Im trying to fix the wiring mess the previous owner did. My radio will turn on but I usually dont get any sound out of it for some reason. I found that if I open the drivers door and shut it again the radio kicks on for a few seconds. What would cause this, a loose wire connection somewhere or maybe a short to the body?

 

I am getting a similar problem with my aftermarket radio and my power door locks don't work at all. not even a click

 

These old cars always have screwed up stereo wiring because of some previous owner. You could possibly have a short on a speaker wire going into one of the doors but that would usually only knock out that speaker. But it is possible its shorting the output on the unit. Definitely check the wires running into the doors as well as the wiring behind the head unit it self. Probably should start with the driver door seeing as you can open/close it and get sound going again.

 

its a short in the speaker wire. opening and closing the door josles it around to get it unshorted for a little while. its probably just a poorly/incorrectly spliced wire thats making contact with either another poorly/incorrectly spliced wire or a piece of metal.

 

it was a blown fuse in the aftermarket radio wiring