Thread: Any car/electrical experts out there?

Thanks to everyone who gave suggestions. I pulled the CD player out this weekend, and I had forgotten what a mess things were back there. The previous owner had installed one of those CD players that sits in the trunk, and it looks like they opted for a really weird setup.

The power/ACC wires were spliced into the factory harness, but not where I would have expected them to be. The harness on this model Toyota is split into two pieces, one that handles the power, dimmer, ground, etc. and one that seems to be primarily for the speakers. The wires for the CD player were connected into the speaker portion.

I disconnected those wires, pulled out the antenna switcher they'd stuck in there, taped up some loose ends, and put the whole thing back together. It hasn't blown any fuses yet, so I'm hoping I fixed whatever the problem was. The lights on the dash also seem brighter, and I'm wondering if the old setup wasn't sucking power away from them somehow.

Thanks again,
Josh

i'm glad you got it figured out. it is always interesting to see how other people wire things in eh, doesn't always seem like the easiest way to do it.

wiring in cars is just another reason why i love my motorcycles. there is just sooooo much that could go wrong in a car and so many places to look. motorcycles (for me anyways) are so much easier to work on and everything is accessible (i know there are exceptions). i know the new sport bikes have some pretty complicated and expensive electronics also, but they are still nothing compared to the new cars. just my opinion though.

It had to be the way it was wired. I am glad you figured it out.