Receiver wont work

ok i have a kenwood reciever that i am trying to install into my 1990 eagle talon, the problem is that it wont even respond. I have used wiring diagrams and made sure that everything is hooked up right and it still wont respond, nothing happens with the receiver no light or anything. I was wondering what might be the problem here, would the lack of a ground wire caus this because as i look at wiring diagrams it shows that to ground it you must attach your own to chassis but i would think that lack of a ground wire would caus the reciever not to even turn on. I'm thinking that the reciever might be fried but i wasn't sure, i took off the top cover and nothing looked bad, no black spots or anything. Im confused and need help...

Yes, the deck will need a ground wire.  If your car does not have one in the wiring harness, run your own to a screw through the chassis sanded free of paint.Support the12volt.com

so you think that would cause the unit to not even do anything, caus i was thinking about that but havent had time to try, next time im working on my car im going to test and see, i really hope it works and the unit isnt fried...