I know this is WAY OT for this board but I figured you guys might now something. (Moderator, delete this if it is a problem, no hard feelings)

Here is my situation...5.0 Mustang.

Installed new stereo about a month ago. Worked fine. Put the alarm back in and it drained the battery. So I jumped the battery and when the car started it blew the fuse the stereo is hooked up to. I replaced it blew again. I unhooked the alarm and stereo and it is fine. I hook up the stereo it blows. So I know it is in the stereo.

My assumption is that the 12V to the stereo is shorted to ground somewhere. I have traced the cables and can't see an obvious problem. Is there a way to trace where the problem is located?

Thanks for any feedback and putting up with a rookie question.

Jim.

 

sounds like there might be a short inside the radio itself!

 

This is sort of tough to diagnose without seeing exactly what's going on. Alarms can remain a short if your saying you just unhooked the power. Sensors, ignition kills, etc can all remain short even with the power wires unhooked. I would start with completly removing the alarm and see if the stereo is still blowing fuses. If it's stil blowing fuses you will want to check some voltage and ohm reading via a pinpoint test. The manual with the tests can be had from motorcraft.com but requires a subscription. Or you can go buy the entire manual. You need the electrical/entertainment system section.

I'd be suspicious of the alarm since it starteed this whole mess and draining a battery is not normal.

 

Not going to delete it but rather try to help you out by placing this in the Electrical Forum. Good luck with your problem man!!

-RP

Moved from 2004 Forum to Electrical 5/8/04

 

Rockpick, Thanks for moving this didn't think to look under Body for electrical problems. Thanks.

Anyway...

Steve thanks for the response . I unhooked everything and left the alarm out of the picture. Then I hooked the stereo up and it still blew the fuse. I unhooked the accesories from head unit (cd player and xm) and it stopped blowing. Hooked them back up and it still didn't blow. I pushed everything back into place and everything (minus the alarm) is working fine. Never found the short but the wiring looks good. My guess it is a loose wire somewhere and this problem will likely appear again inthe future.

Thanks again for replying, I appreciated it.

Jim

 

That's cool it works and your probably right. It'll show it's ugly face again at the most in-opertune time. Good luck!