wiring/stereo issue. Help!

[zgensler31]

alright so my clock had been intermittent since i bought the new 4runner. but if it ever went out a gentle tap would bring it back on. so i dealt with it. well last week it got worse and would take a not so gentle tap. so i accidentally popped it into the dash trying. so i decided now was the time to fix it and pulled the dash bezel off to repair.

i had noticed some old speaker wire in the truck so i was also curious as to what the P.O. had done since it was still the stock radio. so i pulled the head unit out and unplugged it from the factory amp. looked around, and put it all back together.

worked for about a day until i had the tools necessary to fix the clock(soldering iron + solder)

next day. i go plug my clock in and it didnt work. in fact i believe that is when the stereo initially didnt work. i realized that my sloppy solder was the culprit and redid the clock. but my stereo is no longer working.

so if anyone has any ideas at all i would love to hear them and will go take any pics do anything you need me to. i just want my stereo back. lol

i did replace the accessory fuse hoping that would do it didnt. dont think it ever blew because my cigarette lighter never went out and still has power.

hear are some pics of the fuses etc, and some black box thingy from behind it. no idea what it is so any insight into that would alos be appreciated. thanks guys,

 

[theizzardking]

yeah i don't even know what's going on there, alot of your wiring isn;t normal and is a rats nest, i'm not a wiring guy in the first place, so i'll just say that but you got some issues going on there, get it cleaned up and track that line coming off the fuse...wtf is that for?

 

[franster]

that black box thing looks like it could be an old alarm. hard to say without seeing where the wires go but looks like it. if the wires go to the starter, 12 volt wire, n ground n bunch of other little wires, its most likely old alarm. as for the radio, i suggest the wires (accessory, 12volt, and ground, and fuses unless there is no radio fuse). good luck mang!

 

[zgensler31]

That's what I was afraid of. I hate alarms. Its not the Toyota one is it?

 

[hondafmx1000]

dont toyotas have that safety feature of radio will not work if removed, to deter theifs or something? it says that on my window. but idk for all i know its just a damn sticker

 

[Socco]

Thats definitely an old alarm of some kind. It shouldn't have any effect on your radio though. The old speaker wire you found behind the radio may actually be connected to the alarm. Its easier to run speaker wire than 2 separate wires, say to a siren or power door lock. Double check the plugs you undid at the centre console. I know I've plugged the clock harness into the "blank" plug by accident several times before.

The factory radio DOES NOT have any security feature. Yes, it says that the radio will not work if removed from vehicle. DUH! Its not a ghetto blaster! It has to be in the vehicle to work!

 

[zgensler31]

Alright I'll check in the morning if there's anything tying the stereo to that alarm. Is there any harm to take that alarm out? Undo the splices and get it back to original?

 

[Socco]

I would disconnect all the plugs on the module first. Then, start the truck and make sure everything works before you start taking it out. This won't be the cure for your radio though, so you may want to choose your battles.

 

[zgensler31]

Good point. But if its connected to the radio for some reason could it be? I get that it probably isn't just wondering if that could help

 

[zgensler31]

So. New problem. My turn signals aren't coming on....

 

[Socco]

What are you doing man?? :jump:

What have you done today? Give me something to work with did you yank the alarm out? Fix the radio?

 

[zgensler31]

Uhm. I got in it. I checked to make sure the stereo was plugged in correctly. It is. Then I drove it. Noticed the turn signals were bad. Swapped the turn fuse to a new one. Didn't do a thing. And then I pulled the negative battery terminal to reset computer to see if that would help any. Didn't. Still no stereo or turn sigals.

I'm so confused at this point.

 

[Socco]

Uhm. I got in it. I checked to make sure the stereo was plugged in correctly. It is. Then I drove it. Noticed the turn signals were bad. Swapped the turn fuse to a new one. Didn't do a thing. And then I pulled the negative battery terminal to reset computer to see if that would help any. Didn't. Still no stereo or turn sigals.

I'm so confused at this point.

Did you remember to plug the hazard switch back in when you took the dash out?

 

[Brian757]

Did you remember to plug the hazard switch back in when you took the dash out?

Yeah, when you unplug your hazard switch, it disables your turning signals. You would make a bad bomb diffuser.

 

[zgensler31]

It's still apart at the moment. Bezel is off so I don't have to tear into it every time. Is the turn signal really that simple. Lol

 

[zgensler31]

Yeah, when you unplug your hazard switch, it disables your turning signals. You would make a bad bomb diffuser.

I know right. I'm normally not this clueless when it comes to electronics. Just never really done anything in a car aside from one stereo that was pretty straightforward.

 

[zgensler31]

i may have figured out the stereo issue. i looked closer at the wiring the po had done.....and his splices leave a little to be deisred.. take a look.

this is what i believe to be the culprit....

i believe it is an adapter that allows you to power an amp or sub from the radio harness? (correct me if im wrong)

the red wire leading from it is spliced into the black wire in the amp harness, and the gray one is spliced into the factory red wire.

can be seen here

theses splices i believe are just stripped wires that have been pigtailed together and taped over. could this cause my issues?

the third wire is just a ground that was grounded here...

when i originally removed the radio i unplugged this cable from that same little black box.

its some kind of amp/sub wire that was routed the under the back seats where it ended. it was hanging down from under the dash and as you can see bright blue so it always bothered me so i took it out.

so i feel like unplugging this would have moved that spliced converter/little box thing enough to maybe cause a short or just not make a solid connection. so my plan is to un wire this box thingy and eliminate it from the system.

sound like a smart thing to do? could this solve my problem?

btw i have decided that the alarm is completely irrelevant here and will be a nice winter/when i have ALOT of free time project. and thanks for your help so far guys. appreciate it.

heres a link to the album for alot more pics and bigger pics if you need....
https://picasaweb.google.com/100025...&authkey=Gv1sRgCPC4wuXo5IfmMQ&feat=directlink

 

[zgensler31]

there is also another wire spliced into the other amp plug. it is this blue one here.

its spliced into the pink w/blue stripe factory wire in the harness. it then goes to my passenger footwell, where it meets up with this guy...

these both then run to here, in the jack storage area.

and here is what they are...

thinking that i can do the same for this. just remove the splice and take it out. no harm no foul?

 

[Socco]

My suspicions are that:

The little black box with the RCA output plugs and the 3 wires is a "Line Level Adapter" This would allow you to (poorly) supply a low-level signal to an aftermarket amp through those RCA cables, while using the factory head unit.

The blue wire that goes to the back is the amp remote. It would have 12v whenever the radio would be on (like when the ignition was on)

You would be best served to pull everything out that doesn't look like it came from the factory. This will eliminate a lot of potential problems.

Good Luck.

 

[zgensler31]

alright thanks thats what i was thinking also. and could that blue wire(amp remote) could it short something out if it was grounded? because being the cargo area for the jack it would have been packed against a body panel, and it does have an un-insulated end.