Stereo power

[Josh Weader <weader@xxxx>]

This weekend I was replacing the cheap Radio Shack stereo that had been in
my D when I bought it with an in-dash CD player. I was a little
dismayed to discover that the previous installer had not used an
intermediate wiring harness between the stereo and the car's harness for
the stereo connections. Instead, they had cut the original plug out and
manually spliced into the wires. I had no choice but to do the same when
hooking up mine, since the original plug is no longer with the car. While
I was disconnecting the old stereo, I found that the power wires for it
were not running into the original power wires, but had been spliced into
the wires for the a/c light bulbs right below it. Using the car manual's
wiring diagram and a whole lot of back-tracing, I was finally able to
identify which of the original wires were which, and get things hooked up
properly (or so I thought).

>From what my diagram said, the two power wires are purple (continuous) and
green/white (+12v). After installing the new stereo, I found that it
turns on without key in the ignition. I had assumed that power to the
stereo would be controlled just like any other accessory. Is that true,
or does the factory radio behave like this, too? Since I never saw my car
with the factory radio, I can't say how it's supposed to behave.

Thanks,

--Josh

#05553