I NEED HELP!!!!!!!
Thread Starter
Registered!!
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
From: Arlington, Texas, US
Rep Power: 0 
I NEED HELP!!!!!!!
guys i installed my car stero shortly after i put it all back together and turned the key, smoke came from behind the radio i freaked out and dissconnected everythign... the radio still works for some reason but now the lights behind my gauges and ac controlls wont light up!!!! i checked every fuse what else can i do?!?! WHAT DID I DO!!!
Second Place is the First Loser
iTrader: (1)
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 4,469
Likes: 0
From: San Antonio, Texas, US
Rep Power: 343 


<< guys i installed my car stero shortly after i put it all back together and turned the key, smoke came from behind the radio i freaked out and dissconnected everythign... the radio still works for some reason but now the lights behind my gauges and ac controlls wont light up!!!! i checked every fuse what else can i do?!?! WHAT DID I DO!!! >>
i did the EXACT same thing when i first got my car...... There's nothing you can do... What you did is you burnt up the circuit board for your lights...... theres no way to fix it.. You have to take it to the dealer and order a new gauge cluster.... mine was about $200 plus install... it really sucks.......
Registered!!
iTrader: (1)
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 6,202
Likes: 1
From: Car Audioville, Quebec, Canada
Rep Power: 0 
Maybe you lucked out and it's not that bad.. just maybe though... Take it to install shop and not the dealer..they'll fix it and they'll charge you less in labour [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]
i did it also.
you have to have the dealer look to make sure nothing else is messed up but you definatly need a new gauge cluster. i found out what caused it.
when you were connecting your harness wires together you either combined or crossed or reversed the connection for the dimmer and display. one wire is orange solid and one is orange and white stripe. when that wire is crossed you mess up your gauges as soon as you turn on your headlights.. one is output one is inpute. your reverse the electric current from the head unit back to the gauges and it blows out a series of circuits on the top of the gauge cluster. thats were the smoke comes from. when they replace your gauge cluster have them save the fried one for u . you'll see what i'm talking about. there will be burns on the gauges next to the green harness mount that is for lights and display. it happened to me .. it sucks a$$. after labor it was a few hundred for the total repair.
on the plus side when they replace your gauge pod your milage goes back to zero. i had 10,000 miles @ the time of the short. i now have 30,000 but the display says 20,000
you have to have the dealer look to make sure nothing else is messed up but you definatly need a new gauge cluster. i found out what caused it.
when you were connecting your harness wires together you either combined or crossed or reversed the connection for the dimmer and display. one wire is orange solid and one is orange and white stripe. when that wire is crossed you mess up your gauges as soon as you turn on your headlights.. one is output one is inpute. your reverse the electric current from the head unit back to the gauges and it blows out a series of circuits on the top of the gauge cluster. thats were the smoke comes from. when they replace your gauge cluster have them save the fried one for u . you'll see what i'm talking about. there will be burns on the gauges next to the green harness mount that is for lights and display. it happened to me .. it sucks a$$. after labor it was a few hundred for the total repair.
on the plus side when they replace your gauge pod your milage goes back to zero. i had 10,000 miles @ the time of the short. i now have 30,000 but the display says 20,000
Second Place is the First Loser
iTrader: (1)
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 4,469
Likes: 0
From: San Antonio, Texas, US
Rep Power: 343 


<< Maybe you lucked out and it's not that bad.. just maybe though... Take it to install shop and not the dealer..they'll fix it and they'll charge you less in labour [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG] >>
Mohawkboom....... I did the exact same thing.... there's NO WAY to fix it ... i still have the fried circuit board......
it looks like a computer motherboard.... all nice and green except for the BLACK BURNT places on it
Registered!!
iTrader: (1)
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 6,202
Likes: 1
From: Car Audioville, Quebec, Canada
Rep Power: 0 
<<
<< Maybe you lucked out and it's not that bad.. just maybe though... Take it to install shop and not the dealer..they'll fix it and they'll charge you less in labour [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG] >>
Mohawkboom....... I did the exact same thing.... there's NO WAY to fix it ... i still have the fried circuit board......
it looks like a computer motherboard.... all nice and green except for the BLACK BURNT places on it
>>he he he yer screwed then [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]..
"it looks like a computer motherboard"
its not the mother board or the cars puter. its only the gauge pods . i'll posts picks on what happend for you guys if you'd like . it was just a short circuit.
its not the mother board or the cars puter. its only the gauge pods . i'll posts picks on what happend for you guys if you'd like . it was just a short circuit.
The Standard One
iTrader: (7)
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 11,659
Likes: 1
From: City of Angels, California, US
Rep Power: 416 

whats the difference between the orange wire and the orange/white wire? i hooked it up to both n they do the same thing, turns on the lights on my headunit... it's on even when my parking/headlights are off. n i can't make it dim/brighter either... n what causes a short circuit?(whew good thing it didn't happen to me tho)
Second Place is the First Loser
iTrader: (1)
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 4,469
Likes: 0
From: San Antonio, Texas, US
Rep Power: 343 


