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What is the Pink Wire on Car Stereo?

If you’ve ever bought an aftermarket car radio, you’ll know that it comes with a bunch of wires.

These wires come in a lot of different colors. Some are colored solid Blue, Black, or red, while others come with black/white stripes.

One of them is the Pink wire.

It confuses some people since it’s not as common as red, black, or blue wires. That’s why I get asked a lot about the real functionality of this wire.

And my response to those questions is: “it depends”.

What is the Pink Wire on Car Stereo

Yes, the functionality of the Pink wire varies depending on your radio manufacturer. In some vehicles, it’s used as one of the speaker wires. While in others, it’s used as a parking sensor or reverse wire.

Below we have discussed these wires in detail.

Ford Radios

In some F150 and F250 models, the right-rear speaker wire (Negative) is colored Brown/Pink.

On the other hand, accessory wire is colored solid Pink in other F250 vehicles. It’s the wire that triggers the car radio to turn on. For more info, check out our article about Ford radio wiring color codes.

General Motors

In General Motors’ radio wirings, the Pink wire (if available) is for power antenna turn-on. The power antenna wire is mostly used for powering the antenna or the factory amplifier.

Jeep 

In many Jeep wrangler models, the constant 12V memory wire is colored Pink. This wire gets constant 12V power from the battery whether the engine is on or off.

Nissan Radios

In Nissan versa 2012-2019 models and Sentra 2018-2019, the left-front speaker wire (negative) is colored Pink.

In Nissan Qashqai models, Pink is for reverse wire. The reverse wire signals the radio that the vehicle’s transmission is in reverse and is used to trigger the factory backup camera.

For more info, check out our article about Nissan radio wiring color codes.

Honda Radios

In some Honda CRV models (2002-2006), the right-rear speaker wire (Negative) is colored Pink.

The opposite is the case with Honda Accord (2008-2012). In such vehicles, the left-front speaker wire (negative) is colored Pink. For more info, check out our article about Honda radio wiring color codes.

PioneerKenwood, and Sony Radios

I did some research on different radios from Pioneer, Kenwood, and Sony but couldn’t find any Pink wire in those radios.

Alpine Radios

Some alpine radios, such as Alpine CDE-133BT, come with a pink/black wire. This wire is for the Audio Interrupt In function and signals your car speakers for mute. For more info, check out our article about Alpine radio wiring color codes.

JVC Radios

In JVC KW-M865BW, Pink wire is for speed pulse input. It helps in GPS accuracy and connects to your speed pulse harness. For more info, check out this article about JVC radio wiring color codes.

Dual Radios

In Dual DCPA901W and DMCPA11BT radios, the Pink wire is for the parking brake. It signals the radio to disable some of its features (such as CarPlay/Android Auto or Video Playback) if the parking brake is engaged.

For more info, check out this article about DUAL radio wiring color codes.

Michael Brown is the founder of techyaudio.com, a website that provides car audio installation guides and tips. A self-taught car audio enthusiast, Michael has been installing and modifying car stereo systems for over 15 years.

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