Audio Systems: car problems, 2002 kia spectra, fuse boxes

Question
I have a 2002 Kia Spectra and I was installing a radio and and i crossed wires on the radio and it shorted out the fuse and i changed it. Now I do not have interior lights, dash lights, clock, or a radio. My headlights only come on when I have the car running. I checked all the fuses, inside the car and under the hood, there isn't anymore blown. I'm not sure what to do at this point.

Answer
There is probably a fuse gone that you haven't replaced.  There are two big fuse boxes on this car: Under the hood by the battery in a covered box, and inside the car near the firewall usually between the steering column and the drivers door.  It is a smaller box.  The box under the hood has many fuses in it. The box inside under the dash not so many.  Most foreign cars have extra fuses in the box for your replacement.

The fact headlights don't come on until the engine is running is not a good sign.  In most cars that means some part of the voltage regulator is not working.  You may have to take it into the Kia dealer to have the electrical system checked in the worst case.

And, you may have to bench test the radio unit to make sure it is working properly.  This can be done by stringing some long leads to from the battery to the radio and connecting a separate known good speaker to  each audio output one by one to verify all the amps are working in the radio unit.

Finally, are you using the right wiring harness adapter for the radio you are installing?  You can buy them from Bestbuy, crutchfield.com and installer.com or any other such place.  They will make the installation much more simple.

Let me know if you need more.

C