Delco radio swapping problem

I have a problem and maybe someone here can help me. My 1995 Corsica has finally passed away a few days ago (transmission fried and I don't have $1,400 for a new one) so since the stock Delco radio in my Corsica (model # 16195181) has superb sound quality, I want to move it to my

1993 S10 Blazer which I now drive. I removed the crappy sound quality stock Delco radio from my S10 Blazer (model # 16161615) and installed the radio from my Corsica. I can tell you that the sound quality and range vastly improved in the S10 Blazer without having to change any of the speakers.

When nighttime came, I noticed a problem when I turned on my headlamps. None of the panel illumation lights inside the radio would turn on. The clock/display works fine and dims like it should when I turn on my headlamps as the rest of my dashboard lights up just fine. It's only the panel illumination lights inside the radio that don't work. The radio still works great; however, without any lights on the radio at night, I find myself turning the cigarette lighter instead of the volume knob.

At first, I thought maybe the little lightbulbs inside somehow burned out all at once so I put the Corsica's Delco radio back into my Corsica and tried it out. The lights in the radio worked just fine when I turned on the headlamps on the Corsica so that couldn't be the problem. I put the old Delco radio back into the S10 Blazer and its panel illumination lights work just fine when I turn on the headlamps. The panel illumination lights in both radios work just fine.

This one just baffles me. Both radios are the same size, shape, and have the same connections in the back. I only had to move the mounting hardware from one radio to the other to use the radio in the S10 Blazer. Maybe someone here can help me on this one and tell me how to fix it. Thanks.

Reply to
lazynetjunkie
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The Corsica has a separate wire for the lights. Check the wiring in the plugs closely...

Reply to
Woody

Thanks. I looked closer at the radio wire harness of the Corsica and noticed the gray wire (headlight dimmer wire) was in a different spot than in the Blazer radio wire harness. I'll have to go to the junkyard sometime later this week to get myself a 95 Corsica radio wire harness to use in the Blazer.

Woody wrote:

Reply to
lazynetjunkie

If the plugs are the same usually then you can release the pin and move it. Usually there is a tiny notch off to the side there you push in something small like a paper clip to release the lock.

Reply to
Eugene

You should be able to move the pin to the right spot. Take a close look. If not - why not just cut your old Corsica harness out? The car is junk now, right?

Reply to
Mike Marlow

If you rather not cut/splice wires, I believe WalMart sells adapters to mate different radios to existing harnesses--I/m sure they once did, as I bought one. Or an online stereo store--try Google for one. However, I still agree with the above posters re: using the old Corsica harness or re-locating the 'pins'. HTH, s

Reply to
sdlomi2

The location of the gray wire in the Corsica's harness is in that extra strip that the S10 Blazer's harness doesn't have.

I would just take the harness from my old Corsica; however, other than the transmission, the car is in perfect shape and I have to keep it that way for the person who just bought the car from me. The car looks and ran as good as it did when it was new back in 1995. I sold the car minus a working transmission and minus a radio to a mechanic who surprisingly has a working transmission for that car which he'll just install himself. He told me he's got a radio for it too so I'm not going to cut the harness from it.

The junkyard is only a couple blocks from my house so I'll be able to dig one up there for a dollar or 2. They have a couple 95/96 Corsicas in there.

Mike Marlow wrote:

Reply to
lazynetjunkie

Or, you go inside the radio and solder a jumper wire between the two pins to hot wire it.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Urz

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