Problems with my first stereo install

[Korbl]

A few months back, I installed an SSL ML41B stereo into my 98 Crown Vic. First time install, everything worked out pretty well, but for the fact that my car had three extra grounding wires, and the stereo had an Antenna Out wire that I had no clue what to do with. But while it worked, I would get some pretty intense static driving around, sometimes even getting an entirely different station coming through. I could sometimes get it to go away by moving my car a few inches forward at a stop, or just bearing with it while I moved since it would fluctuate (seemed heaviest around a radio station in town).

I decided that maybe the Antenna Out wire of the stereo was supposed to be connected to a grounding wire, and tried that. The stereo worked for a minute or two and then silence.

That was four days ago. The stereo turns on, I can change stations, and change mode, but I hear nothing, either radio or from a device plugged into the aux input. I checked the fuses(?) on the speaker wires, and they seem fine.

I have no clue what happened. Did I burn out my stereo? Did I flat break it in some non-reparable way? Do I need to just buy a new stereo?

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[pickup1 5,000+ posts]

What do you expect from a $30 cheap radio?

 

[garychoffmann 10+ year member]

The antenna out wire is a 12v switched to operate an electronic antenna. That is the same as grounding out any power wire. Sounds as if you grounded it out and shorted something

 

[Korbl]

Dang. I was afraid that's what had happened. Guess I have to buy a new stereo now. The upshot of a $30 stereo is that it's no big loss when this sort of thing happens, as it will with newbies like myself.

So, the static I was experiencing is likely just a result of the stereo being kind of cheap and not having, I don't know, adequate shielding or whatever?

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

Nope. Installation error.

 

[Korbl]

All the wires were firmly connected, the plug that the wires all went into sat firmly into the port on the stereo, and the antenna cord was plugged in fully. Granted, I have three extra grounding wires coming from the car, but the only thing not connected from the stereo was the Antenna Out wire, and the 98 Crown Vic has a hidden antenna integrated into the rear window defroster.

I'm not ruling out the possibility that the static was caused by my error when installing the stereo, but I literally don't know what I might have done wrong.