QuestionQUESTION: Hello there. I just recently bought a Alpine CDA-9830 Head Unit. I purchased the wiring harness as well. Well everything is pretty much color coded according to the wiring harness and Factory Radio wiring diagram(what i can read of it). Ok to start off i have a 1999 dodge dakota single cab 4 cylinder. Well i connected the head unit. Turned my key on, And i could hear the Motor or Relay(not sure of tech word) sound inside the CD player. But i couldnt get the face to fold out to insert a cd. I couldnt even get illumination. I am almost 100% sure the CD player is in good working condition. I saw it on a few days ago from my friend i purchased it from. So after i got frusterated i put it down and plugged back in my factory radio and it works like a charm. And also. Where is a good place to ground to when and if i do get it working. The factory radio has a spot in the back to just clip the ground on. So should i cut the clip part off and just ground it somewhere else? Any help to either of these answers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,Jerry
ANSWER: Hi Jerry,
To answer your second question first: the factory ground wire (originally connected to the rear chassis of the factory radio) will work very well as a ground wire for the new head unit. Instead of clipping it to the deck's chassis, however, you should connect it to the black wire in the Alpine plug. My favorite way of doing this is to use a 1/4" male "quick disconnect" terminal, crimped to the end of the after-market deck's ground wire, and just click it into the factory ground connector. Otherwise you can cut the factory wire end off and just connect the two wires directly, with a butt connector or by soldering.
As for your power problem: an after-market deck won't switch on unless it has voltage on both the yellow (constant) and red (key-switched) power wires. Factory radios sometimes will still work without voltage on the constant power wire. They just won't retain clock and station settings. If your new head unit still won't work after it's properly grounded, and it's not defective, then the problem is most likely a lack of voltage on the yellow power wire. This may be caused by a blown fuse in the vehicle fuse box; or it may be caused by a defect in the wire harness adapter. I've seen a few harnesses with this problem (especially the type that includes multiple plugs for use with different model years).
The best way to troubleshoot your problem is with a digital multimeter. If you don't have one, I'd strongly suggest purchasing one; they can be found for under $20 at most hardware stores or Radio Shack. You don't need an expensive model for car audio troubleshooting.
A multimeter can tell you if there's voltage on the yellow constant power wire, and the red power wire, in the Alpine radio plug. (Turn your key to the "accessory" position when testing). If both wires test with around 12 volts, and the deck won't turn on, then it's defective. If one or the other wire doesn't have voltage present, you can use the multimeter to track down the problem. Follow the wire back to the factory radio plug, and test the factory wire for voltage. If there's voltage on the factory plug, but not the Alpine plug, then you'll know you have a defective harness. If there's no voltage on the factory wire, then you can start testing for a blown fuse.
Here's a tutorial for using a multimeter to quickly find blown fuses:
http://kzcarfi.blogspot.com/2008/08/testing-vehicle-fuses-with-multimeter.html
Many Chrysler/Dodge vehicle put the cabin fuse (which supplies the constant radio power wire, among other things) in the fuse box located in the engine compartment; so if you have to find a blown fuse, don't overlook that fuse box.
Good luck!
Brian
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QUESTION: Thanks for that brian i will get on that first thing in the morning, but my follow up isnt a question. More troubleshooting i guess, but the factory radio does retain clock and presets. So should i mark that out of the troubleshooting tomorrow?
ANSWER: Jerry,
That makes it much less likely that the problem is a blown fuse, and much more likely that the trouble is in the wire harness or (unfortunately) the head unit.
Good luck!
Brian
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QUESTION: Hey Brian. Just got the tester. So gonna give that a go. Also i put the red and yellow wire to the positive battery post and the black to the negative battery post. And same thing i could hear what sounds like the motorized face wanting to turn over. But after the initial connection to the battery post. I can hear it grind for about 2-3 seconds then it stops. I press power...nothing...i press reset and i hear the motorized face sound again but still nothing. So now im assuming its a dead head unit?
AnswerI'm afraid it definitely sounds like a dead head unit. The only other thing you should check is the red and yellow wires in the Alpine plug. Make sure the wires are secure in the plug, and make sure the pins in the socket aren't bent or damaged. If there's a fuse holder on the Alpine wire harness, be sure to check that too. But at this point it sounds like an internal problem in the head unit.
Thanks for the question
Brian
