Sony XPLODE Problems

[JDS]

Hey everybody hows it going. Yesterday i bought a Sony Xplode cd player for my 98 ranger and for the past day and a half i have been having no luck in getting the damn thing to work. I cant figure out how to make the thing light up, so far i have it so it will take in and eject a cd but it will not do anything else. I was wondering if someone would know how to fix this or help me out somehow.
Thanks

 

[exbass94]

It's defective. Return it and get another one. Since it's ejecting CDs, you apparently have the power wires hooked up correctly, so it should turn on and work.

 

[JDS]

Might it have something to do with the illumination wire?

 

[exbass94]

Many Sony head units don't use the illuminuation wire. They just light all the time, whether the headlights are on or not. If the Head unit has a wire to connect to the truck's illumination wire, then connect it. If it doesn't have one, then the unit is supposed to light up all the time (when the truck is on). Is the head unit actually playing CDs and the radio? Or is it just not lighting up?

 

[JDS]

Well i heard beeping noises coming from the speakers so i know that i have the speakers hooked up correctly but since i cannot see anything on the screen i wouldn't even know how to start playing a cd.

 

[exbass94]

Well try playing the radio. Make sure there is no Cd in it, and press the "source" button to turn it on. The radio should turn on. Turn up the volume to make sure it's not muted. BTW, what's the model number of this unit? I really think this unit is defective, because even if it has an illumination wire, it should light up when it's turned on. The ill. wire just controls the brightness. If there's no current in the ill wire, the unit should just stay at full brightness.

 

[JDS]

Well when i went back to go try what you suggested the thing was getting no power at all. And it was model number CDX-GT63OUI. One thing i noticed is that the in-line fuse coming from what looks to be the antenna is no longer connected, would that make any difference?

 

[exbass94]

The antenna wire should be seperate from the main harness, it's a thick black cable. Any other wire is not related to the antenna. There may be a blue wire on the unit for a power antenna, which your truck doesn't have, so that wire stays disconnected. I would check your ground, and use a multimeter to make sure you have power coming from the power wire, and make sure there are no loose connections. Also check the fuse on the back of the unit, and the fuses in the fuse box on your truck. Test all other electrical accessories, like cigarette lighter, headlights, etc, because they may use the same fuse as the radio. If everything checks out ok, the unit is defective.

 

[JDS]

and the main power wire is the green and purple correct?

 

[exbass94]

Did you buy a harness to adapt the truck's plug to the head unit's harness? If so, the power wire should be a yellow wire. This should have voltage across it at all times. The red wire is a switch wire, which only turns on with the ignition on or in the acc. position. The black wire is a ground. Check out this link for the wire color codes.

 

[JDS]

No i didnt, now i wish i would have. But now the fuse for the radio is blown so i have to go get some more before i do anything.

 

[exbass94]

So, did you cut the factory connector off the truck's harness? The truck's harness may not use those same color codes, but the head unit most likely does. So, you may have to mis-match the colors when splicing them together. Or, it may just be easier to run all new wires. Run some new wires from the unit straight to the speakers, Connect the ground to the bare metal of the truck's body, connect constant power to the battery (with a fuse right near the battery), and the switched power to the ignition. That's it.

And, in the future, buy the adaptor harness!!!