Electrical Nightmare--Please Help!

[j_biggz]

I just recently purchased my 1st DSM. I have a 97 gst an love the car already. Im kind of an audiophile so of course I wanted to install my new kenwood excelon HeadUnit I recently got in jan.

Heres where the trouble starts. The PO took his out when I bought the car because I told him I didnt need it. Originally when I test drove the car most of the electrical worked on the inside. Once he removed his HU I lost my map lights an after market water temp gauge. so I drove around a couple days with no music and that got old quick.

Two days ago I went to install my deck an found the biggest mess I have ever seen. Im talking a complete hack job where the stereo ties in. I mean this is the worst I have seen. There was wiring everywhere an most of it had no kind of consistency at all. Things are looped together blacks into reds all used with black tape. I mean it was ridiculous. No way of telling what was what or where it went to or anything. I mean seriously bad. I have 2' of extra wire just sitting in the dash.

I decided that I was comfortable doing this myself since I have done so many stereos in the past an always been successful. I took out all the crazy mess an got back down to the factory wires and had been doing my research on here and Googled the wiring codes. After a while with my test light/ probe I cannot find the 12V constant. I tested every wire in the group for the stereo an not a single one of them had power while the key was off.

After some frustration an head scratching I managed to find another wire that plugs into another pin that was a constant an jumped off of that to power the constant on my HU. Everything else went together like normal an was easy.

Currently I have the following problems:
Will not turn over (clicking behind the dash)
no map lights
no alarm system
no radar( hard wired PO)

Before I did the stereo nightmare the charging system wasnt functioning properly after he pulled his HU also. It worked fine until he pulled it out an then maybe 1-2 days after he did that it wouldnt start on its own. Now it wont start even with a jump or push start.

Anyone that has experience with this or insight of any kind PLEASE help.

 

[Chuck981]

I just recently purchased my 1st DSM. I have a 97 gst an love the car already. Im kind of an audiophile so of course I wanted to install my new kenwood excelon HeadUnit I recently got in jan.

Heres where the trouble starts. The PO took his out when I bought the car because I told him I didnt need it. Originally when I test drove the car most of the electrical worked on the inside. Once he removed his HU I lost my map lights an after market water temp gauge. so I drove around a couple days with no music and that got old quick.

Two days ago I went to install my deck an found the biggest mess I have ever seen. Im talking a complete hack job where the stereo ties in. I mean this is the worst I have seen. There was wiring everywhere an most of it had no kind of consistency at all. Things are looped together blacks into reds all used with black tape. I mean it was ridiculous. No way of telling what was what or where it went to or anything. I mean seriously bad. I have 2' of extra wire just sitting in the dash.

I decided that I was comfortable doing this myself since I have done so many stereos in the past an always been successful. I took out all the crazy mess an got back down to the factory wires and had been doing my research on here and Googled the wiring codes. After a while with my test light/ probe I cannot find the 12V constant. I tested every wire in the group for the stereo an not a single one of them had power while the key was off.

After some frustration an head scratching I managed to find another wire that plugs into another pin that was a constant an jumped off of that to power the constant on my HU. Everything else went together like normal an was easy.

Currently I have the following problems:
Will not turn over (clicking behind the dash)
no map lights
no alarm system
no radar( hard wired PO)

Before I did the stereo nightmare the charging system wasnt functioning properly after he pulled his HU also. It worked fine until he pulled it out an then maybe 1-2 days after he did that it wouldnt start on its own. Now it wont start even with a jump or push start.

Anyone that has experience with this or insight of any kind PLEASE help.

Is it possible that when he removed his HU that he shorted something , and a fuse blew?? Id make sure all fuses are good, then Id test the wires again and go from there. Also it sounds like you ran into a rats nest of wires that needed to be cleaned up, Only problem is you dont know what all those wires were controlling. Sounds to me like maybe you took something out that fed something. You can clean up someones connections and make it look nicer but you need to make sure everything is still being fed.
Hope this helpes you. good luck

 

[j_biggz]

I have checked all the fuses an from what my test light/ probe showed they were still in good working order. He must have jury rigged something together because I def have problems now. I know the fuel pump is working because I can hear it power on but no luck on the starter an I know its not bad because it always started right up with minimal effort. I am waiting on getting the repair manual on it but probably wont have it until tom at least. If anyone knows of a place on line to find it without paying for it please send me a link

