xtrattitude4u

I'ts my GF's Jeep, and we can't figure out what's wrong with it. The stereo used to work intermittently, now it never works. We've checked the wiring like 4 times, and all the fuses, all seems well.
I hooked the deck up to my power wires for a second and it came right on, so it has to be something wrong with the jeep. I'm just wondering if there are fusible links somewhere or is there something else to check?

Thunder_J

Do you have a mulitimeter or some sort of digital tester?

If so make sure you are getting the correct voltage and a solid ground.

Check the continuity of all your wires also

xtrattitude4u

So I tested the continuity.
From ground wire to - battery cable is good.
From Constant 12+ wire to + battery cable is good.
From Ignition 12+ to + battery cable is good.
This doesn't make any sense.
Even though the 12v constant wire has power, (I tapped it against the ground wire to be sure, there was spark) the deck will not attempt to eject a disc when connected to it.
It still works if hooked up to my vehicle, so I know the deck is still good.
A battery is DC current right? so Isn't there something in the vehicle that makes the 12V constant wire AC? Could this have failed?

I am so confused. All the wires are intact from radio to battery, yet it just won't turn on. Any more ideas?

xtrattitude4u

OK so disregard my dumb question about A/C current.

I tested the resistance of all the wires from stereo to battery, and they all measured about .001. Perfect.

I tested the voltage of both + wires and I think I found my problem.
The + constant is only getting about 9.75V.
The + Ignition (when switched) is only getting about 9.56V.
This wouldn't be enough to turn the stereo on would it?

Does this indicate I have a bad ground since both of them are low?
I tested the battery and it looks good. 11.95V.

xtrattitude4u

So i tested the voltage from the 12v constant wire directly to the battery terminal, bypassing the entire ground circuit.
it still measured 9.65v.

I then tested the voltage between the battery terminals directly, and got
10.02 volts.
Does this mean the battery is the problem? The vehicle starts and drives just fine.

superj

sounds like a low battery but are you sure the meter is set right? i think 10v would be hard to start the jeep

Not-Your-Mothers-Jeep

could be you have a radio thats fried, if u have power ground and ignition turn on.

superj

he said it works in his vehicle.

so when you put hte red meter wire on the positive of hte battery and the black on the negative, you get 10v? i still say your meter is having problems if the jeep starts fine with 10v because it should start really slowly, if it starts at all on 10v

xtrattitude4u

Correction. If I test the battery after being disconnected for awhile, it reads 12.12V. I also learned my testing the battery drained it so much the car wouldn't start. So some of my later readings were probably inaccurate.
I was mostly getting the 10 volts with the cables attached, and I noticed if I unplugged the light bulb under the hood (the only light on) the voltage shoots up from 10 to over 12.
So this means a load present will give false readings?
Would the same effect happen when testing the stereo wires if there is a dome light on?

The facts so far
A. The stereo works in another vehicle.
B. There is power (spark) both at the 12v constant wire and the ignition wire (when switched). Whether it's adequate power or not, I don't know.
C. All three wires have continuity. (obviously)
D. All of the fuses relating to the stereo have been replaced, just to be sure.
E. Trying a different battery did not make the stereo come on.

I read it might be a bad voltage regulator. You think so?

Bubbasgoped

You couldn't drain a good battery with a meter.

If the battery is under 12V ever it is more than likely bad.

With the vehicle running does the stereo work?

xtrattitude4u

No the stereo will not turn on even with the car running.
I've tried connecting both deck wires to the constant, nada.
I tried hooking them both up to the ignition, nothin.
I just keep coming back to a bad ground. I'm just gonna start looking.
It just seems if there is power flowing the deck should at least be able to eject a disc.

If I ran a ground wire from the deck directly to the - batt terminal, that would eliminate any ground problem, I'll try that and post back.

As for the battery, I don't know. The jeep started and ran fine before I messed with it. then it wouldn't start. Maybe it was just a coincidence.
The battery is 4 1/2 years old.

Ender

This is starting to sound like a real puzzle. If all your connections are good and the stereo works in another truck, then this just doesn't make sense. Try cleaning all the connections in the truck, maybe you're just not getting a solid connection from the wires to the stereo, that's the only thing I can think of. Very strange. Let us know if you get it figured out.

xtrattitude4u

Well I just hooked the deck up to a spare car battery and it ejected once then it wouldn't do anything. I thought: hmmm, maybe the battery is almost dead (it had been sitting for like a year)

I then took the deck to my car again to make sure it still worked.
It doesn't!

I think the stereo is possessed and is toying with me.

I am now thinking that the stereo has an intermittent fault, and I just got lucky when hooking it up to my vehicle. I am having it sent it for service immediately. (1 mo inside warranty hooray!!!) It would be an extraordinary coincidence, so maybe the jeep has a problem as well.

After my GF gets home with the keys I'm gonna pull out my deck and see if it works in her jeep. that will at least tell me if there is enough power for a deck to run properly.

If this deck was the only problem the whole time, I'm gonna shoot it.
(After I get another one!)

Bubbasgoped

Don't do this anymore! PLEASE

xtrattitude4u

Why? Wouldn't the worst that could happen be blowing a 10 cent fuse?