Deck won’t turn on

Hey guys,

I'm putting a Panasonic DF88 into a 1995 Honda Civic. I took this deck out of my 1989 Chevrolet Cavalier Z24 and had no trouble installing it into that. The deck is working, the fuses are all checked, the speaker wiring is all done up, it's just the power wires that I can't get to work. There's a switched 12 volt and a constant 12 volt. The yellow wire of the deck is a battery lead, ("connect to car battery") and the red wire is power ("+12v DC, negative ground only"). I've tried both confirgurations (red to constant, yellow to constant, etc) but nothing seems to be working. The deck is grounded, everything else works. Anys suggestions? Oh and a big thanks to the12volt for giving me the honda's wiring diagram and the instruction manual to the df88! thanks

If possible try plugging the oem H/U back in to test for voltage at the wiring harness, if you don't have access to a multimeter.  If that works then you know your problem is from your connection back to the new unit. This sounds cheesey but if your plugs have been cut off or don't have the oem unit, depending on your situation, you can test for voltage at the point of connection using a spare automotive bulb.

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jakscwat

could I detach the wiring harness and just take the actual deck somewhere to test it?  I already attached all the wires to the car, so undoing all of them would be a pain

u may want to try disconnecting the red, yellow and black wires and try them at the battery---red and yellow on positive side and black on negative side to ensure the radio stil works

well, I tried them on the battery - the deck sure works.  Any ideas now?

perhaps you could try a different spot for the ground. also take a multimeter and test the power wires  to make sure there's power getting to them. use the ground wire you have connected now to make sure you do have power. you said there was power when you connected direct to the battery, then it's something in the car. maybe it's another fuse somewhere else.

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Tri County KustomZ
certified installer

Ok, so I grabbed a multimeter. I'm not completally sure how to use one, so I tested it out on the battery. Got a reading, so I went to the car. Touched the black pole to the ground, and the red to the constant and switched power wires. Constant had a reading of .01 or .1, don't remember. It flashed that for a second and went right back down to zero. I'm not sure which setting I should be on, I have a digital multimeter. Should I just take the car in and get this professionally installed?

Do you have factory remote door locks?

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nope, it's a 95 civic with manual door locks, window cranks, etc

It sounds like you've identified the problem- no voltage on the constant lead.  You probably have a blown fuse. 

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My ex once told me I have a perfect face for radio.

I'm having a similar problem with my 1995 Mazda Miata. I have checked with a voltimeter and have verified that ther is not current at the yellow lead. I have check on the wiring harness to make sure that the problem isn't there and I have checked all the fuses. It could be that the lead coming from the battery has been broken somewhere in-line. Is there a work around for this problem?

Kindest regards,
Jason S.

If you've checked all the fuses visually as well as with a meter and can't find a culprit, just run your own fused lead either from the battery, or ignition harness.

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My ex once told me I have a perfect face for radio.