ninetwo

I've searched and searched to find information pertaining to this, no dice. So I'll ask here, maybe one of you knows about this...

I'm fixing up a SC, I stripped out the interior. It is empty, gauge cluster, odo/trip, radio, a/c controls, steering, etc. Car in question is a 1994.

When I bought this car the radio and amp weren't functioning, I could see faint lights popping up on the radio occasionally, like the bulbs behind the words on the face of the deck. Never any real power on though.
I had assumed the radio was bad, and could see where moisture had probably fried the amp...

Heres where it gets weird

Radio Pin out

A3 PICTURED ABOVE^^^
A4 PICTURED BELOW \/ \/ \/


So referencing the pinout sheet for the radio from Raine's thread - A3 would be ACC and A4 would be the 12v+ constant A11 would be the ground. I'm getting a tenth of a volt off A3 and A4 with a fully charged battery and ive tried the key in every position... Checked with an Ohm meter and my dimmer wire is showing ground also - super weird to me. My thoughts now are maybe one of the parts I have out of the car completes a circuit or something and thats the reason for my low voltage...

heres the big question

Is having one or multiple of the parts disconnected from the car (volume controls, A/c control/ hazard light, gauge cluster, odo/trip, ETC> ) causing this low voltage?


Thank you to anyone who takes the time to read this, I've tried to do my own research but I'm just not finding information about my issue.

Arsenii

Hello,

What year is your car?

Both of those wires are going from the Fuse straight to the Radio. I would definitely suggest switching a Multimeter for a Test Light, as the former doesn't put any load on the circuit, which can trick you quite badly, the number you see in the picture is not representing an Actual voltage currently there. Using a Test Light, see if you have power on 20A RADIO NO.1 Fuse, which should have Constant 12V, as well as 7.5A RADIO NO.2 Fuse, which is powered with the Key in the ACC Position, they have exposed leads on top to do so, check that the Power is present on Both Terminals of the Fuse. If they do have Power on Both terminals, look for a damage in the Wiring, if only One of the terminals is powered, the Fuse is likely blown, if Neither Terminal is powered, look for a damage in the Fuse Box.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

ninetwo

The car is a 94. Thanks for the advice Arsenii, I'll test it out shortly.

Didn't know those wires went straight to the fuse.
I'm not very knowledgeable on anything electric. From that info now I'm under the assumption that all of this stuff I have out of the car doesn't matter and the radio should be getting normal power even without them? (gauge cluster, a/c control, center console that has the yellow ground? wiring going from bottom of radio bracket towards drivers right foot, ETC, everything really lol)

My thought process was maybe some of these devices/controllers were part of a circuit and once I plugged them back in MAYBE I'd have some normal readings.


Thanks again.

Arsenii

Well let's start with the question on how you are planning to actually use a car with the interior completely gutted?

But either way, yes, both of the wires you mentioned are going to the Radio straight from their each respective fuse, unless you cut those wires or remove the fuses, maybe disconnect the Ignition Switch for the ACC wire, no amount of wreckage on the inside will cause them to lose power. Can't guarantee all the same success for any other wire in the Radio Harness, only the B+ and ACC Terminals, I have no clue if the radio will work even if you find lost power.

Again, I would suggest you to avoid using a Multimeter in those cases, a Test Light will work a lot better.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

ninetwo

Once I get back to using the car it'll have an interior in it . I'm in the middle of swapping a black interior at the moment. (If you're curious about my car check my build thread!) I ran power wire for an amp, speaker wire for new speakers and a sub and rca from the amp to the head unit area, backup camera and a few other things. I wanted to test out my system before I put the interior back in and decided to wire the head unit up to check it out. Wired everything correctly in reference to the pin out I found in raines guide and posted above. Didn't work. Took it all apart tested with the meter, tried again a few times. Now I'm here.

I've tested the head unit replacement with 12v on the acc+battery + grounded and it powered up so that definitely works...
My test light was broken when I tried it today, I'm going to get a new one when I wake up.

I inspected my fuses the way I was taught to and I think theyre all good, but I need a test light anyways

No dice today but tomorrows a new day, I'll keep throwing a few minutes a day at it until I get it figured out.

ninetwo

@Arsenii Getting 12v+ today on the same pins. Happy to put this behind me. The battery needed a little charge, and not much... I definitely dont think it was enough to explain .1 -> 12.5v , but I got the radio working. Oh and my radio harness ground was bad.. Thank you again for the willingness to help me, your statement on the wires being directly fused probably saved me a couple days of messing with my bad ideas. I hope you enjoy your day!

Arsenii

Emm, can't really get more clearer than that..

As written before, Multimeter can trick you a lot, and this is the prime example of that, loose Ground is where it struggles the most, as it doesn't put any Load on the Circuit, hence the numbers you were getting, make sure to try the Test Light Next time.

Either way, thanks for getting back with a solution..

Hope this helps and best of luck!