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oldguy
05-22-2004, 04:13 PM
Hi, new to the forums. Great site!!

I have been trouble-shooting my stock stereo for my 89 LX. I just got the car, but there are a few minor problems. Otherwise the car is in excellent condition.

The radio doesn't remember it's presets or the station it was on. I know that the constant power wire is live because I tested it. The wiring harness is untouched as all the leads are where they should be. The clock works fine, all fuses are good (light tested). My belief is that there must be something wrong in the head unit itself as the car wiring is correct and functional. I know this problem is usually the constant battery power being hooked up wrong but this doesn't look like the case here. I am planning to install a new head unit anyway. I just want to be absolutely sure there is nothing else that could be wrong so I can fix it before buying the new HU. I am asking if anyone here knows of anything else this could possibly be?
Or, am I correct in my diagnosis?

Second, the dashboard lights do not work. The light for the radio comes on, but that is all. Is it a huge job to change the bulbs? How easy/difficult has Honda made it to get at them? To get at the dimmer switch, is there a trick to prying the switch out of the dash without breaking anything that I should know about before I try? My other car is a 1995 Civic and it's switch holder plates just pop out, is it the same with this body style accord?

I know this second part is not really about Audio, but I didn't notice an "electrical" forum. If there is one, please let me know.

Thanks in advance. I have gotten some good information off this board already by just reading old posts. :)

catalin
05-22-2004, 08:28 PM
First part;
What kind of head unit is it that you have installed in the vehicle?
How did you test the constant fuse at the stereo and is it the white/blue stripe that you tested?


Second part;
There is most likely a fuse in the interior fuse box under the drivers side dash that is blown. Behind the stereo there will be a red/black wire that energizes when the park lights are turned on. If this wire shorts to ground then it will blow the fuse. This is a common problem and can be easily fixed. Check for a fuse in the fuse block.

oldguy
05-22-2004, 09:12 PM
First part;
What kind of head unit is it that you have installed in the vehicle?
How did you test the constant fuse at the stereo and is it the white/blue stripe that you tested?


Second part;
There is most likely a fuse in the interior fuse box under the drivers side dash that is blown. Behind the stereo there will be a red/black wire that energizes when the park lights are turned on. If this wire shorts to ground then it will blow the fuse. This is a common problem and can be easily fixed. Check for a fuse in the fuse block.

It is just the stock radio in there right now. I shouldn't refer to that as a "head unit" I guess LOL. I took the radio out, tested the lead from the stock wiring harness that the pins on the back of the stock radio mate to directly. With the car off, According to the diagrams, the correct wire has power. I used the stereo for a couple of days and checked all the fuses again, none are blown and there is still power to the constant 12V + wire. All fuses both under the dash and under hood are good and of the correct amperage.

I even disconnected the wiring harness from the radio and built wire leads to go from the wiring harness to the pins on the radio and tested the radio. I hooked up the 12 v+ ignition power to the appropriate pin, the 12 V+ battery to the right pin, and finally the ground wire. I then tested the power leads to make sure power was actually reaching the pins on the back of the radio. Turned on the radio and dialed in a station on the digital tuner. Then turned off the car. When I turned the car back on, the tuner forget the station again. I know there was juice to the constant and there was a good connection to the radio beause it was at the back of the radio's pin connector that I had my test lead and the power was there. This is why I am led to believe it is in the stereo unit itself rather than a fault within the car.

Are you talking about the wire that runs the headlight switched power to the radio? I found that and it is fine, no fuse blown. I know which fuse you mean because I blew it once by being careless with the tester. Like I say, I know it is not a fuse problem, I have tested every fuse in both fuse blocks and none of them are blown. Is there yet another fuse somewhere else that i am not aware of?

catalin
05-22-2004, 09:24 PM
Sounds like you have it all covered. To me from what you said seems like there is a problem with the stereo itself. Have a local technician look at it maybe it can be repaired for a decent cost.
As far as the dash illumination goes there won't be any other fuses other than what you've found. There's most likely a problem with the dimmer switch or all the lights could simply be burned out.
In order to pull the dimmer you have to use a small flat screwdriver to pry it out. Test that there's power going into the dimmer when the lights are turned on, and see if there's anything coming out.

oldguy
05-22-2004, 09:35 PM
Thanks for the replies, I am going to buy a decent CD player for this car, it definitely deserves it. I just wanted to make sure there wasn't anything wrong car-wise before I did it. I have already replaced the rear deck and door speakers with some decent 6.5 s. I don't need HUGE sound or thumping bass, just a nice well balanced stereo.

One more silly question: The switch that locks the pop-ups, The dimmer, and the rear defrost (I think) are all on what looks like the same plate. Do they pry out individually or all together?

Mac
05-23-2004, 04:50 AM
Yep the dimmer/headlight pop up/ rear defrost switches come out as 1 unit. There will be 3 connectors on it. Once you have the asssembly out you can change just the dimmer switch if you want to. If you got 12v on the memory wire with the car off, the problem probally is in the radio.

89dxowner
05-23-2004, 11:57 AM
Second, the dashboard lights do not work. The light for the radio comes on, but that is all. Is it a huge job to change the bulbs? How easy/difficult has Honda made it to get at them? To get at the dimmer switch, is there a trick to prying the switch out of the dash without breaking anything that I should know about before I try? My other car is a 1995 Civic and it's switch holder plates just pop out, is it the same with this body style accord?

The same thing happened to me when i first got my 3g exept no dash lights worked at all including the clock. Well there was a wire somewhere close to the firewall in the engine bay that was loose My dad was messing around looking for the problem in his spare time and found that wire pushed it together after that everything worked fine and i havent had a problem with it sense.