[Scooby]

So ive been trying to install my car stereo for a couple days, and my car is just a pit right now without the dashboard in (cant reach the wires with it in.)


Anyways, so the stereo is not working at all. Its a $50 deck from best buy. I get spark from my hot wire (when i tap the frame with it), and we've manually grounded the ground and the damn thing will not power on. I just dont get it. I figured it was the deck, but i replaced it yesterday and still no go.

Checked the fuse, its good. It just sucks, if theres no ideas Im just gonna return it as I dont care all that much, i should be getting a new car come tax time anyways.


But now the big deal is that my turn signals stopped working... Ive checked the wires leading into my steering column and they seem fine. Everything else on there works too (highbeams even, which i assume are part of the same movement). So im assuming this could be coincidental, unless theres a relay or something I bumped and knocked while dicking around in there. I looked in my Chiltons and it doesnt even talk about wiring at all so it was no help.

Its an '87 prelude if anyone has any ideas where i should start looking....

[JustinL]

pull something that looks like this out of your car..... go get a new one from discount/autozone http://www.falconparts.com/IMAGES/C5AZ-13350-B.JPG
they have up to 4 pins iirc, you could have fried that somehow. its usually located in the fuse panel around the drivers side somewhere.

[Scooby]

Hmm, i didnt find that, but i started looking around, and I did find the master relay control. Maybe thats it? When i pull the arm for the turnsignal it does click...

[Miller]

I get spark from my hot wire (when i tap the frame with it)

LOL, ever hear of a multimeter? how are you hooking it up, did u get a harness or are you just connecting it to random wires. theres a few you have to hook up. one runs off the battery all the time to keep your presets and clock going. the other actually powers the unit. there might be a dimmer one as well. umm read the instructions? get a harness? chances are you blew something "testing the hot wire" idk what though, get a multimeter and starty poking around

[Scooby]

Oh so im not supposed to just guess random wires?





Im not saying a quick tap was the most professional way, but as it is thats what happened.

theres a yellow wire (memory)
red (power)
black (ground)
blue (pwr ant. -not being used-)

And yes, theres a harness.

Its a $50 deck so the instruction manual doesnt even talk about wiring specifics, it just has the generic wiring diagram for the stereo itself.

And at this point, ive gone 6 months without a stereo and im just gonna go another few.

[Drakkon]

just run a wire direct from the battery to the radio since you've already manually done the ground. Then for memory just run a lead parallel from that or run the lead from the lighter.
As for turn signals replace the fuse, if you havent already.

[Scooby]

Ehhh, A, i dont like the thought of that, and B theres no way i can route any wires in my car easily enough for me to validate doing it. I dont care that much about a stereo.

[Miller]

Originally Posted by Drakkon

just run a wire direct from the battery to the radio since you've already manually done the ground. Then for memory just run a lead parallel from that or run the lead from the lighter.
As for turn signals replace the fuse, if you havent already.

hmm that would just drain his battery all the time. dont you mean run the memory directly to the battery and wire the power to the cig lighter??

[offroadin]

Check fuses, flashers for signals. By swiping a hot wire to a ground you almost surely blew the fuse. It takes more than a few amps to make a nice spark.

To test the stereo:

Make sure it has a good ground (neg post of battery works well )

Cross the yellow and red wires and run a wire straight from the positive battery post.

Now most decks require you to hold the source button or similar for a few seconds to power it up after it has been disconnected from a power source, or for the first time powering it up.

If it won't power up, you probably fried it with your shoddy wiring.

Bring it back, and get a professional or someone who knows what they're doing to install it.