Radio Dimmer Wire

[steve_earwig]

That kind of defeats the point of having it, yout may just as well have left it hooked up to the accessory position, with the added benefit that your dashboard lights wouldn't turn on. Oh boy. There is a way but first, are you sure you haven't got the switched feed and the light feed swapped?

[arfer]

Hi.

Let me try and be more precise.Fitted radio with standard wiring loom,all wires in correct place etc.metered through.Connected orange wire from radio to ashtray lamp,turn on the lights and radio dims,turn off lights radio back to normal.
The side effect of connecting to ashtray light was that the dash illuminated when the key was inserted and turned to position one regardless of whether the lights are on or not,not a huge problem more of an annoyance.
The question is why are the dash lights on and is there another point i can connect dimmer wire to that will not give this effect ?
I thought with dimming being fairly standatd on most radios now that there must be a logical connection point in the car.

Hope i explained this better.

Thanks

Mark

[steve_earwig]

That's pretty wierd, I'm not sure I like the sound of it either. You really need the sidelight circuit, straight off the switch to be sure.

One thing is many of the panel lights in the car are on even in the daytime, they get a lower voltage when the lights are on so they're not too bright, maybe that's got something to do with it. I was going to suggest putting a diode on the feed but I think something's getting confused (not just me then ) I didn't get whether yours is D8 or D9, if it's a '9 it might explain much.

[arfer]

Hi

Its a D9 does that make a difference ?

Mark

[steve_earwig]

According to Haynes (book of lies), the lights for the fag lighter, ash tray and auto selector light (if applicable) come straight out the BSI. Following it back the best I can (with these crappy diagrams) I get the Vehicle Area Network diagram, which features feeds for the aformentioned lights, the dash lights, the multifunction display, sat nav controls, the heater control panel and some transponder (?) It's obviously something to do with lighting but I'm not happy about it running the dash lights at the same time via the BSI. Did you try clocking the dimmer wire from the stereo? Maybe that's chucking out a couple of volts, enough to upset the apple cart. The real bastard is you already clocked the stereo connector and found no light feed need so I think the only safe option is to get to the sidelight feed after the fuse. Bloody nuts if you ask me.

[arfer]

Thanks for the input.
Looks like i will have to get the meter out and start looking for a properly switched supply line,had not thought to check if a voltage was feeding back from the stereo,will check that too.


Mark

[0ldfosil]

Have you tried putting a diode in the wire from the ashtray to the radio ? might work.

[0ldfosil]

I've just done a radio install into a 2001 406HDI D9 and I picked up a 12+ supply from fuse 35 to connect to the dimmer wire. It worked for me with no apparent unwanted qwerks, so it should work for you.