Hi,

Does anyone know what the correct wiring configuration for this is?

I am fitting a universal Autoleads RMA 850 electric aerial to my Volvo S40 as a replacement.

I have been informed that the wiring is as follows.

1 green - command wire
1 red - key power / battery power - has a 5amp fuse
1 black - earth

On the S40 there is a lead in the truck which would normally just clip into a standard Volvo aerial, but it's connections are...

1 red
1 black
1 red / black

Can anyone hazard a guess (be accurate!) to which wires need to attach to which in order that I don't damage anything?

Many thanks!

OK, you will need a voltmeter to be sure or a screwdriver which lights up on live wires.

first i would assume black to be ground but we will check that.

one wire should be live all the time or with the ign switched on but stero off.
Put one side of the voltmeter to ground, on a hindge of the boot/trunk or a screw thats showing bear metal try and find a point inside the car.

Put the other side of the voltmeter to the Red wire if its live with the radio switched off then this is the supply and connect it to the red wire on your aerial.

Now test the other wire with the voltmeter Red/black if this wire only becomes live when the stero is turned on and shows no volts when the stero is turned off then this is your signal wire so connect it to the Green wire on your areial.

before you connect any of the wires repeat the above but use the black wire in the car as you ground on the voltmeter to make sure you get the same results.

remember voltmeter or a screw driver that lights up will do.

Hope this helps.

Hi, many thanks for that - I assume it's only 12v and not able to do any harm to anything other than perhaps if I connect things incorrectly?

I'll try that out and let you know how I get on - many thanks! :thumbsup:

Hi, the worst you can do is blow a fuse in the stereo (not recommended) or blow a fuse in the fuse box.

Take your time its easy once you get going, let us know how you get on.

Yep its only 12 volts so your unlikly to fry yourself.

T5Mikka, great instruction on the wiring!

BTW, that is where I want to tie in my IPod if I decide to void my warranty :gunsmilie:

Hi,

I have found that the red & black cable in the Volvo has a constant supply, which is 11.5v - this is the key power / battery power I assume.

The black is definately earth.

Therefore the red on it's own is the trigger, but there is NO voltage when I switch the radio on going along this cable.

Perhaps this is why I've had problems sorting this out as it looks as if the cable at the stereo end has either a fault or isn't correctly terminated.

The Volvo connections are coupled with a rather ragged looking ISO lead, one of those ISO cables is cut in 3 places, I bet one of those is the trigger line!!!

Anyway, atleast I now know the aerial will work and it gets power to extend as I can just clamp the connections together for a perminant aerial up or unclamp them to take it down whilst washing the car etc.

...that said, I'll probably just go out and buy a new Volvo - ISO adaptor cable lol

Many thanks for all your help!

just incase anyone is interested if they are going to fit one of these, here's the wiring for a Volvo S40.

Black to Black = Earth
Red to Green = Trigger
Red & black to Red = Key power

You could also just put the black cable to the chassis

If you connect the Red/Green cables to Red&Black/Red, then the aerial extends. Unclamp them and it cuts the power and goes down.

Now all I need to do is connect the coaxial cable and get something more than the local station.

:clap: thanks folks :clap:

Glad you got it sorted, thanks for the wiring info.

You are welcome! I have subsequently discovered another couple of electrics issues with the S40, both of which have me stumped. I've never known a car to have so many electrical issues and it's driving me potty!

I have posted the issues as 'Unrelated S40 electrics query' and '(1996) S40 electronics query - what would a missing fuse in #13 do?'