Stereo wire to acc switch. Help.

[996scott]

reviving an old thread. I want to do the same and wire the stereo to an extra switch to keep it on and not have it cut out every time i turn the engine off. From the picture that the op posted of the back of the ignition switch, which wire is it that goes to the back of the head unit for power? (sorry i'm not much of an electrician and don't have a volt meter). I would want to cut this wire ( or take it out of the back of the plug) and then connect it to the wire that comes from the extra switch which would be the white wire in the 2nd picture. Is that correct?

[MLA]

@996scott,

If your 2021 uses a traditional key style ignition, then the terminal should labeled ACC. Usually, its a red wire. Even then, I always like to verify with a meter, that the wire has B+ in the ACC and RUN position, then after removing the wire, make sure the head no longer powers up.

Get a $30 meter from the auto parts store or harbor freight. its worth its weight in gold.

Yes, once you have the correct wire off the key switch, simply wire it to the switched B+ output of a spare/unused rocker. If its a typical Carling style rocker, you can swap the actuator to a custom one labeled to indicate music.

[996scott]

MLA, thanks for the response. Yes it is a traditional key style ignition but i didn't see anything of the wires coming out of the back that were labeled ACC.

Sorry if these are dumb questions but when it come to electrical i am as dumb as they come... So it the radio powers up when the key is in the run position AND the ACC position, does that mean that there are 2 wires coming out of the back of the ignition switch that go to the radio and they both supply power to the radio dependent on which position the key is in?

[MLA]

Only one switched stereo wire from the key switch. Theres a little mechanical magic going on inside the switch that makes the ACC terminal "hot" in both the ACC and RUN position.

You may not see a tag on the wire, but rather the terminal is labeled.

[996scott]

ok, good to know. Thanks again for the help. One last question if you don't mind. Is there a trick to getting the wire (pin) out of the terminal or should i just cut the wire?

[MLA]

If the back of the key switch is sealed, with no serviceable terminals, then you may trace the ACC wire to see if it goes through a fuse. This would be a good spot to separate it and divert it to the rocker switch.

[996scott]

Thanks again MLA, I got it done. FYI for anyone else, I was able to see the red wire coming out of the harness on the back of the stereo. I followed it down a little ways and found that it had a label saying 12V on it. Along with 3 other wires it went into another white wiring harness. I unplugged the white harness and removed the red 12v wire from it. With the red wire taken out of the harness and the harness plugged back in I confirmed there was no power to the stereo. I then found an extra wire from one of the empty ACC switches that was just bundled up and connected the two together. Works perfect as when the toggle switch is in the on position.

[sandm]

996- congrats. nothing better than a job well done...

and frankly the best mod you can do to any boat out there.

[996scott]

Thanks sandm, considering my lack of knowledge when it comes to electronics this was no small miracle. Yea, it is always a great feeling getting something figured out and doing it yourself.