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Today I was helping a friend install an aftermarket HU into his 05 Civic DX coupe. I took apart the dash and got the radio out ready to be wired up, but then I remember that I forgot to buy some wood screws for the sub and box we were also planning to hook up. I told him the Honda harness and the rest of the materials are in the bag behind his seat and the Alpine harness is already connected to the back of the head unit. I figured he knew what he was doing since he told me he'd done it before in other cars. I then went to the store.

When I got back, I found him sitting in the car at almost the same progress level as when I left. There was only one exception, he had cut the OEM Honda harness plug off as if he was going to hardwire the deck into the car. I asked him why he did it that way and he replied that he thought that's what people do, but for some reason this Honda he couldn't figure it out. Then I got the bag behind his seat and pulled out the new Honda harness and said "No people use this so you can just plug and play because it's easier, then you don't have to look it up or it become troublesome later if you need to remove or wire a different deck." Oh well it was his car, I just told him to do what he preferred and I started to run the other wires for the amp/sub.

He continued to try to hook it up by looking it up but it didn't work once he was all done and we powered up the car. After that I came in and just wired the OEM harness back up, same color to same color as if he never cut it, then used my Honda plug and play harness I bought for him to wire to the HU. Still, no power. I was really confused now, so I took the stock HU and plugged it into the stock harness and it still didn't work (it worked before we started this today).

Now I'm lost as to what's going on and I can't figure out what happened exactly in the 15 minutes I ran to the store and back. I had to leave for a dinner arrangement and as much as I hated leaving work unfinished, there wasn't much choice. The car runs and starts up fine but the radio just doesn't work. I didn't hook up the amp/sub or anything else to it because I want to figure out just the radio first. I just gathered this information from him and a little troubleshooting before I left and was hoping maybe someone could help me figure it out or give me suggestions on what to try next.

- When he cut the harness, he said he saw a puff of smoke then remembered he hadn't disconnected the battery yet. He proceeded to do so then finished cutting it off.

- I rechecked all the wiring and it is correct.

- I checked a few fuses but it was dark so it may be a blown fuse.

- The gauge cluster will not light up if you turn the **** for parking lights, then headlights. It WILL turn on when you turn on the car. That makes me believe it may have to do something with the ignition or battery lead.

Thanks in advance. I will likely try to get back to helping him tomorrow.

 
Rep Power: 292

Holy ****, i just read your whole life story in a 3rd grade english essay

and yes, you guys should have disconnected battery....

95% its a blown fuse

 
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Haha yes sorry it was so long I had a pretty long day and dinner was even tiring but I wanted to give you guys all the details I could so we could figure it out asap for him.

If its a blown fuse I'm thinking cabin but could it be engine bay? If you know which to immediately check please let me know to save some time.

 
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blown fuse for sure,
kick him in the sack for cutting the stock plug,

 
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cabin fuse panel,
radio accesory fuse,
interior accesory fuse,
somthing to that extent

 
Rep Power: 292

Yeah, somewhere along those lines

when your friend cut the plug, you shud have walked away from the project, just like i had to my friend

He wanted to tear it up himself, with no experience, and didnt call me until his epic fail...
So I came over, watched him, noticed a harness wasnt plugged in, and 1 or 2 fuses popped. and i went to go grab a bite

What a friend eh?

 
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Thank you Matt I will look into those tomorrow.

Kenny you crack me up but you're absolutely right. I just felt like since it's not my own car I should be open to what he wants to do with his car. I offered to assist him and I felt obligated to uphold that promise. Yes when I saw the harness cut I thought to myself "Wtf damn noob WHY?!" but I couldn't voice it haha. It only hurt like an hour later when he was like ok I can't get it to work and I looked at my watch noticing dinner was coming up quick. Although I didn't take your route this time, I may consider it for the future. A lot less stressful for sure, even for a good friend.

Again, I appreciate you guys and anyone else that can contribute to this unusual dilemma lol.

 
Rep Power: 292

I always say
"If you want something done right, do it yourself"

And, apparently, my friend didnt call me up before he started, so I wasn't going to play with his mess
It's a harsh lesson, but someone's gotta learn it

& I never mess with anyone else's car, they take it to me, and i tell them what to do...if they screw something up, its on them. I never laid a hand on their car

 
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Earlier I got to check all the fuses in the cabin and they are all good. Still not working. Any ideas on next move?

 
Rep Power: 292

As Josh brought to my attention, you might have hooked up the dimmer wire, which you're not supposed to

& use a DMM to make sure you are getting a reading on all wires, you might have a loose butt connector , assuming you used those

(I almost said butt plug....dam ebaumsworld >.<)

 
Rep Power: 195

If you saw smoke then you definitely shorted something. You may need to trace the power wires back to see what toasted if you don't find any fuses. Did you check the fuses under the hood as well?

 
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take a small flash light,
hold it directly on top of each fuse in the panel,
the fuse should be see-through enough to see a broken filament,
that way your not pulling random fuses,
it's hard to say what fuse got smoked,
is the cig lighter/ power outlet working?

worst case scenario=
cap off every wire at the deck that is showing power on a volt meter with the key off or on in any position,
run a wire from the + termanal of the batt. with a fuse within a 12inches of the battery
to the radio wire yellow,
go to "cabin fuse panel"
find "aux. power fuse." (12v. with key in on possition on volt meter)
use a "fuse buddy" and run a wire from it to the radio wire red.
find a nice piece of metel and run a fresh ground, or "buddy" off the cig lighter ground.

 
Rep Power: 308

Check the "back up" fuse in the under hood box.

 
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Thank you guys once I got a minute I looked under the hood at the back up fuse and there it was! Haha I hope this helps future people that may look at this. I know the owner of this car definitely learned a lesson this time lol. Take care.

 
Rep Power: 292

Yeah, almost always is a fuse when you're dealing with electrical, or wrong wiring

Lesson for both of you
1. Stay away from your friends car
2. DO NOT CUT THE HARNESS

 
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Question? I cut my harness not thinking.. and now my car wont start? no power at all.. did i lock myself out of the car? What should i do..

 
Rep Power: 292

You probably blew a ton of fuses,
I would take off your battery terminals, and sift through all your fuses

Then, reattach your harness, wire by wire

then try again

 
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really? You think blowing fuses would cause my car not to start?

 
Rep Power: 812

its very possible, almost every electronic in the car is fuse protected.

 
Rep Power: 292

There is a huge list of reasons a car may not start, a blown fuse is one of the top. Especially dealing with electronics