Melted Audio Wires. Please Help.

[AndyCs13]

So I guess i was lookin at the wrong wiring diagram, or i just suck at wireing, but either way i have a problem.I melted the blue wire that goes the the 12v source for the radio. How do I go about replacing that wire? I assume it goes back behind the fuse box, so its not the easiest thing to get to.this is in my s14 by the way.i caught it in time so none of the other wires in the bundle were damaged thank god.

[Gnnr]

Where you using a wiring harness between the radio and OEM connectors?

[AndyCs13]

yeah.

i just need to know how to get to the back of the fuse box

[japslapsilvia]

umm unbolt the fuse box...

but u will prob have to take out the dash to replace that wire...how far in the harness it the wire damaged??

[DALAZ_68]

umm unbolt the fuse box...

but u will prob have to take out the dash to replace that wire...how far in the harness it the wire damaged??
id say it be the whole things...ive seen wires overheatand pretty much the whole thing needs replacement

[AndyCs13]

no. I caught it right away. i checked the harness in 3 places and the only wire that is damaged is the blue one.

damn i dont wanna take out the dash.

is there any other way to get it to work?

[DALAZ_68]

the whole wire was over heated, even if the insulation is there its not what it used to be...

[AndyCs13]

the whole wire was over heated, even if the insulation is there its not what it used to be...


ooh i understand that.

i thought u were saying i had to replace the whole harness.

I know the whole wire is bad.

i can just hook up another relay if i want to right? instead of pulling my dash.

i'm obvioulsy no electrician lol, so any advice will help.

i've never hooked a relay before, but it cant be that hard.

[Gnnr]

I would think you just need another 12v source, so you can create one...or maybe run off another source that's near by like the cigarette lighter or something. Maybe someone with more knowledge like projectRDM will chime in.

[AndyCs13]

good idea. i dont need a cig lighter anyway.

not at the moment anyway lol

[AndyCs13]

and silence : (

[AndyCs13]

damn it.

i wired into my cig lighter and the thing still wont power on.

atleast there is no fire now

[japslapsilvia]

What exactly happend in the 1st place? Did the wire short? b/c if it did the fuse should have popped.

[AndyCs13]

What exactly happend in the 1st place? Did the wire short? b/c if it did the fuse should have popped.
for some reason the fuse did not pop.

it doesnt make any sense to me either.

but the blue wire that goes to the 12v wire that goes to the audio fuse melted. i assume it shorted.

i hooked up the ground to the power and then grounded the wrong wire, so it was all messed up.

i found a better wire diagram, so i know what to do but i dont have a good 12v source anymore. thats y i am trying to use the cig lighter as a power source.

[japslapsilvia]

take out the fuse box in the kick panel, and find the radio fuse, remove the bad wire (the blue one) and replace with another one, then fish that wire through the dash to the radio.

[AndyCs13]

take out the fuse box in the kick panel, and find the radio fuse, remove the bad wire (the blue one) and replace with another one, then fish that wire through the dash to the radio.

its not so easy to get to the back of the fuse box.

unless you have a good tip for me : )

[japslapsilvia]

i really havent worked on s-14s that much, but i would assume that you should be able to remove the kick panel and then access the bolts for the fuse box, you may have to take out the panel under the steering colum.

[Gnnr]

japslapsilvia's suggestion is better then mine, but did your cigarette lighter work before? I think there's a fuse for that too....

[AndyCs13]

lol i just bought the car so idk if the lighter worked.

im new to s14s, but i've had a couple 13s

i really just need advice on getting to the back of the fuse box

[AndyCs13]

ok i got behind the fuse box.

but i cant figure out how to pull the wire out of it's place.

any tips?

[projectRDM]

How did I miss this?

1) Are you absolutely certain no other wire is damaged in the harness? If one wire melted, the heat from it can easily damage any other wire touching it, shorting dozens of circuits. You don't want that. I'd pull some more of the lower dash and visually inspect as much as you can before going further.

2) The radio accessory wire (blue) also powers the clock, is your clock still working? If so, you can leg off that side of the circuit and bypass the original wire to the radio. If not, pull the fusebox as directed and find the side of the wire after the fuse, cut it off, then insulate it. Run a new wire from the fuse side of the box up through the dash to both the clock and the radio.

3) Lastly, I'm local to you and have a full dash harness from a 1995 SE manual that I can swap in for you if nothing else works.

[AndyCs13]

How did I miss this?

1) Are you absolutely certain no other wire is damaged in the harness? If one wire melted, the heat from it can easily damage any other wire touching it, shorting dozens of circuits. You don't want that. I'd pull some more of the lower dash and visually inspect as much as you can before going further.

2) The radio accessory wire (blue) also powers the clock, is your clock still working? If so, you can leg off that side of the circuit and bypass the original wire to the radio. If not, pull the fusebox as directed and find the side of the wire after the fuse, cut it off, then insulate it. Run a new wire from the fuse side of the box up through the dash to both the clock and the radio.

3) Lastly, I'm local to you and have a full dash harness from a 1995 SE manual that I can swap in for you if nothing else works.


thanks for that advice.

i pulled some of the tape off both ends and the middle of the harness and none of the other wires are damaged.

my clock is working, so i'll see about tapping into it, but can you explain a little more what you mean about that?
it sounds like your saying the blue wire powers the clock too, but obviously it does not since i unplugged the wire from the back of the fuse box and my clock is still on.
i think im just confused.

are you a member on 240atlanta? if not you need to check it out : )

[projectRDM]

thanks for that advice.

i pulled some of the tape off both ends and the middle of the harness and none of the other wires are damaged.

my clock is working, so i'll see about tapping into it, but can you explain a little more what you mean about that?
it sounds like your saying the blue wire powers the clock too, but obviously it does not since i unplugged the wire from the back of the fuse box and my clock is still on.
i think im just confused.

are you a member on 240atlanta? if not you need to check it out : )

If you pulled the blue wire and your clock is still on, you pulled the wrong blue wire. The FSM shows them to share a circuit and I've stripped and rebuilt enough dash harnesses to know it for myself.

I am not a member of 240atlanta. And never will be. I'd rather eat feces than browse that place.

[AndyCs13]

If you pulled the blue wire and your clock is still on, you pulled the wrong blue wire. The FSM shows them to share a circuit and I've stripped and rebuilt enough dash harnesses to know it for myself.

I am not a member of 240atlanta. And never will be. I'd rather eat feces than browse that place.

I pulled the blue wire that had no insulation on it anymore.

i'm pretty sure thats the one i was supposed to pull.


just curious what is wrong with 240atl? There are a lot of annoying kids on the site, but it is a good place to find parts locally and get fast answers.

i posted this question on 240atl and having a fraction of the number of members as zilvia does, i got people offering to come to my house and help me do it. and plenty of ppl offering advice too.

by the way i said this in a non defensive tone lol. just dont want you to think im bitching : )

[fueled by hate]

if you wired up your radio backwards then you might have fried it. There's a time to diy and a time to pay someone who knows what they are doing to do it so you don't screw anything up.

[AndyCs13]

if you wired up your radio backwards then you might have fried it. There's a time to diy and a time to pay someone who knows what they are doing to do it so you don't screw anything up.

thats exactly what i did.

but i learned from it, and that is priceless lol.

i got it working now.

thanks for everyone's help :)