Stereo installation problem

[mklearl]

Hello all!
I attempted to install a marine stereo today. I did extensive research on this forum as to the best way to install. I learned a lot and rewired some things that I learned were not "smart" along the way. Anyway, when it came time to test the stereo... nada.

So here is what I did...

Red wire is going to a switch on the main panel with a 5 amp fuse. Black is going to the ground bar. Yellow is wired directly to the battery with a 10 amp inline fuse. I used 12 ga wire all around. I have 5 feet betweem the stereo and the battery. I don't really care about the memory and clock, but after reasearching, I figured this was the best way to do it for what I wanted.

So the first time I hooked up the fused yellow wire, spark and pop. 10 amp fuse. I have a 15 amp fuse on the back of the stereo and the manual says max 15 amp draw. So I upped the yellow to a 15 amp fuse... Pop! Tried a 20 out of curiosity... Pop.

What am I missing here? The wiring seems pretty basic and I think I did everything correctly. Why do I keep popping the fuse on the Yellow wire?

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Stereo installation problem

Make sure that black wire you think is ground is actually the ground. What model stereo?

 

[mklearl]

Re: Stereo installation problem

pyle plmrkt18 marine stereo. Cheapo, but sufficient for my 17 ft sea nymph. Black is ground... Negative ground? Ok to ground this to the ground bar?

 

[coolbri70]

Re: Stereo installation problem

pyle plmrkt18 marine stereo. Cheapo, but sufficient for my 17 ft sea nymph. Black is ground... Negative ground? Ok to ground this to the ground bar?

some times black is a common speaker wire. did the speakers have 2 wires each or just one? did it come with wiring instructions?

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Stereo installation problem

pyle plmrkt18 marine stereo. Cheapo, but sufficient for my 17 ft sea nymph. Black is ground... Negative ground? Ok to ground this to the ground bar?

Yep. Negative bus bar is fine. Not sure why its blowing fuses though. I saw a wiring diagram and black is definitely your ground wire.

 

[mklearl]

Re: Stereo installation problem

There are 2 seperate plugs in the back of the stereo. One plug has the speaker wiring and the other is power. Black, in the limited instructions, is the ground... The 4 wires on the power cluster are ground (black) ,12v accessory/switch (red), power antenna/ amplifier turn on (blue/red) and +12 constant power supply (yellow).
I put the black to the ground bar that all my grounds are connected to. My red to a 5 amp switch on my main panel, didn't use the blue since I don't have an amp (taped it off) and yellow directly to the battery with a 10 amp inline fuse inches from the battery. As soon as I touch the positive terminal with the yellow wire, the fuse blows... up to 20 amps.

Should I try grounding somewhere else to start?

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Stereo installation problem

If that's really a ground, then not sure what's wrong.

The red fuse isn't blowing?

 

[mklearl]

Re: Stereo installation problem

It never has a chance... as soon as I put the yellow on the positive terminal on the battery it sparks and pops the fuse before I even turn the switch on.

 

[coolbri70]

Re: Stereo installation problem

the fuse blows due to a short to ground at some point, or too much load. have you checked the fuse on the red?

 

[mklearl]

Re: Stereo installation problem

The fuse on the red has not popped. The red doesn't even get power to it until I flip the switch on my main panel that the stereo is hooked up to. I have yet to turn on that switch. The yellow pops immediately when it contacts the battery. I turn the "stereo" switch on and it has power, but nothing to the stereo because the yellow is popped.

This is making my head hurt... I'm sure it's something stupid. I'll recheck the ground in the morning.

Thanks for all the input!

 

[NYBo]

Re: Stereo installation problem

Dead short in the yellow wire somewhere, hopefully, because another alternative is a defective stereo.

 

[bajaunderground]

Re: Stereo installation problem

I'm guessing the red and yellow are reversed? In car stereos I've installed, red is almost always 12+ whether switched or direct? Typically yellow is battery back-up? If that's the case then red and yellow can be hooked directly to the battery for a test?

Any chance the "plug" is upside down? Doubtful, but I've seen weirder stuff from the cheaper audio components?

