Pioneer Deck Wiring Question

[np75]

I just put in a new DEH-5800 deck in my car. It was replacing an older Pioneer unit. I was expecting to just swap the same wires over to the new deck wiring harness. How ever, the new deck came with an unfamiliar wire. It is orange with a white stripe and has the label "ILL". The instructions said to wire this to the illumination, but gave no specifics. I have never seen this before. I assume that this is supposed to go to a wire that gets power when you turn the headlights on, but I am not sure. Is this what it does, and if not what does it do? Would you say that it is worth hooking it up? What did you hook it up to?

Thanks,

Nic

[StereoInstaller1]

Nic, that wire makes the deck "dim" when 12V is applied to it.

I believe the 5800 allows adjustments if you don't want to dim it.

I do not remember what color on the E30 is the dash lights, sorry.

Luke

[netcsk]

You can either hook it into one of the bulbs that comes on when you turn your lights on or you can use a mulitmeter on the back of the headlight switch to find which wire gets voltage when the switch is pulled. Like Luke, I can't remember which it is.

It's worth hooking up in my opinion as it will dim the unit slightly when driving at night.

[np75]

Thanks for the info guys.

Nic

[DSchultz325e]

I am fairly sure it was the brown wire with the red spots on it.

[NC325iC]

i just got that same headunit, i just left that wire out

edit: but now that i know it wants 12v when the lights are on and not ground i think i may

[MikeE30325i]

i had to totally rewire my speakers and use a switch to power the deck. that was a fun two nights...