[Bubbie]

I removed my ashtray/cigarette lighter and would like to wire my CB directly to the existing cigarette lighter wire. There are only a couple wires, looking for some help with what to solder/crimp/splice and where where.

CB:
Positive, Negative, Plastic clasp thing



Cigarette Lighter:
Black (ground?) with clasp, two purple wires with white lines which connect in a single female connector.




What now!?

Does anyone know if this wire receives power with the key removed? Not sure if I want it to...

[chris87xj]

Black CB wire to black cig lighter wire.
Red CB wire to purple cig lighter wires.
Plastic clasp thingy = fuse holder.

You won't need the connectors on the existing wiring so cut them off and throw away or put back on the cig lighter for wherever it goes. Use crimp connectors or wire nuts to join CB wires to cig lighter wires. Join both purple wires to the red wire since one is an incoming feed and the other outgoing to whatever is next in line in the circuit.

Nowadays most cig lighters are not powered when the ignition is off, but in '89 that may not have been the case. If powered all the time, you'll need to remember to shut the CB off when parking or install a relay to do it for you.

[Richd1963]

For ease of use and simplicity, there are many different kinds of meters available for checking many things including voltage. For a beginner a safe bet is a simple test light. I would buy a quality one, not the cheaper one from someplace like sears or a leading tool mfr. They are good and quick and easy tools to check for a 12vt. source and can tell you if you have the power available, can also test with key off and key on. As time goes on, maybe someday you will actually desire a better VOM for other electrical testing. But for now a test light will do the trick. JMHO, Good luck.
I almost forgot to mention. You may get allot of engine/alt whine through the cigarette lighter circuit. Whining noise on your cb while the engine is running which also increases as you rev the motor. If this is the case and you wish to eliminate it. Most of us have just run the cb wiring directly to the vehicles battery. It is a minor pain in the u know what, but it is a sure way to eliminate or substantially minimize that whine. It has to do with the charging system and grounding issues. You can do a search for alternator whine to see the problems incurred and solutions there to. Try the cig lighter and see, but be prepared for the back round noise in the radio. Good luck.

[Bubbie]

I'll be wiring this weekend... Thanks for your comments, sounds easy enough.

If I do get engine feedback, is there anything I can install in/on the wire before the CB to "clean" the electricity? Or is the only fix to hardwire to the battery?

Thanks!

[SirGCal]

The only proper method for CBs to avoid noise is directly to the battery (ground also).

[Mainsail]

Go to Radio Shack and buy the male (plug) half of the lighter, then connect the red wire from the radio to the center pin and the black to the outer. Then you can plug the CB into the lighter socket for power. That way you don't butcher your wiring harness if there's too much noise in the circuit, or in the off chance you want to sell it some day.

[Richd1963]

I go to the battery direct and still run one of these. For 10 bucks or so it works great.

PAC CSS-100 (css100) - Noise Filters - Sonic Electronix

[Phreak480]

never wire through the cig lighter for cb. go straight to the battery with positive and negative using appropriately sized wiring and fuses on both leads as near the battery as practical. this will decrease noise in the system, also be sure to use quality coax not the cheap barely shielded junk from radio shack, it makes a difference and also take care to have your antenna mount properly grounded to the body.

[SirGCal]

No fuse necessary on the negative lead. Even at the battery. Just the positive lead.

[04WJny]

use crimps that go with the gauge wire you have there. you wont need a fuse because the cb has an inline fuse attached to the wire plus i think theres a fuse for the cig lighter already. check your fusebox

[Phreak480]

fusing the neg lead is just an extra step of protection should some vehicle grounding fail so you wont pull big current on the ground side through the radio.

[Bubbie]

Ok, so I'm reading some conflicting messages here...

Does anyone think it's OK to power the CB off the cig lighter power? It sounds like 04WJny thinks its ok. I will NEVER sell this vehicle, so that is not a concern...

My buddy picked up one of these to mount in the vehicle, and bring all accessories into it.. Fuse Block

Any thoughts?

[Richd1963]

If you purchase an auxiliary fuse block that you mount inside the tub, make sure you power it up directly from the battery and bring both the 12vt+ and ground too.
polarismarineelectricsupply.com - 5025
I had a nice fuse block I bought online, marine applications and I gave it to a friend, now I need to get another.

[chris87xj]

The more directly you source power from the battery the cleaner it will be.
There are inexpensive filters available to clean up power.
There's a lot of portable CB's out there with power port plugs.
Go at it armed with info and see what works for your needs.

[SirGCal]

Originally Posted by Phreak480

fusing the neg lead is just an extra step of protection should some vehicle grounding fail so you wont pull big current on the ground side through the radio.

If the vehicle ground failed you would still not pull power through the ground side of the radio. Fusing the ground side is completely redundant and serves no benefit what-so-ever. The entire vehicle chassis is connected non-fused to the negative lead of the battery. You wouldn't fuse it at a frame mount so why at the battery. Electrically it's no different. Only thing here is lesser interference.