1988 Camaro RS
The sound won't play unless I have the head lights or the smaller lights on
and the dash back lighting is turned all the way off.
and just recently the dash light wont come on at all.
I think I blew a fuse in the fuse pannel but I don't know how to fix that.

I also recently installed a cd player myself and left the big gray wire and the big brown (i think) wire not connected to any other wires but all of them have those wire caps on. IDK if that has anything to do with my current problem
Also my right front speaker didn't play any sound.

Any advice or info would be awesome.

 

Get an install kit. Instructs show // tell how to wire it, with plugs & pig-tail wire harnesses that have colo rcoded wires.

Scoshe or something like thatmakes it.

Also comes in DIN or Double DIN.

( edit )

Do you know what stock sound system wires you have?
Delco, Bose?

I have a Haynes book that was right on the radio wires-- if you need any of that, let me know. Ours is an 87 Camaro, so I don't know how different, if at all, the wires are.

 

1. sounds like you've definitely got some wires crossed and installed wrong - the only wires that shouldn't have something required for hook up are usually blue (power antenna and remote out). i think you've hooked up your illumination wire to something it should be.

2. wire caps - as in the twist ones? not a good idea for a car. house, yes, since its not going to vibrate itself loose anytime soon. always use crimp butt connectors (good) or solder and shrink wrap (best).

3. did you use a wiring adapter? if not, start fresh and get one. wires on the car wont match the radio and you could cause permanent damage to the radio if you've got power going to things it shouldn't

 

@T-TopHavoc
I don't quite know what DIN is because I am not car savvy as you've probably already guessed. I just recently bought the car b/c I have been a fan of Camaros.
And I'm not sure what wires or sound system I have in the car but I will go outside right now and take pictures of everything and post it on here.

@1ADan
Ya its the twist ones I'll go look for some of those crimpers soon. Will I be able to get them at a hardware store? Or should I go to a Shuck's O'reilly type of store?

I'll take pictures of my wires and post them up maybe you or someone could figure out what went wrong.

But I'll probably call my car savvy friends to see if they can do that soldering option once I get everything sorted out. Or maybe hit up the community college mechanic students to do it for me.

I'll be back in a bit to post up the pics

Also it's a JVC system and you can find the wire color code online through google

 

OK Here We Go First set of pics set 1/3

 

set 2/3

 

set 3/3
Photo 1 is the wires that are left unconnected
photo 2 is the antenna
photo 3 is my receiver

 

I am by No Means a radio-phile myself!!

DIN is a Duetch term used to denote radio size.
Early style radios & modern CD radios that are about 2" high X 7" wide
are 1 DIN or Single DIN.
Some radios are twice the height-- those are called 2 DIN or
Double DIN.
I'll find the schematic & post it later tonight

( edit )
CRAP!! I can't find the book!!

Try
austinthirdgen.org

They most likely have it!!!

 

You have the wires hooked up wrong !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is the factory wire colors and use (1984 but your should be the same)

constant 12v orange
Switched 12v yellow
Ground black
Illm light.... gray
dim brown
Antenna power pink
SPEAKERS:
LF + TAN
LF -GREY
RF + LIGHT GREEN
LF - DARK GREEN
LR + BROWN
LR - YELLOW
RR + DARK BLUE
RR - LIGHT BLUE

 

Yes, I used that color code and this color code. And I used this color code for my JVC system
I know that there is something wrong, what I would like to know is the solution.
I've checked my hook up multiple times, If someone can see which wires are incorrectly matched please tell me which ones are and to which I should match them to please.

P o w e r
Memory (+12v Constant) Yellow
Ignition (+12v Switched) Red
Ground (-) Black
Dimmer Pink/White (Alpine only)
Power Antenna Blue
Amplifier Turn-on Blue/White
Phone Mute Light Blue (Sony only)
S p e a k e r s
Right Front (+) Gray
Right Front (-) Gray/Black
Left Front (+) White
Left Front (-) White/Black
Right Rear (+) Violet
Right Rear (-) Violet/Black
Left Rear (+) Green
Left Rear (-) Green/Black

 

i highly recommend this - go to the junkyard and grab yourself a harness from a matching gm vehicle. crimp/solder it in place. that way you're as close to square 1 as possible. pick up a radio installation harness from any stereo or auto part store. the color on that will match the colors from your radio and will have a connector that directly connects to your factory harness.

i did this on my last 2 vehicles because the previous owners hacked things up and i didn't want to put bandaids in place and hoped they'd work

crimp supplies can be found at any hardware store, radio shack, or auto parts places

 

Double check the " switched power " wire & the " dim " wire.

I wonder if they are not correctly assigned??

To come on only with the head lights has me wondering this.

Do you have a test lead that you can test the " switched power " & " dim" wires, or have a friend that has one?
It looks like an ice pick at one end that has a long wire with an alligaor clip at the other. The handle is clear plastic with a light in it that lights up.

You attach the clip to a ground where you have the radio grounded, then touch the wire strands of what you want to test for power. The handle will light up if there is power.

The " dim " wire should controll the level of brightness showing from the face of the radio when you change the dash light brightness.

Can you post the radio wire instructions telling colors & locations? It may help those who know about this stuff inside & out.

 

Your pictures really dont help because we cannot tell if the wires are coming from the car or from the harness for the radio.

What is the model number of the radio? You should be able to download the installation manual based on the actual model number and look at the wire coding in the book.

For example, here is the installation manual for my KD-G820 from JVC's site:
http://resources.jvc.com/Resources/0...T0359-002A.pdf


I have only owned JVC radios in my camaros and I usually identify and separate the speaker wires from the rest of the wires before splicing. Then I figure out constant, ground and switched so I can test the unit before hooking anything else up.

 

I will definitely ask my friends who are good with cars take a look at it if they have time, but I will be busy this weekend I'll be back tuesday

 

I suggest putting the factory connections back on there via crimp connections or solder. Than get a GM radio harness adapter from the autoparts store or Best buy or anywhere else that sells them and connect the wires from the adapter to the radio color for color. After that its plug and play.

 

Definitely sounds to me like whoever installed the radio tapped into the headlight wires for a power source. Seems like the best thing to do would be to take out whatever splices are in place and go back to stock like everyone else has mentioned. Just add an aftermarket radio with an adapter.

 

Did you remove a radio?
Was it working correctly if you did?

If it was working, wire it up again using the stock wiring to see if it works.

To check fuses, pull 1 & look thru the side -- a blown fuse will have a broken strip of metal inside of it. A good fuse will be connected all the way across.
Put the fuse back where it came out of, check the next one.

Or you can get a tester with a pack of fuses at a local auto parts store, KMart, WalMart, etc.

 

It was connected to the stock radio. It was working at first but then also started having trouble. (thats when I decided to buy a new cd player). The stock wiring had two sets of wires to plug in and my new cd player receiver only had one. I will definitely look for an adapter and my original plugs I may have throen the old ones away.