Head Unit has power but is not 'fully' lit up and no current going to speakers

[leo.hyde]

Hello,

I installed a new head unit to a 97 ford transit. The problem was that it wouldn't work unless the headlights were on. I assume this was an issue with the previous wiring as I simply matched wire colours.

I attempted to fix the issue by doing a bit of fiddling (pulling fuses in and out, attaching the power and earth direct to the ignition switch). I realised that the wire that is affected by the headlights is the amp wire only.

However after that fiddle session now the head unit doesn't light up properly even with the headlights and no sound is produced. So I am not sure if I somehow fried something in the head unit when I connected it to the ignition but that would be unlikely. Both the power lines and the amp both have current so I am not sure why there is no current going to the speakers or why the head unit doesn't light up fully.

Any similar experiences? I am going on a 10 day road trip over xmas on friday and it will be pretty **** without music so any help would be appreciated.

Cheers Leo

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[maylar 10+ year member]

Sounds like you still have wiring issues. Like maybe the deck power wire and dimmer / illumination wire are reversed.

 

[gckless 5,000+ posts]

Hello,
I installed a new head unit to a 97 ford transit. The problem was that it wouldn't work unless the headlights were on. I assume this was an issue with the previous wiring as I simply matched wire colours.

I attempted to fix the issue by doing a bit of fiddling (pulling fuses in and out, attaching the power and earth direct to the ignition switch). I realised that the wire that is affected by the headlights is the amp wire only.

However after that fiddle session now the head unit doesn't light up properly even with the headlights and no sound is produced. So I am not sure if I somehow fried something in the head unit when I connected it to the ignition but that would be unlikely. Both the power lines and the amp both have current so I am not sure why there is no current going to the speakers or why the head unit doesn't light up fully.

Any similar experiences? I am going on a 10 day road trip over xmas on friday and it will be pretty **** without music so any help would be appreciated.

Cheers Leo

Check to make sure the power/dimmer wires aren't mixed up, which is what was probably happening originally. But sounds like you probably screwed things up worse. You're going to have to go back and figure out what you did. You will probably have to take some measurements with a DMM to find the correct wires.

 

[leo.hyde]

Well your right it isnt just the dimmer/ power wires mixed up, as I have checked that (if the dimmer wire is the red one, i.e. the engine off one)

What are your thoughts on the issue of it only working in the past with the headlights? As I said it was only the amp which was affected by this, I assume the amp wire just goes to a power source not an amp as this is a fairly basic 97 ford transit. If that is the case could I just connect the amp to the same power source as one of the power wires?

Leo

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

Do you have a volt meter? You need to get to those wires and see what's going on.

 

[leo.hyde]

I have been using a headlight bulb but it doesnt give enough information really