Dead car radio help...

[Coytee]

I think I've done it now.

My father in law has an Oldsmobile Aurora, not sure of the year.

The drive gear on the mast of his retracting antenna snapped so he bought a replacement from Napa. The replacement was a generic type so the plugs didn't fit.

I replaced the antenna for him and was in process of figuring out where to put the length of wires that we had and also wanted to make sure which wire went where (the wires in the car were different colors than the wires in the replacment kit so I didn't know which was which other than the black wire)

The gist of it is, we tried several things and as I was in process of working out a plan to make the final attachment of wires, I told him to go turn the radio on to make sure everything was fine.

The radio is now dead.....will not turn on inside the car, no security code lock, no power light....nothing.

I checked not only the fuse for the radio but about 15 of the other 20 fuses (checked almost every one but not the larger amp fuses)

I've got a sinking feeling that I killed the radio when I was messing with the wires that power the antenna. Another part of me asks how could the wires that go to the antenna kill the radio.

Any thoughts?

[CECAA850]

If you can find the year model, I'll try to see exactly what fuse (fuses) power the radio. Some vehicles have more than one fuse box also. I doubt you killed the radio.

[Coytee]

It's a 1999

Just talked to him to see if perchance it worked today. He said he's not been in the car yet. He went on to say that if we took a multimeter to it (without defining what "it" was) we could see if it was getting power.

I'll bet you lunch right here that "it" will be the 3 wires in the trunk that feed power to the antenna and not to the radio. Getting to the back side of the radio is going to be a real pain in the hiney.

I have a hard time thinking the radio fried as well however, that is unfortunately, the only answer that seems to fit the facts.

1. Radio was working perfectly fine
2. We were messing around with the wires in the trunk to the antenna
3. Right after messing around with those wires, the radio no longer works
4. Fuse for radio (inside door jamb) is fine, I even swapped it out just to be sure however, I did not test the fuse slot for power.
5. Found another bank of fuses inside the engine, these seem to be larger. None of them are marked for radio, only blower motor, starter or something like that
6. Everything else on the car seems to work fine (other than the antenna) inplying that there are no other fuses blown that would go hand in hand with a radio problem.

I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this. It might however, be a great reason for him to upgrade his radio!!

[Bill H.]

The one thing I like about original factory radios in vehicles is that they have larger buttons and knobs. Could it be something as simple as you hooked up the wires incorrectly ?

Also for his safety he might also look into a Newer Vehicle with side Airbags and more safety equipment ...........Just a thought.

Good Luck, sounds like a major pain either way.

[JJkizak]

Try hooking up the old antenna the way it was before. If the radio works then the new antenna is internally different than the old antenna. You might have some notes with the new antenna suggesting proper wiring. It is also dificult to see if the fuses are blown visually so you might replace and or test with a meter. The wiring must be correct to insure the too internal limit switches function properly. Those antennas have been through a ton of engineering changes for over 30 years and it's anyones guess what they have inside them now.

JJK

[Coytee]

Bill: Unfortunately, I'm beginning to suspect I hit two wires on the wrong side and fear having shorted something out upstream....namely, the radio.

The radio worked with NONE of these wires hooked up. The reception was poor until I plugged the actual antenna lead into the receiver but at least we got static and intermittent voices/music. Now, the radio is 100% dead without even the face of it lighting up. This is what has me thinking I toasted it unless they have a SECOND inline fuse that I can't see behind the dash. Would they really let a 10 amp fuse cover the radio?

JJK: The old one is toast. Everything worked prior to installing new antenna (except for the old antenna) and everything worked when I hooked the wires up. The problem then was, the wire hookup was only temporary and when I took things apart to put them back on a more permanant basis, THIS is when I think (suspect) I crossed the wires and shorted the radio.

I took a mutimeter over there and just got home.

Fuse at the fusebox is good, checked with the ohm meter. I then checked the box itself to make sure we had power at this fuse location and it too was ok. So, power is getting somewhere near the radio, if in fact, not to it.

I did not take any panels off to see if there was an inline fuse behind the radio (father in law was getting hot & sweaty and wanted to stop)

So, somewhere from the fuse box to the radio is where I think the problem is. Best case scenario, inline fuse. Worst case scenario, I guess I buy him a new radio!

[Ironsave]

I am no expert.......

I have installed some car audio.

I recall some older decks that would not power on without the antenna plugged in, I believe this was related to lack of ground.

You probably will need to pull this radio and see that power is getting to the radio's power connector.

This would be easier if there was visual input..... Any way to post a pic?