 Replies

Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 110,176 POSTS
Hi,

The orange wire with a black tracer runs to fuse 36 in the central junction box inside the vehicle. See pics below.

I'm not sure what you are asking. Do you need to find a new power supply, or do you just need to know where power is coming from?

Let me know.

Joe

See pics below.
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Friday, June 2nd, 2023 AT 9:23 PM
Tiny
WISH30
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I need to know the path of that wire because it started to make interruptions on my amplifier, thanks for your answer. The fuse was melted and was making interruptions (strange because fuse should blow and stop). Thanks once more.
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Monday, June 5th, 2023 AT 10:45 PM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
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Hi,

Wow, that is melted all right. Something was drawing a lot of power, but the fuse itself must not have blown which caused the excessive heat. Also, if there was a weak connection that would have allowed power to arc, that can do the same thing.

What is the amperage of the fuse that melted? What all do you have powered through it?

As far as the wiring, power from the fuse runs directly to the amp.

Let me know.

Joe
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Tuesday, June 6th, 2023 AT 7:45 PM
Tiny
WISH30
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The fuse was 30A, and about powering, if only that wire goes through it, only the amplifier.
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Tuesday, June 6th, 2023 AT 8:05 PM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
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At this point, you can do this. Disconnect the amp. Replace the fuse and see if power is present at the amp connector. Also, see if the fuse fails. Actually, with the amp disconnected place a 5-amp fuse in place of the 30-amp. If there is a short in the wiring, the fuse will fail quickly. If it doesn't, then connect the amp and replace the fuse with the correct amperage to see if it works. If the fuse fails with the amp connected, the problem is within the amp.

Let me know.

Joe
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Tuesday, June 6th, 2023 AT 8:52 PM

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