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420A Radio not working

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DumbtruckDSM

Proven Member
41
7
Jun 6, 2021
Grandview, Missouri
I have a 1997 eclipse rs with a radio problem :( my eclipse came with a single din radio and it was working perfectly fine, I then switched it to a double din and it was also working perfectly fine but then one day my shifter went loose from inside the center console. I ended up fixing it and my car shifted fine again but then my radio wouldn’t turn on. I checked every fuse and I ended finding two blown fuses, one in the engine bay and the inside of the car, I replaced them but the radio still won’t turn on, what should I do?
 
My 30 year old radio kept flaking out. Turned out that the connectors had desoldered on the circuit board. Some quick work with a soldering iron and fresh solder fixed it. May or may not be your issue but something else to check.
 
You say this problem occurred when your shifter broke loose. Was the single din stereo factory? If not (or maybe even if so) perhaps the stereo's wiring was routed around or through the shifter cables instead of being isolated and distant. Perhaps the loose shifter yanked on and/or messed with the stereo wiring and your problem is a broken or disconnected wire (power wire, signal wire to an amp, etc.).

I would recommend pulling the console and inspecting the stereo wiring more closely. Look for any exposed single wires, couplers, or non-factory wiring -- wires that are duct taped or wire nutted together, just twisted and poorly wrapped with electrical or painters tape, etc. Same with the wiring behind the console under the dash.
 
Thanks for the help I am currently looking at the wires, I took off the center console and I can’t seem to find any problems. There were some cables that were connected to nothing they looked like cables for a subwoofer and I see a little black cable I haven’t seen before where the radio would go and it’s taped up but other than that I see nothing. I’ve also checked the fuses in the radio itself and it was fine
 
You say this problem occurred when your shifter broke loose. Was the single din stereo factory? If not (or maybe even if so) perhaps the stereo's wiring was routed around or through the shifter cables instead of being isolated and distant. Perhaps the loose shifter yanked on and/or messed with the stereo wiring and your problem is a broken or disconnected wire (power wire, signal wire to an amp, etc.).

I would recommend pulling the console and inspecting the stereo wiring more closely. Look for any exposed single wires, couplers, or non-factory wiring -- wires that are duct taped or wire nutted together, just twisted and poorly wrapped with electrical or painters tape, etc. Same with the wiring behind the console under the dash.
I’ve checked everything and even under the center console and I can’t see what’s wrong, I even tried hooking up the old single din radio (not factory) and the radio did not come on either.
 
So all fuses are good (checked with a multimeter/bulb vs. eyeballs) and no visible breaks or disconnects. At this point, 'twer I you, I would begin by checking power at the source and at the points where the two fuses blew. It really sounds like the shifting shifter cut or grounded a wire causing a power surge. Chase the power through the circuit. If all power routes properly without issue then the problem must be with a component (stereo or amp). As neither stereo works I doubt it's a stereo issue. Most likely it's in the wiring. Check your grounds!

Do you have an amp? If so have you checked its fuse/power?
 
I had a similar issue with my 1g. Turned out to be a broken fuse holder in the fuse box. Wiggle the fuse and see if it turns on and off. Also look carefully at the radio fuse slot. If it looks good, you’ll have to check for power and ground while it’s not working. If you don’t want to diagnose this, you can run a separate relay to power the radio.
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The Eclipse radio is grounded with a wire that runs from the connector in the back to one of the screws that holds the radio in place -- at least that's how it is on my cars -- both were more or less buggered in the radio area so that might be non-factory. But not just any screw -- it has to be one that's part of the sheetmetal supporting frame because the other screws go into plastic and they won't ground anything. I think the upper left screw is the one that goes into the sheet metal bracket?

I'll bet your ground came loose somewhere during your work. I'm not sure what color the wire is but it's in the manual.
 
Yes my radio is also grounded by only the upper left mounting screw (attaching radio mounting bracket to frame
The Eclipse radio is grounded with a wire that runs from the connector in the back to one of the screws that holds the radio in place -- at least that's how it is on my cars -- both were more or less buggered in the radio area so that might be non-factory. But not just any screw -- it has to be one that's part of the sheetmetal supporting frame because the other screws go into plastic and they won't ground anything. I think the upper left screw is the one that goes into the sheet metal bracket?

I'll bet your ground came loose somewhere during your work. I'm not sure what color the wire is but it's in the manual.
I don’t see any screw on the left, my cables look weird, the ignition wire is just this long wire that connects to the bottom fuses by the door and I’d connect the long ignition wire to the radio then the factory harness has an adapter so I just plug it in the radio and the radio would work but now after the shifter accident it won’t turn on.
 
In addition to Gary's suggestion, look for a wire coming out of the factory plug (other side of your adaptor) and going to car metal structure.

And check the installation instructions for the radio: It's possible they want the metal case of the radio grounded somehow and don't use a wire in the connector that would match up with a Mitsubishi ground wire.

Do what Gary said first though: That'll tell you if it's a ground issue.
 
In addition to Gary's suggestion, look for a wire coming out of the factory plug (other side of your adaptor) and going to car metal structure.

And check the installation instructions for the radio: It's possible they want the metal case of the radio grounded somehow and don't use a wire in the connector that would match up with a Mitsubishi ground wire.

Do what Gary said first though: That'll tell you if it's a ground issue.
I will try following and see where my ground is, I can’t find my ground or know what it looks like. I know it’s a black cable but before it was working I didn’t see a black cable either but I will see what cable is touching metal tomorrow in the morning ,thank you.
 
I don’t see any wire connecting any metal, that’s how it was when it was working but I will look closely, thank you.
Just as a test to see if a ground is missing, I'm talking about grabbing any wire you can find in your house (ie. not a wire that is already part of the radio connection) to temporarily touch the metal radio case to a part of the metal car frame and see if the radio then works - got it?
 
Just as a test to see if a ground is missing, I'm talking about grabbing any wire you can find in your house (ie. not a wire that is already part of the radio connection) to temporarily touch the metal radio case to a part of the metal car frame and see if the radio then works - got it?
I have done this and nothing happened, I don’t know if I did it right but I connected a wire to the chassis and into the metal frame for the radio and nothing happened. But I was checking if my wires had power and my ignition wire fuse keeps going bad, I replaced that one and the radio one 3 times already because sometimes when I connect it and turn the key the fuse for the radio and ignition pop.
 
mins ended up being a fuse but not the under the hood fuse. i had to replace a fuse i never thought would be part of the my sound system but i took every fuse out under the driver's side and found 1 fuse that was blown replaced it and everything worked good as new.
 
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