[gary1]

My radio has been malfunctioning lately, my son just pointed out to me that it always works with the headlights off, and never works with the headlights on. Is there a logical explanation for this. (Please be more specific than to tell me it's a wiring problem.)

[rustywrangler]

Is the radio stock or aftermarket?? If aftermarket, did they get power from it off of the headlight switch harness??

[gary1]

It is the stock Jeep radio.

Originally Posted by rustywrangler

Is the radio stock or aftermarket?? If aftermarket, did they get power from it off of the headlight switch harness??

[tudor92jeep]

my 92 jeep does the same thing but my radio if a aftermarket. i just got my jeep last week so i have not figureed that one out yet. i will watch this post to see what the heck

[88TNSahara]

I have an aftermarket stereo, and the PO hacked up the stock harness. My radio works when the headlights are on, but when I switch the lights off, the radio will turn off momentarily. Even if the key is not in the ignition, if the headlights are switched on, the radio will come on. Weird, but I'm not worried about it.
Anyway, on to the OP's problem... There are 2 wires that provide power to the stereo. One is a constant 12V wire (allows memory for clock and station presets), and the other is a switched 12V wire (tells the stereo to turn on when the key is turned on). Sounds like someone messed with the wiring somewhere and hooked up your switched 12V to the headlight switch. Chasing wiring can be a PITA, but you'll have to do it.

[culli2799]

i had that problem when i changed to new battery, after many hours i found out that is so simple all i had to do is add another wire from battery (-) to the chassis, my stereo(-) is connected to the chassis so i guess it didnt have good contact to the battery - it worked for me

[gary1]

Nobody has messed with the wiring at all. The same radio has been in the Jeep since it was new. I did put a new battery in it recently though, so I will take your advice and run another ground to the chassis. I hope it works. I usually drive my Jeep with the lights on, so I just thought the radio was fried, but when my son pointed out that it works with the lights off, I checked that, and sure enough he was right. Also, I can't set the clock anymore, it doesn't respond to the 'clock set' button, so maybe there is something wrong with the radio itself.

Originally Posted by 88TNSahara

I have an aftermarket stereo, and the PO hacked up the stock harness. My radio works when the headlights are on, but when I switch the lights off, the radio will turn off momentarily. Even if the key is not in the ignition, if the headlights are switched on, the radio will come on. Weird, but I'm not worried about it.
Anyway, on to the OP's problem... There are 2 wires that provide power to the stereo. One is a constant 12V wire (allows memory for clock and station presets), and the other is a switched 12V wire (tells the stereo to turn on when the key is turned on). Sounds like someone messed with the wiring somewhere and hooked up your switched 12V to the headlight switch. Chasing wiring can be a PITA, but you'll have to do it.

[disarm6565]

LOL, sorry I just read this post and had a flashback or two. I have an aftermarket radio and have the same problem. It is a pioneer, as was my last one that I did not have this problem with. This may or may not help but there is an orange wire and an orange/white wire that provide illumination to your instrument panel. With my radio (I think b/c the PO had an alarm system which was sloppily rigged) one of the two wires has to be connected to the ACC (ignition power) wire for it to work. I would look into that.

[Que89YJ]

http://www.scribd.com/doc/5115283/Jeep-1995-YJ-FSM-Wiring-Diagrams

Try measuring the voltages between with the lights off:
Black-Pink Battery 12Vdc
Black-Red Switched ignition 12Vdc
Black-Orange Lighting 0Vdc

The black is the harness ground and if the ground circuit is open it will ground itself through the radio case which is tied to ground internally. If the ground is open then it should be repaired. The radio sources about 7amps continuous and will cause excessive noise and pretty sparks.

[cracker]

There is a connection in the stock wiring. If the radio is on and the lights are on the radio will stay on when the key is turned off. It is sort of a "headlight on" reminder. The radio goes off when the lights are turned off in that case. (key off)

It seems that the radio can get power from the ignition switch or the light switch with the stock wiring.

I bought my YJ new and it has had 3 radios in it and they all worked the same.

jim

[Neighborbill]

Originally Posted by gary1

My radio has been malfunctioning lately, my son just pointed out to me that it always works with the headlights off, and never works with the headlights on. Is there a logical explanation for this. (Please be more specific than to tell me it's a wiring problem.)

you have grounded your radio to the parking light wire find a good ground on metal your problem will be gone.