mx5cartalk.com

hello guys and girls,
i've once again come crawling back here in search of assistance with more noob questions...its all very puzzling as my radio was working fine last night

will the factory radio work without acc power??...as in would the clock still work with only the constant 12v supply terminal connected?

reason i ask this is because while trying to change my car's head unit, i stopped, fearing i may have damaged the factory cassette/harness (got over excited and forgot to disconnect the battery before fiddling with it)..the cassette no longer works and the lcd stays blank but it all still lights up when i turn on my lights....

all the connections seem to be fine..BUT i noticed the acc wire is missing and there is a random wire unsecurely jammed into the "i" terminal on the headrest connector shown in the diagram here...http://www.miata.net/garage/audio.html#misc..

is it safe to assume that this is the acc wire? just randomly slotted in the wrong place?
is there any chance of causing damage to the car if i fiddle with the wrong wires??

not wanting to run the risk of potentially breaking more things....ive pretty much admit defeat...but i'm just really curious to know what that random wire is...
thankss all...

I believe that the clock will retain its memory, but you will not see the time until the key is turned to ACC. Have you checked the fuses to see if one has blown? Check the two following two fuses: Cigar fuse (check for lighter working) and Room fuse (check for the car's interior lights working).

J

Fairly confident thats exactly what happens when you blow the fuse.

checked the fuses just then and they seem to be fine...
...maybe the clock doesnt turn on because there is no acc power going into the radio...ill connect that mystery wire into the acc terminal after dinner see what that does, unless if someone on here strongly advises against it...by the process of elimination it has to be the acc wire i guess??.....*fingers crossed*....

I'd be testing that wire with a test light before I poked it anywhere mate, & & at least check a wiring diagram before you poke it in a slot it may not be designed to poke into

i had a look at the wiring/connector diagrams, got a fairly good idea but think i'll just admit defeat before i actually do something stupid n just call into my local car audio specialist just to be sure...thanks for the sound advice tho...

Did you check all your fuses?