Radio Quit

silverado4800 · March 9, 2004

Alright, on my way home from college last weekend i ran into some trouble. As i was going up a fairly steep hill i goosed it to downshift, right when it did the radio (pioneer head unit) cut off then back on for just an instant. I thought, hummm, that can't be good. Well it seemed fine after that. When i stopped at the next gas station of course i cut my truck off to go inside, well when i came back out the radio didn't come on with the truck and it hasn't worked since?!?!?!?

Checked every fuse, none were blown. Well i got my voltage meter and tested everything, it has battery power, but no switching power, which means its not being told the truck is on. So i found the fuse that supplies that voltage. I get 0 ohms from the fuse plug in to the wire that goes into the back of the radio. I get 12 volts at the fuse when i have the truck switched on but NOT at the radio, how is that f****** possible. Plus i tried it with two different voltage meters, both say the same thing. Even my dad says he is confused. I guess im going to have to take every dash piece off and trace the wire, and actually see whats going on. Anybody ever have this trouble or have any ideas? thanks for reading.

silverado4800 · March 10, 2004

Anybody ever have weird electrical stuff happen? Any things i should know that would cause continuity from the fuse box to the radio connector to act weird? Anybody...

carguru · March 10, 2004

Can you do a continuity check on the wire from the fuse to the radio. It sounds like you might have a broken connection somewhere along the line. The places I would check would be any crimped connections. If the crimp wasn't tight enough, the wire could work loose. The other thing to check would the the ground. If the ground was not sufficient, it has a tendency to cut out also. See if that helps.

silverado4800 · March 10, 2004

Thats what i did, there is perfect continuity from the fuse to the radio. There is 0 ohms, and 2 different meters say the same thing, but somehow i read 12 volts at the fuse but none at the radio. Which is physically impossible. And the ground is fine i checked it several times. I have seen a meter do some weird stuff on my old truck, once i was checking for voltage somewhere and the radio cut on when i was touching the terminal??? so i figured something weird like that was happening here, giving me the conflicting readings, but im not sure. According to the Haynes manual the wire goes straight to the radio without anything in between. Im beginning to wonder if it is wired a little different that the diagram says though.

Imkunfused · March 10, 2004

Did you check both sides of the fuse, or just one? If you have 12 on both sides of the fuse, and 0 at the radio, the wire is the problem. Somewhere along the light you lost the connection (broken wire, disconnected crimp). Check about a 1" from the radio. Poke a hole in the wire and see if you have power there.

silverado4800 · March 10, 2004

Yeah ive checked the fuse out, even replaced it with several others just in case. But thats a good idea about trying an inch back, i know the wire must be disconnected somewhere even though the meter tells me it is connected. I plan on tracing it this weekend. I really dread that though. I just still don't understand that weird continuity.

Ive decided i got an electrical grimlin in my truck from when i installed a new passenger power window motor, lol. He busted my low beam bulbs and now he is driving me crazy on the radio, i almost hate to fix it as something else will probably break. That has been my luck with this truck.

Or maybe thats what that mysterious "body control module" does, makes sure there are enough problems on the truck, hummmm. Ive always been suspicious of those dozens of wires going to it, wayyyyyyyy to may wires on this truck.

Well i will post with the solution to my problem if i find it this weekend in case anyone else has this problem in the future. I swear im going to completely rewire the radio myself if i can't find a problem, the 2 hour drive to school really stinks with all that silence.

Imkunfused · March 10, 2004

No need to rewire, except for that one if you truely want to. I mean all you have to do is splice in a new wire from a inch or so back from the radio, and run it to an HOT on iginition wire

silverado4800 · March 10, 2004

Yeah but if i can't find the problem with this wire, my luck another wire will do the same thing, so i may just rewire it all, speakers and everything.

carguru · March 10, 2004

Did you install the radio, or was it someone else? If you look at the wiring, here are some steps you should take to troubleshoot. There is no need to completely rewire it unless it is really screwed up.

1. Make sure that there are no cuts in the insulation. If it makes contact, you will ground out the wire with the radio in place. The continuity on the particular wire will test correctly.

2. How are the wires connected to the original harness? If all of the wires were cut and soldered, check the solder joints. If it was crimped together, check the crimps. Recrimp tighter if possible. Check for frayed wires next to the crimp joint. These can cause intermittent conditions.

3. Check the ground wire. Do an continuity check of the wire with ground. If it is directly shorted to ground (zero ohms), you have a short. If the ground is floating, you will not have a completed circuit, the radio will not work.

4. Check the radio chassis ground. Make sure the chassis ground is connected.

5. If all else fail, run an alternate power (ignition wire) to the radio.

silverado4800 · March 16, 2004

Hey to anybody that is curious or has weird electrical trouble on their truck i found out why my radio wasn't working. The connection was somehow screwed up in the fuse box, put a new box in today and it works just fine. Got it for 40 bucks at the salvage yard, almost had to crack some skulls to get them to cooperate though. I was about to die without my radio.

carguru · March 16, 2004

Glad you got it working. I'm guessing that you make the trek down HWY 25?

silverado4800 · March 22, 2004

Yep i sure do, with my 2 speeding tickets on record already you will probably pass me going the speed limit, lol.

carguru · March 26, 2004

I used to make the trek down 25 quite a bit. Louisville always was such a pain to pass through. I could never keep it close to the speed limit through there.