Saturn Radio HELP - FUSE?

Help PLEASE..
My 1999 SL1 radio.. Wow - where to start.. A couple of years is when this
all started- but for the last year or so we just went without a radio
altogether.. Anyways - it started with the fuse blowing on the radio,
etc.. We were just replacing it- but if the car it a big bump, it would
blow again.. Now it wont work at ALL. If you put a fuse in, even one
larger than recommended- it blows automatically?? If I go to a saturn
dealer - they want 400 bucks to just put a new radio in - but is this
really the problem?? Any help please!!! Email is .
thanks

 

First off, 400$ for a new radio unit is WAY too much. I paid 250$ for a
nice aftermarket radio/CD.

Secondly, putting in bigger than the recommended fuse is, well, not
recommended. Fuses are protective devices, and if they are blowing it
means that something is wrong

All that said it sounds like you have a short circuit - that is, wires
are making contact with things they shouldn't - ie, the metal frame
around the center cluster.

I would pull the radio out and check the harness wires to see if they
could have been accidentally jammed into the steel frame and have
damaged insulation - check carefully. Check to be sure that the
connector which links the radio to the car wiring (it is a black block
which looks like an odd shaped plug with lots of colored wires coming
out of it) is secure and the two ends are connected solidly.

While it is _possible_ that the radio itself is at fault, it seems more
likely the wiring.

If the wiring is damaged, don't just put electrical tape on it - go to
radioshack and look into using one of the following types of connectors
to repair the wiring:

http://www.radioshack.com/product.a..._name=CTLG_011_003_004_000&product_id=64-3085
http://www.radioshack.com/product.a..._name=CTLG_011_003_004_000&product_id=64-3109
http://www.radioshack.com/product.a..._name=CTLG_011_003_004_000&product_id=64-3131

Each of those connector types have protective casing to keep them from
shorting if they contact metal. Be sure to use the right color
connector - different colors are generally different size connectors.

If the wiring which goes into the radio itself is damaged, you may have
to hit a junkyard and see if you can just find a new one. Also, by
putting bigger fuses in than are meant to be, the radio itself could
possibly be damaged.

HTH,
-rj

 

Somewere a wire is hitting ground. Maybe in the radio. Get a nice
aftermarket. Much better and way cheaper. Many big electronic stores will
install cheap or free... depending on the sale. $150 is about what you
need. Depending if you need 6 CD or just radio.