Radio wont work at all.... Reprogram maybe?

[85firebird]

Alright, here's the deal. I went to install an aftermarket Pioneer deck in my car. I got it going and all hooked up, only now I can't hear anything out of any speakers...so, I tried to hook up the original Delco tape deck that my car came with, and I can't get it to function at all.

Did I mess something up in the programming? Is that what I would need a PCM programmer for? Or, what should I do!?

[Seal]

you dont need a PCM programmer for changing radios (at least for my radio, and my friend's pioneer) must be something with the cables

[Camaro3.8L]

Did you disconnect the battery? If you didn't, maybe you blew a fuse?

[Backfire]

Is the radio functioning, but you get no sound? Or is the radio not turning on and everything is dead?

[85firebird]

Ok, here is the sequence.

Factory stereo worked fine

I install my Pioneer, and it would turn on but I would get no audio

I re-install the factory stereo and now I can't even get it to turn on at all

[85firebird]

OK I got my old Pioneer in again, and I can get it to power on and function and all, but I still get no sound! Anyone know what it can be? I tried the factory deck and it worked fine again but I still cant get any audio from the Pioneer.

Thanks for any help

[DrMilhouse]

Do you have the bose system in your car?

[85firebird]

No, I don't think I have the Bose system. I just have a plain jane 97 Camaro, 4 speaker system. I checked out the speakers and they didn't have any special markings or anything.

[gregmondro]

try checking out Crutchfield.com and looking up the stereo you're trying to install and see what other things they suggest you buy. You might need a OEM connector or something (i'm not really sure).

I'm not sure about the stock systems on the Camaro's, but what i've heard on the Monsoon systems like my car has, the HU install should be a painless thing. You might wanna try putting the new HU in a new car just to make sure it isn't fried. That happened to my brother when he put a different head unit in his Monte Carlo, but since he bought the HU new, the place he bought it from had no choice but to replace it for free.

hope this helps some..

[85firebird]

Damn, I am just making a mess here. Now my gauge lights dont come on when my headlights are on....I got pulled over last night, I didnt know I was speeding because I couldnt see my display...another ticket :mad:

[85firebird]

OK, I checked that Crutchfield place and looked up units that fit my car....I notice they all are 25 x 4 and under...could my Pioneer be too much? It's a 50x4 watt deck. I wonder if that could be my problem?

[Backfire]

Are you blowing fuses? The head unit should not be an issue, unless you have a lot of other stuff wired on the same circuit. The 50x4 is a max power number, not a realistic RMS number. The RMS is probably half of that, or even less. Some of the older units that had 25x4 ratings, had an RMS of 13.5x4 or somewhere around there. How are you doing the wiring? Are you using a wiring harness, or cutting and splicing into the factory wires? Sounds like you have some other issues with the additional stuff that is going wrong.

[85firebird]

I checked all my fuses, I thought that may be the problem with my display lights but they were all good, so I don't know what's going on.

And yeah, I cut the factory wires and used wire-nuts to connect my units harness. I can get the unit to power on and all but no sound.

I've made a mess and may have to wuss out and see if my warranty can fix my display lights.

And I would go thru the owners manual but when I bought the car, they never gave me one.

Maybe I can refer to Chilton or something.

[Backfire]

Well, if you were cutting wires, good luck getting a warranty fix! This is one reason why spending $10 on a wiring harness is a good idea. You don't cut anything in the factory harness, so there is less chance for problems to creep in and you can go back to stock in a flash. With you cutting the wires, there could be a number of issues. There may be a few bad connections that are causing the lack of sound. There could be incorrect connections that are not only causing the radio problems but also the dash problems.

Do you have the dash light problems if you remove the radio? I don't mean remove the wires from the car, but just unplug the radio harness from the back of the radio. The car should operate perfectly without the radio in. I would start with that to see if you can isolate the radio/wiring as the cause.

[85firebird]

No, I can unplug the deck and my lights are still messed up. Grr, I'm used to older cars, you know. You just cut and connect wires and everything works fine. Bah, I guess I just jacked up my warranty stuff too then. I don't know. Thanks though.