Stereo Help

[powerwagonguy]

Hello all.I got a factory '98 dakota cd/cassete player in the mail today.I hooked it up and everything worked fine except for some lights that should be illuminated. I'm going to post an ebay auction of the same radio so you can see what I mean http://cgi.ebay.com/1994-01-Jeep-Dodge-Amber-lighted-AM-FM-CD-Cassette_W0QQitemZ390049363081QQihZ026QQcategoryZ3 9754QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem The lights I'm talking about are the ones around the volume knob and CD slot. You can even see the numbers on the buttons lit up on this one. I've got the radio in a '78 PW and the pigtails are from an 80-90ish caravan. There is a yellow and black wire on them marked illumination but when I try to put power to it it just makes the radio display really dim. Is the radio bad or what do I do here

[Speed Dragon]

Those radios dim when you turn the lights on, keeps glare down at night. I think it's what's called a positive dim illumination setup, when power is applied it dims.

[powerwagonguy]

Well what I want to know is how to get the radio to display like the one in the above link. Here is a better picture http://s278.photobucket.com/albums/kk93/78dodgeowner/?action=view&current=6dtlja.jpg The radio I purchased has those lights but I can't get them to light up. As far as the limiting glare when I hook the illumination wire in it goes too dim to see. What do I do

[powerwagonguy]

Picture didn't work in first post for some reason so I'll try again http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk93/78dodgeowner/6dtlja.jpg

[Speed Dragon]

It will make them too dim to see very well in the daytime, at night they will look brighter. Also remember that the illumination power will come from the headlight switch, which adjust the dash light intensity, so that may have something to do with it (ie full 12v may make them fully dimmed).

I would imagine there is a way to pull the faceplate off to change the bulbs.

[powerwagonguy]

Well that's partially what I thought. So to make it look like it does in the picture do i splice into one of the wires going into theheadlight switch? If so which color would that be? The radio works fine I just want it to light up at night like the one in the picture. The 3 orange lights in the lower left corner light up like that with just the main power wire hooked up.

[cmns2500]

i dunno if there is such a thing, but, if ya can find somethin to put inline with the 12 volt positive to regulate flow to the lights, maybe you can control it:tup:

[powerwagonguy]

I don't know either. The cd player in that picture is being bench tested so he had to get them to light up somehow but how?

[volaredon]

I just wired my '83 for that EXACT radio in my 83, LAST weekend; it had a schematic on it (1st factory radio I have ever seen with that I usually have to get a factory wiring diagram for a newer vehicle with such a radio;) BUT one of the middle terminals on the gray plug has to go to the Parking light circuit (brown wire on my 83 headlite switch) to control just that.

[powerwagonguy]

So you won the radio I showed in the pic Don? I got mine for $85 shipped. Are you saying that one of the wires on the grey plug has to be wired into the headlight switch? If that is the case what color is the wire on the plug? I'm also wondering if the wire I would have to use on my switch would be brown as well?

[volaredon]

Nope; I have given up on Ebay; I have not sold there in 3-4 years when I sold $55 and had to pay them $22; and quit buying when they required paypal. If I cannot buy something via a Mo or (if close enough for a drive) cash at pick up, I ain't buying. I got mine from B1llyW on the Bionic Dodge site. AFAIK, he only had the one available; I bought it several months ago;
and yes, there is 1 wire that goes into the parking light circuit somewhere; it was just more convenient for me to run it to the harness near the H/L switch. I'll dig out one of my 90s service manuals and let you know which wire on the radio connector. (gotta go mow grass 1st though, since it quit raining for the moment---- or I'll be calling in a hay baler.)

[powerwagonguy]

Thanks a lot. It's probably the yellow/black one that I found went to illumination by doing research. Now I just need to know which from my headlight switch to use because mine doesn't have a brown wire coming firm it. Maybe you can remember the location of the one you spliced into? My truck is a '78

[volaredon]

Thanks a lor. It's probably the yellow/black one that I found went to illumination by doing research. Now I just need to know which from my headlight switch to use because mine doesn't have a brown wire coming firm it. Maybe you can remember the location of the one you spliced into? My truck is a '78


IDK the wire color on the radio harness, i have seen different color schemes on different years of cars; the important thing is to go by POSITION within the plug. they go by the locator tab, on the connector.
On the H/L switch, with the wire plug on top/switch on bottom, looking at it with the on/off knob facing you, it is along the left side about midway from front to back. You can tie into the feed for the parking lights anywhere.

[powerwagonguy]

What I did earlier was stick the end of a wire under the park light fuse just to test and it was still really really dim park lights on or off it didn't matter.

[volaredon]

well thats because that is the "before-switch" side; always "hot"; like leaving the lights on all the time.

[powerwagonguy]

I wasn't to clear on your location of the wire on the switch. If I go cut one out of a parts truck and post a picture could you tell me what position it would be by the color? The truck is an 88 model but the plug is just the same as my 78

[volaredon]

yeah probably.

[powerwagonguy]

Well this isn't exactly a pictue but it looks like this http://http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk93/78dodgeowner/plug.jpg Excuse my art work

[powerwagonguy]

well I can't get it to work so here is a link to it http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk93/78dodgeowner/plug.jpg

[volaredon]

the 3 on the left side? The middle one.

[powerwagonguy]

I know the art work wasn't good. do you mean the black one going in at a slant?

[powerwagonguy]

Problem is solved thanks for all the help