Radio/Cigarette Lighter Issues

[TheBrownBandit]

I recently purchased a 1989 Chevrolet Celebrity with 230K miles which all that's needed is a good cleaning, new battery (which has been replace), tune up, new shocks and new radio so that it can be ready to cruise! I have a couple of electrical questions that I hope can be answered. I've purchased a cheapy AM/FM/CD receiver from one of my local auto parts store being that I'm just using it as a daily driver until it's last day and attempted to install it the same day I purchased it. I've had no luck in getting the radio to power on. I am using a wiring harness and have used bullets to connect the wires. This is the first receiver installation I ever had a problem with. The previous installs I've done had been also utilizing a wiring harness with bullets and had no problems! The fuse is good, it isn't blown therefore I'm puzzled being that I know I wired everything correctly. Any ideas? Also the other day I had decided to recheck the fuses and found the courtesy lights fuse was blown. I replaced the fuse and was curious if this fuse also worked for the cigarette lighter being that I knew it wasn't working at the time I purchased the vehicle. To test it I plugged in my Sirius radio in and it blew the fuse. Luckily I had a few more and simply replaced it. Obviously it's a short with the lighter. How easy are they to replace? Any ideas? Thanks!

[Tuddi]

Hi and welcome.

The lighter units often become bad and blow the fuses. To buy a new one and have it installed, is a 5 minute operation in most cases.... 10 minutes if you take your coffee break along with it.

[86euro]

IIRC, you need to splice into the ground wire and run another ground wire to the body of the radio. Just use one of the supplied screws and attach to one of the treaded holes.

[notsoslimshady76]

also check if theres any coins stuck in the lighter. That killed many a fuses in my poor wagon lol

[85_Ciera_Rebuild]

I recently purchased a 1989 Chevrolet Celebrity with 230K miles....be ready to cruise!


Sidebar - Which motor? Done a hot oil pressure test at idle/cruise? Pulled the oil pan yet? When was timing chain/gears replaced?

Ready to cruise....hmmm....where...local or national?

[TheBrownBandit]

Stupid harness! LOL The wiring harness from the radio had the stripped wires too short so it wasn't getting a good contact with the bullets. Ended up having to restrip the wires and reconnect them. Finally have sound!

[Slacker]

I actually just started having a similar problem. I blew the radio / cig lighter fuse a while back and replaced it. It happened again right before thanksgiving, and I blew it that same day when I went to use the lighter. I've since replaced it and stopped using the lighter and so far this week it's been okay.

Strange, and possibly related, my driver's side speaker tends to go in and out. It does it when tuning the radio, setting the clock, and it seems sometimes turning the wheel. If I turn the radio off and on it comes back... go figure.

[BBrip84Oatsie95]

Also possibly related, My radio gets absolutely no reception with rear defog on.

[86euro]

Mine sometimes stays on even with the ignition off, then I have to slap the underside of the dash and the radio turns off. Sometimes I will come out in the morning to leave for work and the radio will have turned itself on at some point during the night. It's got a mind of it's own:confused:

[TheBrownBandit]

After getting the radio to work, I noticed if I turn the key towards the position to where the ignition switch keeps the radio on but then if I turn it back to the lock position and remove the key, it stays on until the door is opened. Is this common? Remember it is an aftermarket radio. When I bought the vehicle, it came with an aftermarket radio installed (AM/FM/Cassette) but never tried it prior to swapping it with the one I currently have installed (AM/FM/CD). As far as the cigarette lighter, I'm going to see if I can replace it since I miss my Sirius satellite radio! LOL

[notsoslimshady76]

my friend has a CD player that is wired that way....whoever installed it might have wired it into an interior light circuit. Judging from your electrical problems, not very well! lol

[TheBrownBandit]

Well I used one of those wiring harness that you pick up at the auto parts store so that you don't have splice the stock wiring. I connected all wires to the correct colors except for the orange (illumination/dimmer wire) which the radio didn't come with. I kind of wish it did because it's quite bright at night! LOL

[CieraSL92]

Mine sometimes stays on even with the ignition off, then I have to slap the underside of the dash and the radio turns off. Sometimes I will come out in the morning to leave for work and the radio will have turned itself on at some point during the night. It's got a mind of it's own

Christine?

[86euro]

Christine?

lol