CD player wiring

So I recently made a trip out to Lake Havasu. I towed it out from north san diego county so it was quite a long drive. I was tired from the trip and didn't do much cleaning that day. A couple weeks later I went out to a local lake and my cd player wasn't working. I figured that some wire must have rattled loose on the long haul home from havasu. I checked it out today and noticed that there was a red wire leading from the battery to the back of the cd player sitting on the floor of the battery area. There is also an orange wire connected to the negative terminal. I am very new to boating and don't know a thing about electrical stuff. Was wondering if this was the problem and which terminal to connect it to. Thanks for any help in advance.

Re: CD player wiring

Welcome to Iboats!

The positive side probably. Someone used what ever wire they had for the ground..(orange?).
Best to get a fuse link on that red wire and the proper wire lugs to fit the battery.
Would cost you all of 5 bucks at the auto parts store.

Looking at the picture they did not put an end on the orange wire either..

Re: CD player wiring

Yeah you were right. Thanks for the help.

Re: CD player wiring

Gary H NC said:

Welcome to Iboats!

The positive side probably. Someone used what ever wire they had for the ground..(orange?).

Click to expand...

C'mon Gary.. Everyone knows Orange is for ground Just kidding.

However, I'd trace that orange first. Gary is probably right but on some CD stereos (although usually yellow) there is a switched power connection.

The orange may not be the negative. Start at your radio and work backwards. And Gary is bang on. If there is an inline fuse on the red, check it. If not, get one in there. Better a .99 fuse than a several hundred dollar radio.

You should see at minimum out the back of the CD player, red for power, black for ground, (possible yellow/orange for switch power) Green/green-black and purple/purple-black or grey/grey-black (+ and - speaker wires) to wire to left and right speakers.

Re: CD player wiring

Welcome to iboats

Black or white that are the only ground colors I use. Black of course is the color of choice. All it takes is a brain freeze or time and you will forget what color is what. But if I wire it, I always know black is ground. On large gauge wires I try to use red for positive.

Re: CD player wiring

Gary H NC said:

Best to get a fuse link on that red wire and the proper wire lugs to fit the battery.
Would cost you all of 5 bucks at the auto parts store.

Looking at the picture they did not put an end on the orange wire either..

Click to expand...

By the way, it is best not to hook things directly to the battery unless you need a large draw. I always install a fuse or breaker panel and hook stuff to individual breakers. I makes battery removal easier and is stops wire clutter.