Car won't crank, won't start.

Background: 2008 Corolla S. Approximately 189,000 miles. 4 cylinder. I removed an aftermarket remote start system the day before yesterday. Started and drove fine all day. The next day, I installed an amp and subwoofer. Would not start. To be fair though, I had not driven the car all day so it may not have started before I installed the subwoofer.

When I turn the key all the way, there is no clicking. Just silence. All the electronics work (lights, windows, radio, and even the subwoofer). I did notice that when the key is turned to the 2nd position, the check engine light is not flashing or illuminated. Aren't all the indicator lights supposed to light up or flash?

I decided to try scan the car with a code reader. The code reader turned on and attempted to scan, but took forever and finally gave me a "linking error." I am assuming this has something to do with the check engine light not being illuminated. What controls those two things? The ECM?

I checked all the fuses under the dash and in the hood and they all look fine. I cleaned the connections on the battery and checked the water levels and that seems fine. Even tried jumping it and that didn't work.

I thought maybe I interefered with the security system when I removed the remote start, but that doesn't explain how I was able to drive the car the entire day after removing it. The securty light blinks when the key is not inserted. When the key is inserted it doesn't blink. I am pretty sure that is what it is supposed to do.

So I'm at a loss here. What do I do?

You definitely need an electrical diagram to diagnose it but for starters I would remove your subwoofer and all stuff that you instaledl and see what happens. It sounds like you missed/disrupted a connection somewhere.

Good luck,
Sam

Yea I think that is what I am going to start with (removing the sub). I googled some electrical diagrams and found that there are many. Which one are you referring to specifically?

I got underneath the steering column and touched the white and red wires together which cause it to crank, but it still wouldn't start. I tried turning the key while doing this and it started for a split second but immediately cut off.

Get a new ignition switch. This is a common failure on these cars. Your symptoms all scream ignition switch. When you removed the remote start you most likely disturbed a wire and burned the switch or over heated it through a ground short. When this happened you may be able to use the switch for a bit but eventually what was burned and made brittle fails.