Hello,

I am trying to wire in an aftermarket stereo in my 88 F250 but the previous owner cut the wires so I am having a hard time with it.

I got it to power on and work correctly except, when I turn it off and leave it off for more than 5 minutes all of the settings reset. If it's off for less than 5 minutes the settings are saved.

I have the green/yellow wire from the truck connected to the yellow wire on the aftermarket stereo. And the orange/black and yellow/black wire connected to the red wire on the aftermarket stereo. That was the only combination I could get for it to come on.

I would appreciate any ideas anyone has to get it to save my settings. Kinda tired of it asking me to set it up again everytime I turn the truck off.

 

You do not have the constant 12V+ wired in correctly. I'm not sure of the wire colors; consult your wiring kit instructions for that information. As a general rule of basic stereo installations, you will need a pair of wires from each speaker, a ground connection, a key-controlled 12V+ source (for power on/off), and a constant 12V+ source (to save your settings when the key is off). Hope this helps!

 

Unfortunately I didn't get a kit or instructions. The truck came with the aftermarket stereo in the floorboard and all of the factory wires were cut. I looked it up though and my truck's constant wire is supposed to be green/yellow and my stereo's constant is yellow. I wired the green/yellow to the yellow. Would it be possible to just bypass the truck's wires all together and just wire my stereo's constant to the battery directly?

 

Going to the battery directly would work, yes, but it would be a waste of time and wire. Get a test light, and find a fuse in the fuse panel that has power when the key is off. Fold the end of the wire around the blade of the fuse on the load side (the side that does not have power when the fuse is removed), and carefully reinstall the fuse. If you use too large of a wire, it will not fit. 18 gauge is more than enough.

 

Ha! Excellent idea. Thank you very much for the suggestions. Ill get out the test light and flash light and try this now.

 

here is the wiring colors for the ford trucks.
The Install Doctor - Radio Wire Harness and Colors - Ford Lincoln Mercury