Check your ground wires and find a better place to ground them, e.g. Alternator Wine is cause by having a bad ground to either your head unit or your speakers’ amplifier. If you hear a wining noise that fluctuates with the RPMs of your vehicle, and lessens when the car engine is turned off, you are dealing with Alternator Wine. Problem: Alternator Wine Possible Solution: Disconnect all output channels and see if it will return to normal operation. Also, if one of the output channels are shorted out, or you have a blown speaker, many aftermarket amplifiers will enter protection mode. If you have a signal RCA wire that is shorting out, this could be your problem so check to see if your RCAs are in-tact and not shorted.
Your manual should indicate which fuse is for the “Accessory”, “Car Stereo”, or something of that sort. Easiest way to locate the correct fuse is to look in the Owner’s Manual and find the fuse number and box location. If you do not have power, and you know for a fact your wiring is correct, check the fuses under the dash or under the hood (depending on your vehicle).If you find that one of your power wires or ground wires are not correct, check your vehicle wire diagram and make sure you have the correct corresponding power and ground wires.Make sure to use your ground, as well as another ground (like the frame or body of the car) while testing your constant and accessory to test that you have a good ground. Accessory will be 12v only when you turn the key to the “ON” position or the car is running. Constant will always be 12v, whether or not your car is on. If you have a voltage meter or a test light, test the ground (black), constant 12v (yellow), and accessory 12v (red) wires to make see if you have the correct voltage in the correct wires, as well as a good ground. Problem: Installed An Aftermarket Head Unit and Now It Has No Power Possible Solution: Blue/White wire located on Head Unite wire harness. If your car has any of these systems, check your AMP TURNON signal wire for 12v. Many cars have built in amplifiers that require a 12v signal to be sent in order to turn on the Amplifier, most common being Bose, Infinity, and JBL.Problem: Head Unit Has Power But No Sound Possible Solution: Get behind the lighter and tap into the positive wire and connect it to your RED Accessory/Ignition wire on your aftermarket wire harness. The easiest way to locate an Accessory/Ignition wire is to find a cigarette lighter that turns on when the car does. Many Jeeps and Chevrolet systems have a data signal wire that carries a very low voltage signal that tells the OEM Head Unit when to turn on, however it is not compatible with aftermarket units.
In some cases, car stereos do not come wired with a 12v Accessory/Ignition wire, making an aftermarket radio difficult to install and work properly.Here is a list of your common car stereo problems, symptoms and solutions to help get your stereo up and running! Problem: Can’t Find an Accessory/Ignition Power Wire Possible Solution: Whether it's an installation that might not have gone as planned, or a random problem that comes out of nowhere. Problem: Car Headlights Flicker When Music Is Turned Up LoudĪftermarket stereos can be a pain if they aren’t functioning properly.
Problem: Installed a Car Stereo, Now Radio Doesn't Have Signal.Problem: Installed An Aftermarket Head Unit and Now It Has No Power.Problem: Head Unit Has Power But No Sound.Problem: Can’t Find an Accessory/Ignition Power Wire.