I put a Kenwood CD player in my Econoline van and the power won't come on. How can I fix this problem ?

Question

I think the power wire that was stock is too small and needs to be a stronger gauge. Where would I hook up a different wire? Straight to the battery? I can't trace back the stock positive wire. Oh, and also the CD player is making a noice as if it were ejecting a CD. This is the only sign that it has some power. There are know lights coming on. Help Please!!!

Answer 1

your stock wires may be ok, the problem seems to be that you mismatch the power wires of the radio. The yellow wire of the new radio is connected to a continuous power source, so with the ignition in off, get a voltage detector or multimeter to know which wire have power (12 volts). If no wire has power with the ignition off, then one of your fuses is blown. check them. Now the red wire of the new radio that's the switchable power source. It has 0v at all times, has 12 v ONLY with the car's ignition to on, or accessories. and the black one is the ground you can just wire it to the chassis or a metal piece in your dash. If you can't find the right wires on your car go to this site select your vehicle and look the wiring diagram of your car.
http://www.installdr.com/QuickWiring.html

Answer 2

If the power wire is too small, it might cause blown fuses, but it won't prevent the unit from turning on. From the symptoms, it sounds like your vehicle's radio fuse might be blown; you have power on the constant (yellow) wire, which is why it will make the eject noise, but there's probably no power on the red (switched) wire.

Answer 3

your yellow wire is a positive an means memory.an the red wire should be ignition turns of at the key.pulse your blacks your earth red an black is us ally thicker than the rest of the wireing.