Car Stereos: car trouble, fuse tester, speedometer needle

Question
hey,
i just had some issues with my car's power accesories, and the  interior lights, speedometer needle doesnt move, and i think i may have shorted it from not taking the negative off when i was installing another cd player and i was wondering if that isnt the problem what it could be and how i could fix either of them? the heating and cooling work, and the rpm gauge and gas gauge works, but not the power windows/locks, mirrors, sunroof, and i have to use my key to unlock it now and get in the trunk.
thanks

Answer
Hi Derrik,

You've almost certainly fried a fuse (or a few).  First, remove the deck from the car in case something's wired wrong and it's frying things.

Then, pull and test all the fuses in the fuse panel(s) with a fuse tester (or a multimeter), don't just look at them.

Replace any busted fuses, and make sure everything works again.

Then reconnect the radio.  If the fuse pops again, you've connected something wrong, and need to start over.  Replace the fuse, and fix the wiring.

Good luck,
Justin