Mystery Wire

[d_m234]

I've got an '88 Super Cab and there is an unknown wire that was used for the stock stereo... I've figured out what all the other wires are for, and confirmed it with a multimeter, but the orange/black wire is never listed on any audio wire color code list i can find... Its possible to be a ground, but the lists all say the radio just grounds to chassis. has any one figured out this wire?

 

[alyssasdaddy]

Illumination / parking lights maybe, I do not know if you tested for that or not. On the MM it will show ground when the lights are off and hot when the light are on.

I have been in Car Audio, Video and Security for 15 years and i usually just used a harness for most radio installs and ford was one of the common ones.

 

[d_m234]

I have constant, switched and illumination. I don't have ground. And all the color codes I have found don't list the orange/black wire. They say the radio grounds to chassis. It's possible that the orange/black wire is a ground but I'm not sure...

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

if you suspect it to be a ground then use your multi meter and check the continuity from the orng/blk wire to ground.

 

[d_m234]

How would I do that? My knowledge of electricity isn't that great... I've barely gotten by figuring this stuff out as it is...

 

[baxtej44]

How would I do that? My knowledge of electricity isn't that great... I've barely gotten by figuring this stuff out as it is...

if i'm not mistaken, which it's a little early from a late night with me so i may be mistaken, that my orange and black was a speaker wire..... i have an 88 single cab.

but i guess i can't really remember too well. i just used a wiring harness adapter.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

if i'm not mistaken, which it's a little early from a late night with me so i may be mistaken, that my orange and black was a speaker wire..... i have an 88 single cab.

but i guess i can't really remember too well. i just used a wiring harness adapter.

It's not a speaker wire, Ford used two plugs, one for speaker wires and one for everything else, and that wire is on the everything else plug.


I have wired up several stereos in Rangers and Bronco IIs (including a couple total rewires because someone hacked up the stock harness so bad). I'm reasonably certain that I have come across that wire before....

But...

My memory isn't working right now, lol. I'll try to remember to look it up later today an get back to ya.

It shouldn't be a ground, the ground is usually solid black or brown, IIRC.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

From the size difference being heaver guage wire usually indicates power or ground I will see if I can find somthing.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Does it have power after you turn the radio on maybe a power antenna wire IDK

 

[RangerSVT]

I can tell you it is an illumination wire, however Ford used both a ground illumination and power illumination in various early years, also with this being an illumination wire, it is connected to the dash light circuit, so it will dim with your dimmer switch
SVT

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

that sounds about right, i remember tapping into a orange and black wire when i installed my autometer gauges so that they would turn on and also dim with the headlight switch.

 

[That Baker Guy]

I can tell you it is an illumination wire, however Ford used both a ground illumination and power illumination in various early years, also with this being an illumination wire, it is connected to the dash light circuit, so it will dim with your dimmer switch
SVT

yupp your right, it dims my underdash lights

 

[d_m234]

so if its a ground illumination, then its useless when its not hooked up? my radio doesn't use illumination so would it be fine to just connect the power illumination to it so whatever runs off it will work?

 

[RangerSVT]

If I understand you correctly, you want to hook up a power illumination gauge to the ground illumination wire...If this is so, it will not work. If you want to hook up a gauge or light to this wire and have it work, you need to wire the hot side to an fused ignition source, and the ground to the illumination wire. If you do not intend to use this wire, cap it off with a butt connector, you do not have to use this wire. This wire will not serve as a ground source for the radio...
SVT

 

[d_m234]

No...

Some one mentioned that it was a ground illumination wire, so its really just an extension of the original illumination wire that goes into most radios, its just a "ground" for the radios illumination circuit, right?

Some one said that their under dash lights ran off the ground illumination wire. so if I leave it unconnected, i won't have any thing that is powered by this wire illuminate, right?

my current radio does not use illumination, its always on. So if i take the unused illumination wire and connect it to the ground illumination wire, anything that lights up off the ground wire will work again, right?