No power to stereo

About 2 years ago we turned our 1994 dodge caravan on to find out the power to the stereo no longer worked. Along with that the dome lights don't work either. We spoke to our mechanic and he said it was probably a loose wire but it could be just about anywhere. He said it would be really expensive to fix. Now i've heard that you can run power from like the a/c or some other source to the stereo. If anyone could tell me how to do this or show me somewhere i could go to find out how i would greatly appreciate it. Or if you have any ideas on the lack of power let me know thanks.

Did you check to make sure that all your fuses are good?  you might just have a blown fuse.  Your car might also have a fuse box under the hood.  Check first to make sure all the fuses are good.

yes that was checked and the fuses are fine. I wish the problem was that simple

Is this the original factory stereo? And does the van have the Infinity sound system?Duane...

If you think you're confused, imagine how you feel.   

If the stereo and dome light dont work at the same time, it looks like either a fuse like lagatbezansays, is blown, or it could be a common wire that goes to your radio and dome light. If the fuses are good and yet the same problem, you can add a new wire. Do you have a multi-meter? If yes, that would help you a lot because you can check for a 12v+ to another device (like AC as you mentionned) or anywhere else and use that for your stereo. Keep us posted on yoru findings. At any cost, please do not short + and - as I hope you know what the danger is. You'll need a firetruck! Good luck. Mark

yes it is the factory stereo and no it is not the infinity sound system. I am however going to buy an aftermarket reciever if we can get it working. When it first happened we took it to our mechanic and he says he checked the fuses and they were fine. Next time we take it to him i will have him look at it again. So if it's not the fuses i can have him run a wire from a 12v+ current to the stereo? Thanks for all the information so far.

For one, your mechanic should really know what to do in terms of getting power to your radio if he knows that the fuses are ok. However, you should be ok with using power (12v+) from another working source. Just keep in mind a few things such as: a) the source you tap from should not be overloaded by using a stereo b) the source should preferably not be having lots of interference which might be picked up by the radio. c) the wire you use must have an appropriate fuse inline on the +ve and a proper guage wire is needed. To be very safe, I would wire a new wire directly from the battery (with a fuse) to the stero and not worrying about the 3 points I mentionned above. The only problem would be that your radio always has power. If you want to solve that, you could use a relay powered by your ignition or accessory, that way the radio won't take any power whatsoever when your van is off. Other than that you should be in great shape. Mark

I would try just changing the fuses, cause ive had fuses that looked good but when i changed them it fixed the problem, or if you have a DMM w/ audible continuity check you can test the blade fuse like that. Is the dome light the only othe thing that doesnt work? what about cig lighter? or other accy's?