Dodge Repair: Radio Repair, dodge grand caravan, wire antenna

Question
Dear Justin,

Thanks for your reponse.  If it is a question of the security code, would that explain why my own original radio doesn't work either after I disconnected it?  Do you think once the "seal is broken" I might need to apply the security code somehow?  And, if so, how would I go about getting it?  Do I have to bring my VIN # to a Dodge dealership repair shop?  And if I had the VIN # of the car from which the replacement radio was taken, do you suppose that might help?  

Thanks again for your help.

-- Andy

p.s. I checked the locks again.  The car doesn't actually have to be running for them to work.  The key just has to have the battery in the on position.  Still, though, before any of this happened, the key didn't even have to be in the ignition at all for the power locks to work...
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Followup To
Question -
Hello,

I had the brilliant idea to replace my factory installed 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan tape player with another factory installed 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan tape player with cd player that I bought cheap on eBay.  I had never replaced a radio before, but figured it couldn't be too hard since the "new" player was built to fit exactly into my car.  I looked on the web to see how to take the radio out of my car and learned where the screws are.  I successfully took off the plastic and all the securing screws.  When I took the radio out, I disconnected (in this order), the antenna, the grounding wire, and the two wire plugs.  I then attached the "new" radio/tape/player (in this order): wire plugs, grounding wire, antenna.  When I turned on the power, nothing worked.  I then I wondered if somehow I had blown a fuse, so I checked the fuses, but everything was ok.  I then decided to put my original radio/tape player back in, thinking that maybe the new radio/tape player/CD player either never worked to begin with or that maybe it wasn't compatible with my car.  I did it in the same order that I did the other.  Now my original one wasn't working either!  So I read the web instructions that I had downloaded a bit more carefully and only at this point did I realize that I should have disconnected the car battery before removing the radio.  I then disconnected the battery and tried the whole process again, figuring it wouldn't really do any good, but also thinking it could hurt at this point.  Not surprisingly, it didn't help.  When I turn the car on and then turn on the radio (I have the original back in), there is a quick powering click sound and then the radio goes totally dead.  I get this reaction only once.  In order to get it again, I have to turn the car off and then on again.  Then I can get this reaction once more.  And so on and so on and so on...

When I looked on eBay again for another radio to install (hoping that the radio was hurt in the process but not the car in general) I notice one seller saying that he would send the VIN number with the radio so that the local dodge dealer could get the security code when installing.  Does that have any relevance to my problem?

Fortunately, the air conditioning was not hurt in the process, but the locking system was.  Before I did this work, the electric door locks worked whether the car was turned on or off.  Now the electric door locks work only when the car is running.  I'm assuming that happened because of the "work" I did, but I'm not sure.

So, here are my bottom line questions:  Do you think that I blew the two radios by going through the process I did as described?  Or did I blow the radios AND something in the car?  Is my locking problem directly related to what I did?  If I blew something in the car, might it be as simple as a fuse that I have not located?  And If I blew the radios, do you suppose they are beyond repair?  Or might there be a fuse in the radios that I could replace as well?

Thank you so much for putting up with my auto idiocy and the long list of questions resulting from it.

Be well,

Andy

Answer -
I am stumped on the lock problem... But, there is a security code in the factory units, however most of the time you do not need them. It sounds like it may be related to this, but I can't say for sure.  

Answer
This thing has me puzzled... I've never had any problems like this with the audio system. It might just be an issue with one of the illuminator wires also that light up the display and such. If I was you, I would head down to Wal-Mart, get a halfway decent aftermarket CD unit, an install kit, and a wire harness, and install it yourself. This is by far not hard in most Chrysler's, especailly the vans. I used to own a 1993 and adding a Pioneer CD player was quite easy. What you will spend having those factory units fixed you can buy an aftermarket stereo which will sound 200% better then the original, and will overall just be better quality. Then, down the road sometime, if you decide to add an amplifier or two, the option will be there and you won't have to bother with this later. Trust me on this one- Factory units from Chrysler aren't worth the trouble to repair or reprogram, at ALL. I have a few of them stock CD players here that work and they're Infinity to boot, but I still havent cracked those damn security codes ;). Hope this helps!