Radio install
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New User
Joined: Aug 2006
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Radio install
I am installing a new radio in my 95 explorer. The old one was cheap and kept cutting out.so I pulled the old one out and installed the new. Of course this one cuts out too. seems to play ok till you start the engine, then its all static. not the antenna cause it does it on the cd player too. previous owner cut and taped the harness in, and he says its a loose wire. The cuts are all taped, and they seem tight. I havent put the harness from the new radio in, cause the old one fits. my question is does the chassis of the new radio have to be grounded to the firewall? I see that the harness has a ground wire thats connected, but when the radio goes out, it sure seems like a bad ground
Cargo Master
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 2,858
Likes: 3
From: Friendswood, Texas
I would pull his tape job apart and redo it myself using your new harness/plug/adapter. The problem could be in the old plug. When I redid it, I would also solder each wire, then shrink wrap the individual wires and then for good measure, I would shrink wrap the entire section of the harness that has been hacked into. The shrinnk wrapping keeps the bare wire coverd and the solder joint clean. The additional shrink wrap over the whole nine yards soldifies/strengthens the wiring harness and essentially creates a cable. Just because he has a nice tape job does not mean the connections are very good. He could of been in a hurry, pulled on twisted joints before he taped them and not fixed it, doen it at might and not seen something come loose, etc. There is no end to the possible ways this could have been screwed up when it was done.
I would also run a seperate ground from the radio chasis to a good ground location under the dash. Also check the existing ground and make certain you are getting a good connection to the antenae. Like you, I suspect it may be a ground issue but it could be a lot of things like a bad hot wire connection or a bad speaker wire connection.
Essentially, overkill, overkill, and more overkill. If this doesn't fix it, at least the radio connections have been eliminated and you can check for bleeds into the radio circuit.
I would also run a seperate ground from the radio chasis to a good ground location under the dash. Also check the existing ground and make certain you are getting a good connection to the antenae. Like you, I suspect it may be a ground issue but it could be a lot of things like a bad hot wire connection or a bad speaker wire connection.
Essentially, overkill, overkill, and more overkill. If this doesn't fix it, at least the radio connections have been eliminated and you can check for bleeds into the radio circuit.
