Radio Issues... Currently having to pull the fuse

So I picked up a gorgeous 1997 riviera in black and the Previous Owner had some wierd older eclipse flip out screen installed and all the wires are hacked and pieced together... I got my new radio wired in and playing music but I have a problem, the Orange wire that is supposed to be hot is not hot. I found another wire that red and hot and wired my radio to it. It works and plays but when I shut the car off and open the door the radio turns off, when I close the door the radio turns back on. Im having to pull the radio fuse when I go home and go to work..


Anyone else run into this issue?

Did you get the stock radio with the purchase of your beauty?
See about hooking that up (time permitting) and checking if that will work without issues.

I still have the stock radio in my '95. I am having some strange issues with mine, as well. Must be common! Mine loves to change the Band randomly. Every button on the steering works, but they all change the Band also. I use my iPod with a cassette transmitter most every time, so Its tolerable.

Nope no stock radio... I did end up with a VCR and 6 disc changer in the trunk

saintsnsinners wrote:

So I picked up a gorgeous 1997 riviera in black and the Previous Owner had some wierd older eclipse flip out screen installed and all the wires are hacked and pieced together... I got my new radio wired in and playing music but I have a problem, the Orange wire that is supposed to be hot is not hot. I found another wire that red and hot and wired my radio to it. It works and plays but when I shut the car off and open the door the radio turns off, when I close the door the radio turns back on. Im having to pull the radio fuse when I go home and go to work..


Anyone else run into this issue?

Your radio is probably mis-wired on both hot and ground. I do not have wiring info for the 97. You could use a factory service manual, to get a look at which harness wire does what.

I suspect what happens is when you open the door a ground wire goes to 12 v. But I don't really know.

So anyway you need the manual to show which wire is which (I do not think that info is posted) and you need a multimeter to test the wiring (under $20 from a walmart or radioshack). You need also to check the wiring from the door switch to the instrument panel, your problem might be that when you open the door a couple wires with chafed insulation are shorting out or some such.

I think Im just going to splice in a hot wire to the power port.

That hot wire you tapped into probably is constantly hot. You need one that gets controlled by the relay that deactivates the accessories when the door is opened upon exiting the vehicle.

The cigarette lighter +12 might be an option, if you can't find the original radio wire.

Off to splice it into the power port

Cig lighter circuit is equipped with a 20A fuse and the radio circuit is 10A, so you should be able to have that work.

Not sure if you'll blow a fuse if you have the radio active and use the cig lighter at the same time, though. Small accessories like cell chargers usually pull a maximum of 2.1A.

If you check out the audio and electric section on the Dash Board of this sight you will find a wiring schematic for a 98 Riv. I would think that it is the same for 97. Should be enough info for you to check your wiring for a problem. Good luck!

I just ran it off the cig lighter... I hooked up my phone charger and turned on the radio... no blown fuses

Nice! Does it properly deactivate when the key is removed and the door is opened?

Yep it does the turn off after the door opens. I stood out in the rain and watched just to make sure it doesnt turn back on...


Problem solved....... Now off to paint my new cashtray cover bezel.

saintsnsinners wrote:

Yep it does the turn off after the door opens. I stood out in the rain and watched just to make sure it doesnt turn back on...


Problem solved....... Now off to paint my new cashtray cover bezel.

Cool, glad that worked for you.

sniperdude wrote:

That hot wire you tapped into probably is constantly hot. You need one that gets controlled by the relay that deactivates the accessories when the door is opened upon exiting the vehicle.

The cigarette lighter +12 might be an option, if you can't find the original radio wire.

The dash cig lighter is always powered unless your wiring got nodded. It will eventually go off after about a half hour parked. As part of retained accessory power control.

The power point on the side of the dash, however, is switched with the ignition.