5 replies to this topic

[Furio]

Model: Rover Cooper
Year: 1990
Description of problem (please be as in depth as possible):

For some reason for the last couple of days I cant get my CD player to work in the mini, the actual CD player works fine as I tried it in another car, and tried another cd player in the mini(whihc also didn't work)

I've searched the forum and came up with a couple of possibles (5amp fuse under stearing column/35amp fuse in fusebox) however both of these are fine, so now i'm assuming it must be a wiring problem, there are currently 6 wires going into the CD player however I read somewhere there should be 7?

Thanks,

Jack

[Min E]

Does the radio do nothing at all or does it light up but no sound?

You should have at least 7 (usually 11 or even 12) wires on cd players.

They are:
Earth, Switched live (only on when the ignition is on), Permanent Live (to retain the tuning memory, clock etc), and Two pairs of speaker wires (often 2 extra pairs for if rear speakers are fitted.

There can often be another wire to operate an electric aerial, usually blue.

The 3 you need to check are the Black (earth), and the Red and the Yellow (the two live inputs). Both lives are needed for the radio to work.

The fuses you have checked under the dash and in the fuse box should cover both lives because the inline one is switched and the 35A is permanant. However, whoever originally fited the radio may have taken the power from a different place, or there is often another inline in the radio's own harness, have a look.

Edited by Min E, 27 November 2009 - 11:01 AM.

[Furio]

The lights don't switch on at all,

There are 4 wires for what I assume to be speakers(The mini only has two in the parcel shelf) two red, two brown. and two other wires connected one black and one yellow, however there is a yellow and green striped wire connected to the cd player but not connected to any of the cars wiring, I'm guessing that this must be one of the lives or earth so could be the problem?

[Min E]

DO NOT CONNECT THE YELLOW AND GREEN WIRE TO A LIVE SUPPLY!!!

Yellow and green is often used as earth colouring but I don't recall ever seeing it used on a car radio.

Have you not got a wiring diagram for the radio? Often they have a label stuck to them with the connections marked. Also the leads themselvs often have marker tags stuck to them.

Have you tried 'googling' the radio's make and model number for a data sheet?

You said that for the last couple of days it hadsn't worked, silly question, but do you mean that it was working before?

You also say that you put it into somebody elses car and it worked...how is their car wired? You can test for live with a simple bulb and wires if you have not got a proper tester.

You can pick up a cheap tester from your local car accessory shop, they are well worth having; especialy as a Mini owner.


This is the standad, universal colour code for car radios:

Edited by Min E, 27 November 2009 - 01:21 PM.

[djshongo]

DO NOT CONNECT THE YELLOW AND GREEN WIRE TO A LIVE SUPPLY!!!

Yellow and green is often used as earth colouring but I don't recall ever seeing it used on a car radio.

Have you not got a wiring diagram for the radio? Often they have a label stuck to them with the connections marked. Also the leads themselvs often have marker tags stuck to them.

Have you tried 'googling' the radio's make and model number for a data sheet?

You said that for the last couple of days it hadsn't worked, silly question, but do you mean that it was working before?

You also say that you put it into somebody elses car and it worked...how is their car wired? You can test for live with a simple bulb and wires if you have not got a proper tester.

You can pick up a cheap tester from your local car accessory shop, they are well worth having; especialy as a Mini owner.


This is the standad, universal colour code for car radios:

sorry to jump on board, but should the live and swiched live wires be fused via inlines?!

[Min E]

sorry to jump on board, but should the live and swiched live wires be fused via inlines?!

Never appologise for adding your thoughts, the accumulation of knowledge is the only way problems get resolved.

Yes you are absolutely right, as has already been mentioned, the inline fuse behind the steering column is the one provide as standard in the Mini's harness as a switched supply specificaly for a radio and is in a light green wire. This should be connected to the Red wire on the radio.

If the radio also requires a permanant supply it would normaly be taken from the protected side of the second fuse down in the fuse box, where the Purple wire is attached. A radios permanant supply wire is usualy Yellow.

As I said in my previous post, the original installer may have takes supplies from other places which will need to be traced.

Often radios come suplied with their own wires either attached directly or on a plug, those wires often also have their own inline fuse holder in their power wire(s).

What is confusing this particular case is the yellow/green wire from the radio.

Edited by Min E, 27 November 2009 - 06:42 PM.