Electrical Gremlin...PLEASE HELP guys....

[2000EB4x4inGA]

All right this will be a long post. I have been carefully analyzing things trying to issolate whats wrong with my new explorer. I will start this by saying i do NOT think there is a short or a problem with the radio but why i think that will be explained below.

1997 Explorer limited.
I installed a Alpine CD and Changer. I used crutchfield harness bypass from the back of the cargo area forward and then a power harness for the other half of the radio. I used little clamps and male connectors on the speakers. I installed this 3 weeks ago. This weekend and every day once a day (but sometimes its at night sometimes during the day) the radio will not power up.

Problem: the radio will not power up. HOWEVER this condition does not cause fuse to blow and fixes itself either while the truck is running or after a few minutes of driving. When the radio is not powered up a few things are also happening that makes me think there is another problem.

1. The keyless remote will still work to unlock/lock the doors honk the horn for the double lock etc as does panic even if the truck is moving forward. This does NOT happen aka the keyless remote doesnt do anything if the radio is working properly.

2. The auto power locks do not automatically lock when the X is put into a forward gear when the radio is off as they do when the radio is on.

3. The CD changer which gets its power from the radio etc ALWAYS has power so i dont think the radio has a short etc.

Alright guys hit ME....

Ph yeah one other thing i have a radar detector installed and that ALWAYS works (it is hardwired into the fusebox) so i dont think it is the ignition switch.

I almost believe that the radio isnt getting some signal from the car that the key is in the ignition etc though but i dont know how to check that etc.

Thanks in advance.

Brian

 

[Pack]

This may sound dumb, but have you checked all of the fuses to make sure none of them are burned out?

 

[2000EB4x4inGA]

Yep all the fuses are good. Also this comes and goes with nothing seeming to change. A fuse would be a one time burn out no recovery.

Thanks for the thought....KEEP DIGGING guys someone must have a clue wher ei should be looking....

THANKS

Brian

 

[Black Magic]

Was this an old HU?

 

[ShadowA2J]

All I can say is I feel your pain. My mom has a 95' Grand Prix. It has been towed to my uncles shop 5 times in the last 2 months, and they have yet to fix a thing. Her car will just suddenly die. She'll get up one morning it will be fine, the next it won't start. SO it gets towed. It arrives at the shop, starts right up. You can't figure out what's wrong with it, unless it happens to be bad when you are checking it. A mechanic came over this morning, and luckily, found that it is the somewhere in the fusebox. He wiggled it and it started right up. So off to the shop my mom goes. Makes it about 100 yds, it dies. My dad wiggles the fuse box starts right up, goes 100 yds, dies. They call a tow truck. Basically it has taken 2 months to find out what the problem is. The last time my uncle had it, he said, if it does it again, his reccomendation was to put it out front with a for sale sign. And this is at a certified Goodyear mechanic, not some hole in the wall shop.

So with all that said, you need to be testing things when it is not working right. Start with the fuse box. Double check your wiring of your radio, make sure nothing got crossed. Visually inspect all your wires for bare wires that could be shorting out, or getting crossed somewhere.

Good Luck!

 

[2000EB4x4inGA]

This is a HU from 1995 or 1996. It was used actively till Feb this year then sat for the last 4 months now its in the X.

I am trying to think of a wire that would cause the events i described.

Remeber the radio alwasy HAS power as evidenced by the CD changer having power. NOTHING i did to my knowledge should have affected the cars ability to tell it is ON...somehow the keyless entry module doesnt know the car is on. NOR does the auto locks. Somehow those are related to the radio not working but i dont know how.

Thanks again guys....

Someone will know.

 

[udmsvt]

ok, the radio has, in essence, 3 power lines.....

constant
ground
switched

the constant will maintain the memory and such and if you have stuff tapped into it, will maintain that. ground is self-explanitory.

i would double check that switched wire, ie pull the hu out, with the key in the acc pos, play with that wire and see what hapens. i have seen connectors come off, loose, i have seen wires slightly come out of harnesses, and other oddities. i cant explain the remote issue, but as for the changer, it too should have a switched line (meaning it shuts off when the key is in off pos)....sounds like something isnt hooked up, or isnt hooked up right. check those power wires.

 

[udmsvt]

hmmm.....afetr reading that last post above mine, sounds like ignition.

 

[2000EB4x4inGA]

Right just to clarify.

How does the explorer know the key is on. Does the keyless module have of knowing. Is the Keyless module in the driver cargo area the same thing that effects the autolocks. Are the autolocks pressure activated or anything like that could there be a sensor in the seat etc?

If i can find what the auto lock, keyless entry, and radio all have in common i will have it. The ignition is obvious but why would the car start if that was the problem? Do some wires tell the above stuff the car is on and others tell it to kick the starter?


To answer some stuff from above...

Alpine CD players get ground, constant, and switched all off of the radio. So you only have to run the CD cable to them for a AI-NEt changer. If it was FM Mod etc you would need all that other stuff for each component.

See I agree with it being ignition related. However the car ALWAYS starts and the radar detector always works for the correct key positions.

I know this is a tough one.

Until i relaized that the keyless module and auto key lock stuff was related i was confident it was radio wiring doing it. It still might be. BUT i have to think that they are related but i cant figure out how. I mean nothing i touched should have affected the keyless entry/auto lock i wouldn't have thought and they are on seperate fuses from the radio....

PS....i am just trying to make sure everyone who is willing to help has as much information as i do. This is a very frustrating problem but its one of those things that i just HAVE to fix.

I will get my volt meter out this weekend and carry it with me to test the various connections when the problem manifests but it would be helpful if someone could point me in the right direction.

 

[udmsvt]

as far as the locks and whatnot go, the ignition does trip a switch that telles them the truck is on, or rather in the on pos....obviously that isnt working. one thing i would do too is pull that hu, put the orig back in and test it. some vehicles, not sure about fords, have a part of the alarm built into tha radio...maybe that is one issue. when your radio loses power, does it lose memory? also, it sounds dumb but check the antenna plug. i have seen cases where that is really the ground.

 

[2000EB4x4inGA]

No radio does not lose power but that is something i had not mentioned. It is like suddenly something tell the radio that the truck is on and it powers up normally.

It doesnt have to do with jarring it etc. It will sometimes happen sitting at a dead stop.

 

[udmsvt]

...and i am assuming you have tried using the remote once the redio turns on?

this may sound stupid, but sheck the batt wires.connectors.

the other day, i was driving down the road and started to lose my accessories that were controled by ig switch, turned out to be a loose neg terminal. even though yours sometimes happens at a dead stop, it may be gunked up and the spark melts through it.

 

[2000EB4x4inGA]

OK i like that idea...i mean i just had my negative battery terminal + wire replaced at the dealership AND i cleaned the engine bay this weekend (just a wipe down) but i did clean around the battery.

I will fiddle with that the next time the thing goes dead.

Keep the ideas coming guys.

Brian

ALSO yes once the radio cuts on the lock automatically lock if i havent locked them and the remote performs normally...aka does not work while the car is in gear etc.

 

[udmsvt]

any results yet?

 

[2000EB4x4inGA]

Nope fiddled with the ground and the battery this morning to no avail. The radio never came on stayed off for my 20-25 minute drive.

Ever notice that an explorer makes a lot of little noises going down the road...boy you notice all of them when you have no radio for background noise.

Seriously, though this is about the most annoying problem i have ever encountered. I would just put the factory job back in there to test but that means removing the whole rear cargo area again...a job that i prefer to hold until the weekend.

Sigh this sucks.

And the worst is that i know a dealership would just blame it on the aftermarket radio and then charge me diagnostics...

 

[udmsvt]

i dont understand why you had to bypass all that...usually, if you have a premium radio, you still use the fact wires, and there is a small harness that bypasses the amp, not nearly what you have done...something just doesnt sound right there. i'm outta ideas...only thing is maybe a short in the ig switch, but we already mentioned that one....sound like time for a test light and volt meter.

 

[2000EB4x4inGA]

So its FIXED......guess what...it was the fuse panel inside the vehicle...mositure following in....heat expanding blah blah blah. Ran some new leads to the battery and good to go. I guess the ford radio had plenty of juice to stay on where as the alpine was more "picky".

B