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You can use the radio fuse or some other fuse in the fuse box if you want to go that route. You can buy fuse taps at the parts stores, and they wrap around the fuse and give you a place to slide a connector and get power.
connecting the cd to just a power source wont work according to the tech at pioneer. He said the unit will not work unless I hook it up to a 12v source that is connected to the ignition. I called the local ford dealer and he does not have info that goes back as far as 1986
You can certainly find ignition on power sources in the fuse box. The radio fuse is one, the blower motor is another, the turnsignal fuse is another, the wiper motor fuse is another, etc. None of those work with the key off.
You saying that any of these fuse sources is the same as connecting to the 12v ignition wire itself? The installation instructions for the cd player say that I need to connect yellow wire from the cd player plug to a constant 12v source. (I was told that is for the memory and clock etc.) Then I need to connect the red wire from the plug to the 12v ignition wire. It says if I connect it to a power source that is not cut off when you turn the ignition off it will drain the battery. I was checking out the fuse box on the van, I put a volt meter across the radio fuse and some other fuses. With ignition off I got no reading and with the ignition on I got no reading. I thought I should get a reading with the igniton on, no? I checked the fuse it seemed ok.
You should put one lead of the meter on ground, and the other lead on the fuse. Yes, half the box is fed by the ignition switch and the other part of it is fed by the battery.
Thanks Dave. I'll try connecting using the radio fuse. That would be the easiest way to do it. I dont know why they make it so complicated telling me to find the 12v ignition wire. I've put a few car stater remotes in and without a color code guide it's not to easy to find a specific wire. And on a 1986 Ford no one seems to have it, I even contacted Ford Motor Co and they dont have it. They told me to go to helminc.com and purchase the wiring diagram, which I'm not so sure they even have it.
If I need a constant 12v source, what fuses on the fuse box would provide that?
Something like the domelight fuse(it may be called interior lights), the brakelights(you might steer away from that, they are sort of important), I am sure there are others, but nothing is coming to mind right now except the running lights and the hazard lighting.
P.S. I just remembered the cigarette lighter might have it's own fuse, and that would be a good one to choose.
Got it. I used the radio fuse and I found a wire going straight to the battery I think it was used for a CB radio so I used that for the 12v constant.
Thanks for the help.