No power to head unit
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=9637
Printed Date: July 07, 2025 at 10:22 PM
Topic: No power to head unit
Posted By: hetherb
Subject: No power to head unit
Date Posted: February 17, 2003 at 8:44 AM
I installed a head unit in a friends car. Everything is hooked up right but I have no power to the stereo. What could be wrong. Apparently I have a short somewewhere, but where, help.
Replies:
Posted By: bberman1
Date Posted: February 17, 2003 at 10:23 AM
First off what kind of car is it? Also verify you have the right wiring diagram and that the power connections are hooked up correctly. If they are you might want to get a voltage tester. If you don’t get any power you can start by checking the fusses in the fuse panels. Either way let us know what the results are so we can further assist you
Posted By: IronCy
Date Posted: February 17, 2003 at 10:34 AM
If you checked voltage at the radio, and have no power, then you have a blown fuse. Get your meter and check. You could always get your 12v elswhere-if you cant find the blown fuse.
Posted By: hetherb
Date Posted: February 17, 2003 at 11:54 AM
I checked the power connections. The red 12v from the stereo works fine connected to the car. The wire where the yellow attaches ( for memory) is dead. I have power now but no memory. The car is a 1996 ford escort. I checked fusesin the stereo and the fuse box, none were blown. Where can I get power for memory? Thanks to you who replied.
Posted By: bberman1
Date Posted: February 17, 2003 at 12:49 PM
Dose this diagram match up to your car? 1994-96 Ford Escort Stereo InformationIf it dose when you turn off your car the switched should turn off. And the constant should always be on. If you can’t get a constant you can run a wire from the battery directly to the back of your radio. But before you do that double check the fuse panel under the hood as well as the ones inside the cab.
Posted By: hetherb
Date Posted: February 17, 2003 at 1:18 PM
Will running straight to the battery cause it to drain. The one that turns off when the car turns off is ok it turns off normally. So just run the memory to the battery?
Posted By: bberman1
Date Posted: February 17, 2003 at 2:44 PM
Correct run it from the battery to the head unit. And yes it will draw a slight current from the battery but so did the old one. What im trying to say is yes it will draw a current but it’s not enough to worry about.
Posted By: IronCy
Date Posted: February 17, 2003 at 6:31 PM
your correct, the yellow wire is to constant--which allows your radio to save stations ect. Forget going all the way to the battery, just run an inline fuse, 10a or so, on the constant wire from the radio, tap it into the constant under the dash. You should have a bundle of wires going up your steering column--to the keyswitch, one of those wires will have constant power. If you dont have a probe which will allow you to find the wire, just create a thread in the alarm section for the color code of the constant wire used in alarm/rem starts--this will most likely produce the wire you need. Good Luck -Cy
Posted By: hetherb
Date Posted: February 18, 2003 at 10:05 AM
Thanks everyone for your help! HetherB
Posted By: bberman1
Date Posted: February 18, 2003 at 10:06 AM
Not a problem!
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