1996 Cavalier Electrical Problem

HI all,

Newbie here who does some work on cars, but knows very little about the electrical intricacies of a chevy (mainly work on dodges)

Ok, here is the problem...installed an aftermarket cd player in wife's 96 cavalier this weekend...today, she came out and her battery was dead. so...tried to jump it, won't jump. just get a clicking noise.

however, as soon as my battery is connected to her car, her parking lights come on, as well as the battery, oil, and check engine dummy lights. even with her key out of the ignition and the parking lights switched off, these lights come on.

I assume this is a short? Am I wrong? Is it probably because i screwed something up installing the radio? I know i didnt touch any other wires in that I just plugged the new cd player into her current wiring harness.

Does anyone know what is involved here? Is it a wire or set of wires that could have been pulled out when I removed the dash?

This is somewhat urgent in that we both have to leave town this week (to different destinations). Any advice is greatly appreciated.

thx.

i had almost the same problem with my 96, i got an aftermarket cd player and installed it, and was about to go hop on the free way and i turned my headlights on, no panel lights, i forgot one wire connection. might wanna go back and check all the wiring under the dash.

-matt

(edit) also, you need an aftermarket harness and antenna kit to go with it, i must have gone over that part in your message about the harness without reading it...sorry.

Sorry, I should have been more specific...I did in fact get the wiring harness adapter and the antenna adaptor...and i checked all those wires...everything seems fine.

what i am thinking is that there is some other wire that i may have pulled loose or a harness that i screwed up removing or replacing the dash that is causing a short that allows the parking lights and idiot lights to stay on when the key is not in the ignition...i just dont know what wires or where to look.

the wires for the dimmer could have been messed up somehow.. aka the lighter socket.. i know you had to of seen them when taking off the panel that holds in the radio and instrument cluster.. look all around that area for any loose wires

Thanks for the tip...so I searched around there, no loose wires, but there was a metal clip right by the cigarette lighter that is not clipped on to anything...could that be the cause of the problem, and where should I put it?

I had the same problem and you might want to check in the fuse pannel inside the driver side door and check the fuse that says ERLS that blows then all those dummie lights come on just. But that might not be your problem still it's worth a try :naughty: