No power to aftermarket stereo

[bcjowett]

I did some quick searching through the audio section for something similar to the problem I am having and found a thread on how to remove the stock stereo; which was helpful. I am new to this Explorer forum and just recently purchased an '06 Explorer XLT. I immediately started to upgrade certain aspects of my vehicle, most notably the stereo. I have everything wired, however I am unable to get the head unit to start (no lights or sounds). I have a Kenwood KVT-719DVD. I used a multimeter to check if there is a voltage coming from where the yellow, red, black power source is plugged into the head unit and there is enough voltage being supplied, which also means no fuses are blown. I tried doing the same for the power source that connects to the "brain" hideaway unit and there is no voltage. I'm 100% positive there are no loose connections when I soldered the adapter to the factory wires. I have two factory plugins for the stock stereo, the larger one (used to connect the adapter to), and a rectangular smaller one. I am curious to know what the smaller factory stereo plugin is used for as the Chiltons manual and none of my other install papers mention it. I am not sure what to try next. Thanks for any suggestions and sorry if this is answer somewhere in the 600+ pages of audio stuff.

 

[aaronajb1981]

i believe you answered your own question..

if the brain doesnt have power then it wont power up. sounds to me like a bad connection. just because you soldered doesnt mean its a solid connection. could be a cold solder joint. Both units need to have the 12+ constant, 12+ switched and ground to just trun on.

 

[bcjowett]

Thanks for the reply. In the back of my head I had a feeling it was my soldering job, as this is the first time I have ever soldered anything. I figured I would give it a shot; I have bad wire crimpers and saw a soldering iron on sale and figured "what hell". I'll try re-doing the wires later on this week.

 

[bcjowett]

Well, to update, I am able to get power to my aftermarket stereo however it is saying I have a bad connection. I have tested everything and the only thing I can think of is the wiring kit I bought isn't the right one, even though it says that it is compatible with select Fords; though it doesn't specify which Ford. I did some looking and there is a kit by Scosche for $129, though I don't care to spend that much for a simply wiring kit. I have a Metra IBR-WHFD4. Metra also makes another kit model 70-5520 for $10. I am going to try the ten dollar kit first, obviously, but I was wondering what anybody else uses. I have never had so much issues with installing an aftermarket stereo before. Thanks for any replies.