No power to stereo - E Series 2012

FCAshevlle · 02-21-2021, 04:17 PM

Went out last week and my after market unit was dead. Check fuses 39 & 41 under dash per the manual and they are good. Also have 14+V when running.

Unit was a cheapo Boss so I figured it died so Crutchfield swapped it our for a Jensen. Swapped everything out, wiring is correct, and this unit has no power.

Checked the power for the main harness and obviously I am not getting power there. Everything else on the dash is fine....all lights, cig lighter, etc.

I don't see any other fuses in the manual that should apply. What am I missing?

N147JK · 02-21-2021, 04:25 PM

There must be 12V on both ACC (red wire) as well as main power (yellow wire). These are 2 separate wires going into the radio. Have you verified you have power on both of these?

FCAshevlle · 02-21-2021, 04:30 PM

I only checked the red (no power) as I didn't know about the yellow. Unfortunately I had to put the dash back together....I'd have to pull everything back out to check yellow.

Orv · 02-21-2021, 05:02 PM

If you're using plugs to connect to the OEM harness, make sure one of the pins hasn't been pushed out the back of the connector. Also check the aftermarket part of the harness for an inline fuse, that's pretty common.

FCAshevlle · 02-22-2021, 06:01 AM

I'm using the wiring adapter from Crutchfield, but I highly doubt that's the issue. I wasn't seeing 12V anywhere before that point. I guess I need to pull the dash AGAIN

and check the yellow wires.

If I am not getting power at yellow or red I'm tempted to just use a couple 'add a fuse' parts and run power from the fuse box since I was getting 14+V there.

Any other thoughts or ideas would be appreciated.

Orv · 02-22-2021, 05:41 PM

I am not above cheesing power off something else in the vicinity if I can't find the problem. You should be able to tap into the cigarette lighter wire, for example -- on my van that's unswitched (which would work for the yellow wire), but I don't know if that changed in the later ones. If you do that you might want to note it next to the fuse diagram so you know what's connected to what.

FCAshevlle · 03-03-2021, 05:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orv

I am not above cheesing power off something else in the vicinity if I can't find the problem. You should be able to tap into the cigarette lighter wire, for example -- on my van that's unswitched (which would work for the yellow wire), but I don't know if that changed in the later ones. If you do that you might want to note it next to the fuse diagram so you know what's connected to what.

I ended up doing this. I had power everywhere except at the factory plug. Even plugged the old stock unit back in to check. Finally just ran a 'red' wire from the fuse box via an 'add a fuse' and tapped into the cigarette lighter for constant.

86Scotty · 03-03-2021, 04:33 PM

Glad you got it figured out. Next time you need back there and don't feel like pulling the dash apart just pull the doghouse cover off the back of the engine. This gives you enough room to do almost anything under the dash.

capnkurt · 03-04-2021, 10:40 AM

Is your van a Sportsmobile build? One thing that could be causing it is the switch that chooses van battery or house battery to supply power to the head unit. On our van there is a switch that has three positions (it's a rocker switch). In the upper position it uses the house battery to run the radio, so that you don't need the key in the ignition to listen to music. The middle position is essentially "off", since no power comes from either source and the radio will not work, even with the van running/accessories turned on via ignition key. The lower position uses the van's starter/chassis battery to run the radio. Just wanted to point this out, because my wife will occasionally put the rocker in the middle position after a camping trip and the radio won't work as we start our return trip.