When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I have a 95 F150 and haven’t had a working radio for 3 or so months at this point. It’s an aftermarket pioneer head unit so only 3 wires to worry about. The 12v ignition Yellow/Black stripe wire gets its 12v, Ground has continuity back to the chassis, the constant 12v Green/Purple stripe wire gets 8ish volts when key is off or on and .65 volts when the radio is plugged in. Issue is with some corrosion somewhere in the harness or it’s leaking voltage somewhere. Just asking how I could access the main harness in the dash without ripping the whole dash out?
Back probed on Green with purple wire and radio is plugged in.
Back probed on Green with purple wire and radio is unplugged.
Back probed on Green with purple wire and radio is unplugged and key is on.
Any help is appreciated, thank you.
Edit: Forgot to mention the 12v constant is good at fuse #1 under the hood.
I would suspect the radio itself is the reason for the voltage drop. If you have decent voltage with it unplugged and a massive drop when you plug it in, my guess is shorting out internally. You could test this theory by running a temp wire from the fuse panel straight to the radio. If you still have nothing, you know the radio is done.
It's dead Jim. initially thought the old radios capacitors went out because it started getting static noise and started getting the engines firing pulses through the speakers, sounded like I had a supercharger at volume 45 and beyond. So took it to my father and I tore the head unit down and got the board out of the case. Measured capacitors and read their values and got some replacement capacitors on digikey. Anyways, we got it all back together and the radio just didn't turn back on. Thought we killed it and just been driving with no radio for those 3 months. The video in this link shows me having a yellow jumper wire connected to the 20amp Power locks and Anti theft circuit and it just works. Both radios came to life and I'm super anxious to get under the dash and replace that bad wire now.
Red circle is the 20Amp fuse. Don't mind the double fuse pin and red wire. I will be fixing that finally. Good 'ole Jimmy Dale wired that in past the inertia sensor and is the reason my trucks fuel pumps run constantly when the key is on and engine off.
So back to the original question; How can I access the wire harness to replace the bad wire without removing the whole dashboard?
It’s not the most comfortable, but lay on your back in the floor board and reach in. TPS your butt and legs in the seat. They aren’t high up. If you don’t want to do that, add a visible link to the panel like Jimmy did!
I contacted Jimmy and think I would’ve done him proud. I will figure out how to get in there and where the problem area is eventually. For now though I need some radio.
Shoved into the proper 20Amp audio power fuse and wrapped around the relays. Just hanging out and running into a random grommet in the firewall. Where the grommet runs from inside the truck. Yes it’s the song Still from Geto Boys from Office Space.
Out of curiousity, why didn’t you just do a temp wire from the fuse panel inside the cab? I couldn’t go 3 days much less months without my stereo! I have a single cab truck, 6.5” components in the door and a single 10” behind the seat. She’s a screamer!
I lose tools when I work on too many things at once. I wanted to use its proper dedicated fuse instead of jumping off something else and potentially blowing a separate fuse.
Makes sense then. I only have one panel. Didn’t know the power would come from two different areas! That will make tracking that wire that much more fun… I completely understand about losing things! I found a screwdriver on my frame rail by fuel filter today. I was looking for a bolt I dropped in the engine bay. I did not locate the bolt..
Last edited by 90project5.0; Yesterday at 09:33 PM.
This Hennessey Takes the Expedition Tremor's Off-Roading Capability to the Next Level
Slideshow: The VelociRaptor Expedition gains a lift, upgraded suspension, Brembo brakes, and trail-ready equipment while retaining the stock 440-horsepower EcoBoost V6.
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
