Radio for my 1.6L base

[They Call Me Whatshisname]

Okay, my car didn't come with a radio. I took my old one out of my old car and with the help of my sister and her husband, put it in.

There were 2 problems. 1 - the radio wouldn't come on unless the lights were on, and it seemed the power was going through the dimmer switch? Every time I had the lights on and I dimmed them the radio would make a buzzing sound and it would shut off completely if I dimmed the lights all the way down. 2- I couldn't find the antenna cord. There was another black cord that had a plastic thing at the end of it that was near the wiring harness I guess is what you would call it, but it wasn't like my old antenna cord on my old car.

Any ideas on that whole light thing? I know we hooked everything up right. Both my sister and her husband are trained and certified ASE technicians and they had no idea what could have caused it.

[marleyfan]

That's too funny. I don't have an answer but I did have a chuckle.

[BBISHOPPCM]

You hooked it up wrong. You connected your primary power to the factory dash lighting power output. Most aftermarket stereos have at least two positive power inputs; Battery (yellow, in most cases) and Ignition Power (this is your primary power input, to be connected to the positive lead that is energized when the igintion is on). Some stereos may have a THIRD power input, which is for lighting.

Using a 12v test light, find the wire that is energized when the ignition is off. Mark this one "Battery."

Then, find the wire that is NOT energized when the ignition is off, but on when the ignition is "on." Be sure to adjust the dimmer switch to make sure this is not your "lighting" wire. This was where you went wrong. If it dims the test light when the dimmer is... dimmed, label it "Dash Lighting."

If the wire does NOT dim, this is your "Power" lead... label it "Power"

Then, find the wire that is on when the ignition is on, but changes in output power when the dimmer is adjusted. This is your "lighting" wire; label this one "Dash Lighting."

Your antenna lead is the thick black wire with the plastic thing (as you said). You need an adapter for this to connect it to a non-factory deck. This should've come with your stereo install kit (please tell me you bought a kit... and didn't just chop the connectors off...).

IF your stereo does not have a separate "Lighting" input, cap off the unused "Lighting" output wire to prevent a short circuit. Also, never use electrical tape on any of your wires. I use solder and shrink tubing. I've torn SO MANY dashboards apart that have exposed wiring caused by poor stereo installation jobs done with electrical tape that had fallen off after years of heat exposure. Shrink tubing and solder is for LIFE. You can also use butt connectors, just be sure to use them properly.

This ought to help!

Any ASE certified mechanic should've known this... just sayin'.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Yep, the dimmer circuit has a connection there for radios with dimmer-controlled displays. The factory radio is probably that way (on Versas that have them). It allows them to match brightness with the rest of the dash and dim with the headlights on like the rest of the dash.

[They Call Me Whatshisname]

Thanks for the response. I visited them a couple of days ago (they live 7 hours away) and they did their best trying to hook it up lol. Guess I'll just take it to a stereo shop and hope they don't charge me out the ***.

[superskunk]

this almost as funny as when i installed my stereo and i connected the illumination wire to the ACC wire... so everytime i turned on the radio my parking lights would come on... i kicked myself in the arse when i realised what i did...

[Knightro2]

Atleast none of you got shocked! heh heh. I was helping a friend install a couple of Kickers in his Duster and I was rewiring the amp for him real quick for a small mistake he made. I specifically told him to NOT turn the ignition on while he was sitting in the drivers seat. He didn't hear me correctly and turned it on. A bright spark and a jittering jaw later I was on my back in the garage with the screwdriver clutched firmly in my hand!

He wasn't that bright to begin with. This was the same guy that was my roommate in college and one stoned/drunken night decided he wanted to wire a 9-volt battery to his braces. He got the wires on and I touched the leads to the battery. He fell backwards onto the bed and his jaw didn't stop chattering for a good 4 hours.

[They Call Me Whatshisname]

Ok, here's there deal. when the radio was installed, ALL power wires were identified and checked for propper operation in desired key position along with operation of ground. the voltage was verified with a MULITMETER which is more accurate than a testlight since it displays the exact amount of voltage instead of just verifying voltage is there. when checked, the wires were: (on vehicle)1) light brownish (larger gauge): constant 12 v power, hooked to same gauge yellow wire on radio plug. 12 volts CONSTANTLY.2) yellow wire (smaller gauge, same as all others): showed to be 12 volts SWITCHED power with key in ACC position... hooked to red wire on radio plug.3) orange wire on both ends which correctly powered 12 volts when headlights were on and 0 volts when headlights were off (obviously this was the illumination wire). it even correctly "resisted" voltage when dimmer switch was lowered as the circuit should do. Now, the problem is: when the radio is hooked up (brownish-12v, yellow-acc12v, orange-illumination, black-ground, all speaker wires) the radio plays perfectly ONLY when the headlights are on.so, naturally we hooked it up excluding the orange illumination wire thinking that there was something not right with it (even though it tested fine with the meter) and the radio did the same thing... again, this is hooked up with ONLY 12v constant, 12v acc switched and ground and the radio still does the same thing!! so, there's soemthing in the circuit messed up... some way the car was wired up wrong?? nope, because all the wires check good with the meter. another thing: this meter is not some cheap meter, it is a Fluke and has never failed us... ANY ideas at all??? ever seen anything like this on any kind of car? is it the radio even though it worked fine in the old car (ford escort)?? could it be the headlight switch interfering with the radio itsself??

