Hardwiring stereo

[pulleyman123]

I am wondering if it is okay to wire a Pyle stereo directly to the battery as my vhf radio is wired, or if it should go through the ignition? Any thoughts, positive or negative, and other ideas would be appreciated.

 

[seabob4]

Re: Hardwiring stereo

I wouldn't do it. Too many times stereos get turned down when the need to talk to someone arises, and with the noise the engine makes and other noises back at the ramp, the stereo gets left on and kills the batt...

 

[battscrew]

Re: Hardwiring stereo

if you do, I would suggest installing a switch on the accessories on wire for the stereo - easily visible so you can see if it is left on.

 

[paultjohnson]

Re: Hardwiring stereo

Any chance u have a spare toggle switch on your dash? I had several right in line with my blower, navlights, bildge pump, horn. So i wired my stereo to one and my depth finder to another. So when I am done for the day, all switches off and I eliminate any batt drain. Has worked well 4 me. If you do decide to hard wire it BE SURE to put a fuse in line close to battery.

 

[rwidman]

Re: Hardwiring stereo

I am wondering if it is okay to wire a Pyle stereo directly to the battery as my vhf radio is wired, or if it should go through the ignition? Any thoughts, positive or negative, and other ideas would be appreciated.

There is no good reason to wire your stereo directly to the battery. There is no good reason to wire your VHF radio directly to the battery either.

There are many ways to wire a boat, several good ways and several bad ways. Personally, I would wire the stereo to the accessory terminal of the ignition switch. The VHF radio would be wired to the same terminal or at least to a source that's controlled by the master battery switch. It's your choice.

 

[NYBo]

Re: Hardwiring stereo

My ignition switch doesn't have an accessory position, so I would need to have it in the "run" position. No way!

I would hook both radios through a battery switch, not the ignition switch if it doesn't have an accessory position.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Hardwiring stereo

Personally, I would wire the stereo to the accessory terminal of the ignition switch.

I can't even remember the last time I saw an accessory position on the ignition switch.

 

[pulleyman123]

Re: Hardwiring stereo

well, I wired everything up today. I took advice and wired it through one of my available toggle switches, that way I know it's off for sure. Of course, after all the wiring, the radio doesn't power on. I think the unit is faulty but I will try again tomorrow when I'm not as wiped out. Bummer.

 

[seabob4]

Re: Hardwiring stereo

well, I wired everything up today. I took advice and wired it through one of my available toggle switches, that way I know it's off for sure. Of course, after all the wiring, the radio doesn't power on. I think the unit is faulty but I will try again tomorrow when I'm not as wiped out. Bummer.

Did you connect the yellow wire as well?

 

[paultjohnson]

Re: Hardwiring stereo

Did you check for power with a test light or meter 1st ? fuse? One slight inconvience I maybe should have mentioned it that depending on your stereo You may lose all your preset radio stations when you power off. Small price to pay IMO to not have a dead batt

 

[rwidman]

Re: Hardwiring stereo

I can't even remember the last time I saw an accessory position on the ignition switch.

The last two boats I owned (before this one) had an accessory position on the ignition switch. They came that way from the factory. One was a stingray, the other, a Glastron. My current boat is a diesel.

They are also available from marine retailers so one otion is to replace the existing switch with one with an accessory position.

Unlike a toggle switch (which is pretty redundant since the radio has an off/on switch), to remove the key, the switch must be in the off position. This pretty much guarantees that anything connected to the ignition switch will not remain powered on when the boat is not in use.

 

[rwidman]

Re: Hardwiring stereo

well, I wired everything up today. I took advice and wired it through one of my available toggle switches, that way I know it's off for sure. Of course, after all the wiring, the radio doesn't power on. I think the unit is faulty but I will try again tomorrow when I'm not as wiped out. Bummer.

If it worked the way it was connected before but not the way it is connected now, it's not likely that it is "faulty". It's more likely that there's no power to the toggle switch. One way to tell is by using a volt meter connected from the switch terminal to a negative terminal or post.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Hardwiring stereo

Unlike a toggle switch (which is pretty redundant since the radio has an off/on switch), to remove the key, the switch must be in the off position.

I also can't remember the last time I ever took my key out of the ignition but that's just me.

I personally like the toggle swith idea but then again, I always turn my battery off when I stop using my boat.

 

[EricJRW]

Re: Hardwiring stereo

Did you connect the yellow wire as well?

What does the yellow wire do?

I'm in the market for a new radio, so just collecting data at this point.

BTW, my current radio is hardwired and yes it has been left on once before resulting in a mostly dead battery. Now I double check before putting it up.

 

[rwidman]

Re: Hardwiring stereo

I also can't remember the last time I ever took my key out of the ignition but that's just me.

I personally like the toggle swith idea but then again, I always turn my battery off when I stop using my boat.

Which is why you don't have anything but the bilge pump, stereo memory wire, and CO detector wired directly to the battery.

Even though you don't take the key out, you turn it off, right?

 

[rwidman]

Re: Hardwiring stereo

What does the yellow wire do?

I'm in the market for a new radio, so just collecting data at this point.

BTW, my current radio is hardwired and yes it has been left on once before resulting in a mostly dead battery. Now I double check before putting it up.

Other than speaker and input wires, there are three power wires to a modern radio/stereo:

Power to the unit
Power to the memory circuit to maintain preset stations, etc.
Negative

It's been a while since I installed one, but I believe the power wire is normally red, the memory wire is yellow, and the negative wire is black. It will be in the installation instructions so just read and follow them.

The power wire should be connected to a source that's switched off by the battery switch, the memory wire should be connected to a source that's not switched off by the battery switch, and the negative wire should be connected to a negative buss bar or other connection that returns to the battery negative terminal.

edit: There might also be a wire that's used to turn on an external power amplifier.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Hardwiring stereo

Which is why you don't have anything but the bilge pump, stereo memory wire, and CO detector wired directly to the battery.

Even though you don't take the key out, you turn it off, right?

Yep...turn it off.

One comment, I switch the memory(yellow) wire as well. Reason is that there is a draw, be it small, that depends on the stereo. Over a period of months, it will drain your battery if you happen to not have a charger on it. I know you lose your station presets but at leat for me, my stereo is hardly ever tuned to an OTA station.

 

[EricJRW]

Re: Hardwiring stereo

Interesting re: that yellow wire. You would think a marine radio would use NVRAM* to store presets. Seems like a bad application to expect power, especially when putting it up for the winter. The technology certainly is there to not require power for memory.

* Maybe the manufactures feel the device will outlive the number of write cycles?

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Hardwiring stereo

You would thinks so wouldn't you. Problem is the manufacturers probably use the exact same circuit for non-marine vs marine radios. Volume just isn't high enough to warrant a redesign for marine.

 

[seabob4]

Re: Hardwiring stereo

The yellow wire is stereo memory. Even though the red wire is 12V+, and one would think this would be all that would be needed to be terminated for the radio to work, sorry, it won't work without the yellow wire. You can terminate switched or un-switched, but it has to be terminated to a source of power...