Came factory with STX 2004, Kenwood Z828. Everytime I put fuse behind deck it blows. Never had this problem before, matter fact it never showed any signs. I have had an amp installed on it for the last year. Any help???

 

So you've got no speakers connected to the deck itself?

Make sure there are no shorts between the "loose" wires. If speakers are connected, try disconnecting them all and see if fuse still blows.

If you disconenct everything but power and the fuse still blows, there's a short internal to the deck. You'll have to repair or replace.

 

Im not sure if speakers are actually connected to deck. It came stock so how do they get wired from factory? I just had a shop check it out(dont know how accurate they are) with a test light an they told me it was dead. They also said since if wires were loose of shorted ground it would still come on it just would not play.

 

Typically better head units (such as yours) have protection circuits to prevent damage if speaker wires short out. Sometimes an internal breaker will pop and reset in a few minutes, other times it blows the fuse.

Pull it out and disconnect the speaker wires, leaving just the main power, "always on" power, and ground connected. If it still blows, there is an internal short in the radio and more than likely the unit is dead. Could it be repaired? Possibly, though places that still repair electronics charge nearly as much as it would to replace the unit with a new one. If it turns on fine, then some speaker wires are shorting out. Most likely at a door connection where the wires move frequently and the insulation could have worn off.

 

If you've got a Kenwood deck, it's not really "factory" so I don't know. Do you have a 4-channel amp or just an amp for your sub?
Or any amp at all?

It's more than likely something internal to the deck, which you might as well replace... BUT there's a chance that it's not, so you really should try pulling the deck out and applying power to it without any speakers connected and see what happens.

 

Yeah I have a mono block 400w on two tens. But I thought it would be considered factory since it was installed by Ford? The local shop I took it to tested it with a test light, the harness lighted up but when they did the deck it did not. Can I use a DMM to test it? If so what should it be set to(ohms, AC, DC etc)????

 

Tested what with a test light? The 12v supply? That doesn't tell you crap.

OK, if you've got a multimeter, do this:
disconnect the plug from your stereo. Check resistance from + to - on each speaker. Depending on the speaker, you should see either 4 ohms or 8 ohms, something like that... you don't want to see 0 ohms (or anything close). If you see a low load, then you've found your short.
Next, check the + to - for the power to the deck (on the deck, not the harness) the same way. If you get close to 0, the input is shorted and you're screwed.

There are a few other things you can check, but those are the basics. as we've said a few times, the easiest way to test is to power on the deck with no speakers connected (you'll actually have to probably cut wires on the harness from the deck)... if the deck powers up with no speakers connected, you're in luck. If not, you've completed the first step to replacing your deck.

 

My ohms on DMM reads 20M, 2M, 200K, 20K, 2K, 200/, which should be used?

 

200. Because you're looking for a resistance between 0 and 200.

I forget about saying that, because mine is autoranging.

 

Also I have roll down windows. How do I get the panel off to check impedance with door speakers(factory)??

 

Alright I did that it did NOT blow with harness disconnected but with ant. wire connected.

 

But your radio did power up and appear to function properly?

If it did, then all you've got to do is find the short or the bad speaker. Your DMM will be your friend...

 

No, I guess the harness plays a major part in radio coming on. But so as I connect harness the fuse will pop automaticly.

 

You'll never figure it out unless you either
a: test the speakers individually
or
b: power up the stereo (+12v, trigger on, ground)

 

When I take off door panels will + an - speaker leads be seen or will actual speaker need to be unscrewed?

What do you mean by "trigger on"? What device is used to test with it.