Hi & thanks for reading this thread - I feel like such a newbie asking this question but I really could use some help. I am adding a gauge pod in my 5th gen and I've hit a snag. Everything for the pod is wired up and ready to go. I have a spare car battery that I use to test electronics/wiring before finishing installations. When I hook the 2 respective wires for + and - to my extra car battery, everything lights up and works properly, yet when I ground the - wire and use a wiretap to install the + wire to a wire i know only works when the key is turned in the on position nothing happens. I tried 2 different grounds. I tried using a ring terminal for both attempts and then just wrapping the single wire around the bolt but that didn't work either. Any suggestions?

I'm trying to avoid running this off the battery and to a switch

Thank you!

 

You either

a) Have a poor ground. ie didn't remove paint to allow wire to touch bare metal.

or

b) The wire you think is a switched power source really isn't. It's most likely a IGN wire which means it only energizes was the car is running, not just by turning the key to the ON position.

Sounds like you're fishing for an ACC wire if you want it to come on when the key is in the ON position. Pull the removable fuse panel door by your knees and see what's IGN and what's ACC.


What gauge are you installing btw?

 

thanks, im going to try and look at it again tomorrow night after work - but for the ACC/ON response: I have an add-a-fuse that I used to install some other electronics which come on with the key on. I tried to use the splice on the power wire for these electronics and still didn't work with the splice and the ground wire touching the - on my spare battery. This has been a very install... as for what gauges I added, this is what makes this thread more of a ... Voltmeter (for car stereo purposes) and a vaccum gauge. I feel extremely stupid that I can't even get a voltmeter to work properly hahaha

 

Ahhhh. ok. A Voltmeter. Should be a real simple install like you said.

Are you 1000% confident your new splice is rock solid??

Why do you want to know vacuum?? Just curious.

 

well, i tried to figure this out again tonight. I made a ground that I am positive is correct.. (I have a V1 hardwired and its ground is behind the sunglass holder. I used the opposite bolt there for this ground) .. ran the + wire to the + terminal on my spare battery and nothing lights up... yet when I disconnected that ground and connected + and - to the spare battery it lit up and read the voltage correctly. What gives? any ideas? try a switch?