Car Stereos: sony xplod cd player, alternate power source, pioneer cd player

Question
hey brian, i just bought a sony xplod cd player and tried to install it in my 2000 silverado.  i dont really no that much about wiring things up and was wondering if you could help me? i have all of the wires matched up and connected with a wiring harness that came off of my old pioneer cd player. when i connect the wiring harness and turn my truck on the cd player wont turn on and nothing happens. can you tell me what i might be doing wrong?

Answer
Hi Alex,

Your CD player has two power wires:  a yellow wire for constant voltage, and a red wire for key-switched voltage.  It won't turn on unless there's voltage on both these wires, as well as a ground connection through the black wire.

If you're using an adapter harness that fits your vehicle, the power wires you need should all be in the harness.  If they're all connected, but you're not getting any power, you should check the fuses in the vehicle fuse box.  Each power wire has its own fuse.  One fuse is located in the fuse box at the end of the dash on the driver's side; it's labeled "RDO 1" and is a 10-amp fuse.  The other fuse is located in the fuse/relay box in the engine compartment; this fuse is 15-amp and labeled "Radio".

If you're still not getting power, you should use a multimeter to test the voltage on the two power wires.  You may need to route one or both wires to an alternate power source in the vehicle.

Hope this helps!

Brian