<< "it looks like a computer motherboard"
its not the mother board or the cars puter. its only the gauge pods . i'll posts picks on what happend for you guys if you'd like . it was just a short circuit. >>
i know its on the gauge pod...... when you look at it from behind you see that it is green.... has all the ***** where the bulbs go into place.. but on that "Circuit Board" the nice metal lines are all black.... I still have my old guage pod too!!!! [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/IMG]
There are two orange wires on the Metra wiring adapter harness. I do not know off hand which go to which, but on the car harness there are two wires for lights. One is on pin 9 (red/blk wire). This is from the light switch and is fused on fuse no. 2 (15 Amp in the under hood relay box). From the schematic, shorting out this wire should be no problem, as it would blow the fuse. But don't short it out for fun.
Pin 19 (red wire) comes from the gauge cluster and is controlled by the dimmer for the gauge cluster. Sadly, there is no fuse for this wire, so if you ground it out, it will indeed short out the entire gauge cluster and you will have no lights on your dash. Depending on how bad it is, the only way to repair your lights are to replace the circuit board for the gauge cluster.
The reason wiring up a stereo may cause this damage is simple. Most aftermarket stereos have an input for illumination. It is not a direct feed to a set of lights, but rather a switch (or relay) that turns lights on or dims the display. The issue is that relays feed to ground and can cause a direct short. You turn on your lights and adjust the dimmer, and BURN out the metal traces on the board.
Most cars have two illumination wires for lights. One to turn on lights and one to adjust the backlighting. The easiest and safest way to check is to install the harness and turn on the lights and adjust the dash lights to full on. With a multimeter, you will get 12 volts on both wires. Now adjust the dash illumination down and one will lower in voltage. Cut that wire, tape it up so it does not short out and forget about it. There is no way to accurately know what kind of circuit the new stereo uses, so it is better to be safe than sorry. The other wire will simply be off/on and will be fused off of the main light switch. Use that wire to connect to the dim function on your new stereo.
Pin 19 (red wire) comes from the gauge cluster and is controlled by the dimmer for the gauge cluster. Sadly, there is no fuse for this wire, so if you ground it out, it will indeed short out the entire gauge cluster and you will have no lights on your dash. Depending on how bad it is, the only way to repair your lights are to replace the circuit board for the gauge cluster.
The reason wiring up a stereo may cause this damage is simple. Most aftermarket stereos have an input for illumination. It is not a direct feed to a set of lights, but rather a switch (or relay) that turns lights on or dims the display. The issue is that relays feed to ground and can cause a direct short. You turn on your lights and adjust the dimmer, and BURN out the metal traces on the board.
Most cars have two illumination wires for lights. One to turn on lights and one to adjust the backlighting. The easiest and safest way to check is to install the harness and turn on the lights and adjust the dash lights to full on. With a multimeter, you will get 12 volts on both wires. Now adjust the dash illumination down and one will lower in voltage. Cut that wire, tape it up so it does not short out and forget about it. There is no way to accurately know what kind of circuit the new stereo uses, so it is better to be safe than sorry. The other wire will simply be off/on and will be fused off of the main light switch. Use that wire to connect to the dim function on your new stereo.
2 words for you cheep azz people! WIRING HARNESS!!! save up your pocket change and buy urself a wiring harness at kregans for $9.99 + tax to uncle sam of course. and for the guy who fried something in your car... If you had a wiring harness.. you coulda put everything back to stock and complain to the dealer... the warranty should cover it if no wires were cut and no traces of any1 tampering with it. tooo bad mang!!! even though if you have a wiring harness.. there shouldnt be a problem matching up the colors... unless you are color blind and you cant read the writing on the wire. goodluck[IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]
i dont understand why some people... um... over here in cali... we call it *****H RIG! no offense to my fellow african american friends. BLACK PANTHER!
Ya HEARD??
yea.. basicly they dont use any connectors of any sort... just 1 roll of black electrical tape will do and a set of titty twisting fingers! haha
yea.. basicly they dont use any connectors of any sort... just 1 roll of black electrical tape will do and a set of titty twisting fingers! haha The Standard One
iTrader: (7)
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 11,659
Likes: 1
From: City of Angels, California, US
Rep Power: 416 

"n*ggah rig"? damn if i heard you say that on the streets i would have capped you. n sh*t i aint even black... please use "ghetto rig". n why does it only pertain to blacks? hispanics, asians and even whites use that method too. n the harness has both orange and orange/white so you would have the same problem.
*****H RIG! cuz black tape only.... BLACK BLACK BLACK!!!!!! i am asian. yes straight yellow... i do have black friends... they dont give a shizzzz.. haha... we homies nigggggahhhh ... ya heard?!