 

[mklearl]

Re: Stereo installation problem

The plug can only go in one way. The yellow is definately the memory, clock back up.... constant power directly to the battery. The red is the +12 v accessory/switch wire... so the directions say. I could hook the red and yellow up together to the battery. The problem isn't with the red, though. The problem is with the yellow directly at the battery. The red seems to be ok... why bring it to the problem? The other option to hooking it up would be to hook the yellow and red up together at the switch. when I turn the switch off, I would lose the memory and the clock. No big deal. But if It is popping this way, it will definately pop if they are both hooked up together.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: Stereo installation problem

Pull the power plug and speaker plug out of the stereo. Connect the power wires (red and yellow) to the battery. If it still pops the fuse the problem is before the stereo, it's the basic wiring. If it doesn't pop the fuse, the stereo is bad - But before saying that with certainty, try connecting the power plug with the speaker plug still out. Connect the power and if the fuse blows, its the stereo or speaker wiring. You just have to start eliminating.

One more thing - Does the stereo work properly before hooking up the yellow?

 

[mklearl]

Re: Stereo installation problem

Great information. but I'm still not sure why bringing the red to the battery is going to stop the yellow already at the battery from popping. I'll take your word for it and give it a shot... just trying to learn as I go along. The radio does not come on with just the red attached... I have never seen power to the head unit.

 

[mklearl]

Re: Stereo installation problem

Nevermind... Connect them both without the power plugged to the stereo... I reread and understand now... thanks. I'll try again in the morning. Thanks again!

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: Stereo installation problem

Yeah I said the red and yellow to the battery. I should have said connect to your power source. Yellow to the battery and red to the switch on the panel. I think you figured out what I meant.

 

[mklearl]

Re: Stereo installation problem

Alright, I couldn't wait until the morning. Pulled power and speaker plugs at the stereo. Hooked the wires up to the battery. All good. Disconnected all wires at the battery and plugged in the power plugs at the head unit leaving the speaker wires unplugged. Put the power wires back on the battery and the yellow popped again... with a 25a fuse. I'm assuming the head unit is bad. just wondering though if this is an accurate test of the wiring? If I disconnect the plugs at the head unit am I not breaking the circut and therefore would it not be impossible to blow a fuse? Sorry for all the questions, but I'm trying to avoid the hassle of an online return. I've spent more on wire, fuses, and connectors than I did for the unit itself and would like to make this work if possible! lol

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: Stereo installation problem

If the black is connected to the ground buss, red is connected to a +12V source on the switch panel, blue is taped off and yellow is to the battery +, try this. Do you have a meter? Hope so. Turn off the panel switch, disconnect the yellow from the battery and pull both plugs on the stereo and measure from the disconnected yellow wire to ground, using the ohms scale. We're checking for a short to ground. The reading should be a very high resistance. If its zero or very low, the yellow is shorted to ground. If it passes, plug the power plug in and check again, looking for high resistance, low resistance is a short in the radio. Next turn the power panel switch, leave the yellow disconnected, meter again, looking for high resistance. Once again low resistance is a short in the radio.

If the radio doesn't blow fuses with the yellow disconnected, you can turn on the radio with the speakers plugged in and it works until the yellow is connected to +12V - the radio is bad.

This is so hard to write up, when it only takes a couple of minutes to check.

This may or may not be your exact connection, I couldn't find your model but this is a Pyle -

http://

 

[mklearl]

Re: Stereo installation problem

Not really following you with the use of an ohm meter. I will say this. I can hook up everything and measure voltage puting the meter terminals in the red and ground and the yellow and ground slots on the plug end leaving everything hooked up to the batteries. I get 12.7 volts on both the yellow and red. When I turn the swith off, the red reads 0 volts, as it should and I still get 12 volts from the yellow (constant power) as I should. One thing that I'm confused about is that I can put the yellow on the battery terminal without popping anything. The yellow fuse blows when I hook the negative battery terminal up to power up my switch panel. in other words, I have 2 things on my positive battery terminal. A yellow for my stereo with an inline 15a fuse, and a red wire with a 30a inline fuse powering my panel. On the negative side of the battery, I have the negative wire for my accessory panel. Nothing pops until I hook up the negative on the battery for the panel. Why would this blow the yellow? The yellow is 12v constant and is independent and has nothing to do with the accessory panel. Now I'm really confused!