[bardodre]

Hello Everyone,

My 1971 Plymouth Duster has an original AM radio in it, and I want to keep it in place but I'm tired of only having talk shows to listen to so I picked up a new radio (Sony CDX GT360MP) to mount under the dash. However, when I tried connecting the new radio to the car, the new unit receives no power. I am new to tinkering with car audio and wanted to try and get some more information before I mess something up.

I have a 12 V battery in the car and an alternator. I am using the connections that the old radio used for power and speakers. I am grounding the new unit to the protective cage it came with. I even tried grounding it to the metal on the dash.

Please try and help me out with this, I know I haven't given much info, but feel free to ask any questions and I will answer as best as I can.

 

[schmiddr2]

Get a DMM and be sure what you have for power. It's likely that you have 12V, but do not have the ignition wire hooked up (hooked up correctly). If you don't have a meter at least check your fuses.

This might help make sure you have the wiring done correctly, but please consult your manual for accuracy: Head Unit Wire Harness

 

[hilander999]

I remember doing one of those for my brother in the mid 80's and I had to ground it to the bolt on top of the gas pedal mounting plate against the firewall. They used large rubber washers on the metal dash mounts that hold it to the firewall and getting a decient ground from anything connected to the dash is sketchy at best.

and +1 on checking your power wires with a multimeter. Attach the ground clip to the door hinge where it bolts to the body and check your power wires, then move the ground clip to where you have the head units ground attached and see if you still get a power reading. If you loose the power reading after moving the ground clip, then you found your problem.

And no excuess about not having a DMM because they only cost about $10 for a cheap one. I replaced my 20+ year old analog voltage meter a couple months ago when it finally fell apart and got a really nice DMM for $22.

Almost forgot: ...and be ready to replace the cap, rotor and points to get rid of the forthcomming engine whine. If the plug wires are old and cracked, they will also make plenty of noise for a new stereo. I don't think I've ever done an older muscle car that did not have something causing noise in a new stereo.