[BBISHOPPCM]

This is truly bizarre...

[deal08]

Atleast none of you got shocked! heh heh. I was helping a friend install a couple of Kickers in his Duster and I was rewiring the amp for him real quick for a small mistake he made. I specifically told him to NOT turn the ignition on while he was sitting in the drivers seat. He didn't hear me correctly and turned it on. A bright spark and a jittering jaw later I was on my back in the garage with the screwdriver clutched firmly in my hand!

He wasn't that bright to begin with. This was the same guy that was my roommate in college and one stoned/drunken night decided he wanted to wire a 9-volt battery to his braces. He got the wires on and I touched the leads to the battery. He fell backwards onto the bed and his jaw didn't stop chattering for a good 4 hours.

Where's the video of that

[sooner4x4]

I am NOT an expert on radio installations, having installed only one radio ever, using detailed instructions from Crutchfield. So the following comment is based on ignorance.

There is something a little different about the dash lights on a Versa compared with any other car I have ever owned. Most of the dash lights come on when you start the car (maybe even when you turn on the ignition before starting, I can't remember). When you turn on the lights, a few more of the dash lights come on, and then the dimmer knob works to dim the dash lights. This may have nothing to do with the problem but it is a weird twist to the way the Versa is wired which may be affecting your problem. Something to think about.

[Kolk1]

My radio is hardwired. When I bought my Versa, no harness was available, and im a MECP certified tech. Give me 5 minutes, ill go pull my radio and report back with what wires I used for what. BUT, I only needed 12V constant, 12V Switched, and Ground, everything else is RCA's, and I didnt hook up a dimmer wire.

[They Call Me Whatshisname]

Would something like this work?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ol...40148

[Kolk1]

Im using a thick brown as 12V constant, and a Pastel or light Green wire as my 12switched. I ran a new ground wire.

[They Call Me Whatshisname]

If I remember correctly, the wires are different. We used the tutorial provided in the links at the versa homepage the first time we tried to hook it up but it was for the 07 model and nothing worked. We had to try each one of the speaker ones separately and listen for sound, but that was the easy part lol. I'm probably gonna take it to best buy to see if they can look at it for free since I bought the radio from them (although that was 2+ years ago ).

[Kolk1]

Well, if you want to be brave, directechs lists the following:

12V Constant - Blue - ignition switch, white 6 pin plug, pin 3

Accessory - yellow - ignition switch, white 6 pin plug, pin 4

Ignition - red - ignition switch, white 6 pin plug, pin 1

[Wrayke]

Hey I just bought an 09 Versa 1.6 with no radio as well, and was having the same problem. Fortunately for me, my father is a professional Electrician and we figured out this bazaar issue: The black ground that comes from the Versa radio harness isn't a proper ground for some reason, so we used the aftermarket radio's ground and ran it to the chassis (one of the radio mount screw holes on the dash). I, too, thought it was the dimmer wire, since the radio would only work properly if the lights were on, but it just turned out to be ground. So, DON'T use the Versa's factory ground, run a new one!

[They Call Me Whatshisname]

Thanks for the info. Couple of questions:

Did you use a wiring harness and did you buy an antenna adapter?

[Wrayke]

I just used the wiring harness that came with my aftermarket stereo and hardwired it, and I haven't gotten around to buying an antenna adapter, which is required. I plan on getting this one:

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_1...=2569

It'll hook up right to the stock antenna adapter, and into the back of my Pioneer stereo.

[They Call Me Whatshisname]

Awesome I'll be sure to try that when I get some time. Really appreciate it.

[They Call Me Whatshisname]

Well. I tried grounding it, but failed horribly. I couldn't find a place to ground it so I tried the screw hole that the radio mounted on, but after 5 attempts I failed and now the grounding wire is too short and my radio doesn't turn on at all. I have a headache.

[Wrayke]

I used the mounting screw as well, but instead of just pushing the wire underneath the screw, I used one of those little metal things that clamps onto the end of the wire and looks like a "U". I don't remember what its called. As for your ground wire, just pick up some spare wire that's the same gauge and splice them together to extend it out. And I think if your radio isn't grounded, it won't turn on so I think that's your problem there.

[They Call Me Whatshisname]

My sister made me the part I needed. She had a wire connector on one part and a metal O thing on the other side. I connected them and put the metal part under the plastic part that covers the metal part where the radio mounts up and it works fine now. If you're thinking about putting in a radio I suggest you buy a wiring harness and not try to hardwire it unless you have about 4 hours on your hands.

[audtatious]

Here's the audio diagram information for the 2009 Versa:

http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/ve...V.pdf