In Car Entertainment & Security
By MarkCayabyab
#226619 So like my deck was working fine one day and the next morning it stopped working!. From what i remember, all i did was take out the mp3 adapter that night it was working and it wouldn't work the next morning. And now every time i try to put the adapter in the cigarette lighter the light doesn't turn on and my deck doesn't work either. My car is new, barely around the 60,000 miles area. Everything was stock except the deck.

I tried changing the fuse in the back of the stereo and it doesn't work. Also, i really don't think its the wires. Any help guys? Please and thank you
User avatar
By Ajax1989
#226621 check the underdash fuse for the radio
By MarkCayabyab
#226769 so what if it isn't the underdash fuse? i haven't check yet but i don't want to make trips back and fourth. thanks!
By MarkCayabyab
#227401 okay so now every time i turn on my headlights my radio turns off. My dad told me to switch the 15 A fuse to a 20. should i do this?
By 1995db7
#227411
MarkCayabyab wrote:okay so now every time i turn on my headlights my radio turns off. My dad told me to switch the 15 A fuse to a 20. should i do this?


no you should not,if you put a bigger fuse you might end up with a fire as more current then needed will pass through the circuit.if the fuse blows when you turn your'e headlights on then you have a short some were and i would look into that first,go to your'e engine bay and look over the lights wiring you might have a positive wire exposed touching the chassis and been grounded causing the fuse to blow
User avatar
By suspendedHatch
#227444 Make sure that nothing is wired to the red/black wire in the stereo harness.

Cheap ipod adapters and other cig lighter plug things will cause a spike when you pull them out. Turn the car off first before you pull it. Also could be it's just a bad ipod charger.
By MarkCayabyab
#227467 @1995db7: I'll look into that and what do you mean by the postive wire being grounded?

suspendedHatch: Yeah everything was connected properly. And i don't use the ipod adapter anymore ever since that happen.

I was wondering do you think it could be the new fuse? Since it's one of them cheap ones?
User avatar
By edcortez9
#229003 the problem is on the stereo you have the illumination as a source of ground on the stereo. when the lights are off the polarity is ground and when you turn the on it becomes positive and thats why the stereo turns off.. make sure the black wire form the stereo is connected to the black of the cars radio harness
By MarkCayabyab
#250776 Well everythings been working fine except when the radio would randomly turn off.. But now i can't plug in anything into the car cigarette lighter. When i do the radio turns off and the thing that's plugged into the cigarette lighter doesn't even work! any help guys?
User avatar
By LSVTIEG
#251445 i would start by checking the wireing behind the radio using a test light.

first unplug the harness from the radio.

next take the test light & connect the aligator clip to any metal brace in the dash.

now with the key off touch the other end of the test light to the yellow wire. the light should come on as this is the constant wire that supplies power to the radio to maintain its memory.

next test the red wire with the key off then on. the light should only light up with the key on. since you are having problems when you turn on the lights on go ahead & turn on the lights if everything is correct so far. if the light turns off with your lights turned on you found a problem if it stays on move on.

next unclip the the clip hooked to the dash brace & connect it to the yellow wire. you may want to strip the insulation back a bit & make sure it doesnt touch any braces or other wires in the dash because it will cause a direct short & could damage something. or if the test light wire is long enough connect it to the positive terminal of the battery.

now test the black wire. the key does not need to be on for this. if the light turns on on the test light you're good, now turn your lights on the car on. if the test light turns off it is connected to the wrong wire & will need to be grounded to either the correct radio ground wire or to the chassis or dash brace.

try this & let me know how it goes. if it sounds too complicated take it to a car audio shop & pay to have it fixed by professionals.

btw what kind & year car do you have?
User avatar
By LSVTIEG
#251451
1995db7 wrote:
MarkCayabyab wrote:okay so now every time i turn on my headlights my radio turns off. My dad told me to switch the 15 A fuse to a 20. should i do this?


no you should not,if you put a bigger fuse you might end up with a fire as more current then needed will pass through the circuit.if the fuse blows when you turn your'e headlights on then you have a short some were and i would look into that first,go to your'e engine bay and look over the lights wiring you might have a positive wire exposed touching the chassis and been grounded causing the fuse to blow


not always correct. some companies like pioneer suggest you change your radio fuse in the fuse block to a larger fuse because some aftermarket radios pull more current than stock radios. if the fuse on the back of the radio is larger than then the fuse in the fuse block then yes put a larger fuse in the fuse block.
User avatar
By suspendedHatch
#252343 No no no no no. On the fusebox is embossed something like "Always replace a fuse with the same rated fuse". Fuses in the fuse box are rated for the wiring and not the electrical components. If you need more current than the stock fuse will allow, then you need to upgrade to heavier gauge wiring.

You don't need to upgrade from Hondas 10A. But on some high powered decks, there is a (small, unnoticeable) benefit from running a fused constant straight from the battery.

In some cases on particular crappy cars, there is a 5A fuse in the fuse box even though the wiring can support 10 or 15 Amps and that is where those instructions come from. This is a very stupid move on their part and they could be liable for someone cooking their dash harness or catching their car on fire.
User avatar
By LSVTIEG
#252364 in my 20years of doing car audio ive never seen an electricle issue with putting a slightly larger fuse in the radio slot as long as there wasnt a short in the wire somewhere. but what do i know, im only a car audio professional.
User avatar
By orangeEG
#252570
LSVTIEG wrote: now with the key off touch the other end of the test light to the yellow wire. the light should come on as this is the constant wire that supplies power to the radio to maintain its memory.

next test the red wire with the key off then on. the light should only light up with the key on. since you are having problems when you turn on the lights on go ahead & turn on the lights if everything is correct so far. if the light turns off with your lights turned on you found a problem if it stays on move


Correct me if I'm wrong but I've been doing car audio for a couple years and studying for my mecp certification and I think you might have gotten you constant 12V soured mixed up with your ignition source :?

Constant 12V source-RED
ignition source -YELLOW

Might be different for different company's or countries but here in Canada that's how it is