 

[Chuck981]

I have checked all the fuses an from what my test light/ probe showed they were still in good working order. He must have jury rigged something together because I def have problems now. I know the fuel pump is working because I can hear it power on but no luck on the starter an I know its not bad because it always started right up with minimal effort. I am waiting on getting the repair manual on it but probably wont have it until tom at least. If anyone knows of a place on line to find it without paying for it please send me a link

If its not the fuses then you eliminated something from the equation that needed to be there. Do a continuity test on the wires under the dash and find out what they feed in the hood or vice versa. Think about it the car worked fine before he took out his stereo and now it doesn't.

 

[j_biggz]

Got my work cut out for me on this one. I have a friend who is good with this stuff and a journeymen electrician by trade so we are going to get together by Tuesday at the latest. Ill let everyone know what it ends up being. I just really wanted it to get cleaned up an look more like a normal cars wiring. DONT want any fire hazards!

 

[Chuck981]

Got my work cut out for me on this one. I have a friend who is good with this stuff and a journeymen electrician by trade so we are going to get together by Tuesday at the latest. Ill let everyone know what it ends up being. I just really wanted it to get cleaned up an look more like a normal cars wiring. DONT want any fire hazards!

Hey good stuff man keep me posted

 

[spazkid1989]

I would try checking all of the tapped connections to make sure none of them are grounding out on any metal. I had a similar problem in a Grand Am, and it turned out it was a bad tape job on the power wire for the radio. It would touch metal and ground out causing all of my electronics to go crazy!

Also I would recommend buying a Haynes guided and using the electrical schematics to isolate the problem.

Good luck!

 

[j_biggz]

I have been removing the rats nest an eliminating all the excess wiring that was from 2 POs that didnt know what they were doing but as for now I am pretty sure I have found all the loose ends an cut an taped them off using good electrical tape. The stereo is all hooked up with butt connectors an they are all crimped on nicely with no bare wire showing. I am kinda at a loss for what would be causing it but I do still have a couple mystery wires I have yet to figure out.

 

[Sp1kE]

I got bets on the fuse under the hood that does the dash, console, and tail lights.
The not turning over would be a seperate fuse/issue.

 

[CONSIGLIERI]

Shorts are like HELL ! Suddenly they disappear, but like months after they reappear like GHOSTS... I still have a blowing ignition fuse that haunts me sometimes. G luck

 

[ktgurl87]

I pulled this from Modifiedlife.com :

1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse Car Audio Wiring Diagram

Car Radio Battery Constant 12v+ Wire: Red/Black
Car Radio Accessory Switched 12v+ Wire: Blue
Car Radio Ground Wire: Chassis
Car Radio Illumination Wire: Green/White
Car Stereo Dimmer Wire: Black/Yellow
Car Stereo Antenna Trigger Wire: White/Black
Car Stereo Amp Trigger Wire: N/A
Car Stereo Amplifier Location: N/A
Car Audio Front Speakers Size: 5 1/4″ Speakers
Car Audio Front Speakers Location: Doors
Left Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Black/White
Left Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Black
Right Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Black/White
Right Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Black
Car Audio Rear Speakers Size: 6″ x 9″ Speakers
Car Audio Rear Speakers Location: Side Panels
Left Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Yellow/Blue
Left Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Gray/Blue
Right Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Yellow/Red
Right Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Gray/Red

I'd say just go back and make sure you've got your connections where they need to be. Our GST is kind of an electrical gremlin all in itself... we're still working out the kinks... and don't even get me started on my poor little GS. You'll get it though

 

[j_biggz]

thanks for the wiring diagram. Found one earlyier an got it all cleaned up pretty decent. My buddy dropped by today an this whole time the alarm had a kill switch on it an we by passed that an it started right up ! Made me feel pretty good. We got everything butt connected and shrink wrapped. No more mess an everything done professionally. Thanks everyone for the imput!

 

[ktgurl87]

Glad you got it figured out. Now you can mark this thread as "RESOLVED" so if anyone else has a similar issue, they know what to look for

You click on "Thread Options" and it should say "Mark As Resolved"