'72 240Z stereo wiring, please help!

[Pir0San]

My Z was broken into about two months ago, and the thieves stole my Pioneer head unit, and cut my wiring harness. I am finally getting tired of not having a radio, and I was going to install a tape deck/radio I have laying around for the time being. The only problem is that I am unsure which wire to use to run the direct battery power (usually yellow coming off of the deck, obviously something else on the Z's wiring harness) and the ignition power wire for the deck (which I think I know where it is already. If anyone can help, it's definitely appreciated!

[Alfadog]

Sounds like you need a wiring diagram! Hope this helps.

[Pir0San]

ok, I'm wiring diagram retarded ... I found that the stereo uses three wires, blue for the fusible link (meaning power from the battery/fusebox), red/blue for something (I have no idea what it's for), and the antenna. What's the red/blue wire for, and is the fusible link the direct battery hookup?

[Pir0San]

http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/wiringdiagrams/72_240z_wiring.pdf

this one says that the fusible link goes into the fusebox (blue) and the other wire runs into the wiring for the oil sending unit...

[Arne]

Totally from memory here, but I seem to recall that red/blue is the dash lighting.

[nateroszhart]

From my experience putting in a complete stereo and subs in my 280, blue is the antenna, red is for accessory power (powers up the stereo when the ignition is turned on) and yellow is for the battery line for a constant voltage to keep the clock and presets on.

[Arne]

240Z wiring colors are very different from 280Z colors.

[EScanlon]

From my experience putting in a complete stereo and subs in my 280, blue is the antenna, red is for accessory power (powers up the stereo when the ignition is turned on) and yellow is for the battery line for a constant voltage to keep the clock and presets on.

The above sounds correct for a generic RADIO wiring.

However, the earlier Z's had very basic wiring and some "modern" style wiring (back in 1970).

The BLUE wire is the 12v + for the STOCK Radio. It grounds via a Black wire / through the Chassis Mount.

The RED/BLUE wire is for the Dial Illumination Lamp.

The Antenna Switch receives 3 wires, BLUE (12v+) and BLUE/WHITE and BLUE/RED for each direction of the antenna.

Newer Stereos require changes to work in the earlier Z's.

The antenna needs to be replaced. Newer Stereos require a FULLY AUTOMATIC Antenna which the original Z's was MANUAL. The Fully Automatic connects to the radio via a Blue Wire to sense when the radio is turned on and then with it's constant power source (which the original Z was not equipped to provide) then raises the antenna. When the radio is turned off the antenna retracts. In the quoted information, this is the Blue wire, but you would still have to send a constant 12v power to the antenna in order for it to work AFTER the radio was turned off AND the ignition was also turned off....so that the antenna will go down all the way.

The radio needs to be provided with a constant power source NOT connected to the ignition for it's Presets, settings and clock. This is the Yellow wire mentioned. Sometimes this constant power is NOT the one to power the radio when it is turned on, in that case it then needs a secondary power source linked to the ignition. That's the Red wire mentioned.

In order to help you with what you have, you need to provide a bit more info as to what you DO have and what you plan to install/remove/ change.

E

[Pir0San]

alright, so I went outside today, armed with my trusty ohmeter, and did some poking around. The previous owner/stereo installer people ran the always hot/powered wire (yellow) to the white wire with red stripe that connects to the ignition switch harness via a "T" splice connector. I found that the red wire ran to another wire (which I will repost the color tomorrow morning when I can see it ), and the ground wire is just a general ground anywhere on the body. As for the antenna wiring, I didn't worry about it, since my antenna motor works but fails to raise and lower the antenna.

I should be able to install the tape deck tomorrow. It's an older Kenwood tape deck, it's no Pioneer cd deck, but it'll do the trick.

[EScanlon]

The antenna might simply be that the nylon shaft inside has snapped off OR has come loose.

E

[vercingetorix]

"The BLUE wire is the 12v + for the STOCK Radio. It grounds via a Black wire / through the Chassis Mount"

Are these the two in the "T" connector?

Mine is a '71.

Best,

H Houghton

[vercingetorix]

ooops! I shot off my mouth before I loaded my brain.

I just checked my wiring and the wires in the "T" connector are a heavy green and a black with a white stripe, the black/white is ignition hot. Anyone know what that connector is for?

Also I had a clear look at the antenna switch wires. Mine come from a square three wire connector that treminates at the switch in insulated bullet connectors with a blue/ a blue with white stripe /and a blue with a red stripe. The blue is ignition hot. Since it is a manual switch I assume the hot is constant power and the other two are up and down (forward,reverse,whatever) on the antenna motor.

Best,

H Houghton