97 grand am serious problem!

Hi guys im new to this place but i need drastic help, im only ni highschool and screwed up my car. Its a 1997 pontiac grand am se 4dr 4 cylidner 2.4L and its ran fine no problems. I put in a cd deck, aftermarket last night.. Only problem after i installed it there became a few problems.. MY brakes are hard as helll to push in... The red on the instrument cluster doesnt come on and I CANT START THE CAR.. I turn the key to start and it makes no noise at all, i see the rear window defroster try to come on but the car doesnt start and i need this to be fixed asap.. I checked the fuse box, the turn signal and cigarette lighter were blown, but no others had been blown.. I took the new deck and replaced bak the stock and stil same problem, you cant even hear any noise of it trying to click over.. Battery has full charge, is even hooked upt o charger.. Im guessing theres a common problem since it wont start, the lights usually dim org et red when you move the slider on the dash btu now it doesnt do that and the brakes are hard as hell to goin at all. So i need drastic help ppl please.! My Father will kil me because he didnt want me installing the deck in the first place.. PLEASE HELP ME

hope you disconnected the battery b4 you started cutting wires. thats why unless you know what your doing pay te $25 and have a professional install it

Nope i didnt unhook the batteery, my buddy said he did but of course he didnt, if i put a new battery in you think that will fix the problem?

need help :(

no, if you cut a wire, and caused a short, you fried something somewhere. Did you use the original wires for your installation, or did you tap into the fuse panel or cig lighter wires?

i used an adapter for the wiring harness that involves no cutting, i think the dimmer + and dimmer - might have touched, theres a few broken fuses just the radio ign, turn signals and cigarette lighter... Now when i put the key in the dimmers do work, i put stock deck back in too.. But the dash lights and everything are freaking out making weird noises and flashing and i stil cant start it, should i try a new battery

All the fuses under the hood are fine, including the ignition fuses.... What should i do :( My father is going to kill me, i called a radio shop and he said i probably killed the battery cel or something and maybe thats it since my battery charger is showing its not full charged and then wen i move the wires a little bit it shows full so i hav no clue

the battery was godo before and now i ahve just determined its all f;ed up, its almost dead with the battery charger on it. Guess i need a new battery

Sounds like that may be it. You must have shorted something out.

what could i have shorted out? new battery, same thing

i turn the ignitioin nothing happns., theres a clicking and the headlights trun off and no noise of turingning ovr, the rear defroster truns on wen im tryina start, tahta problem?

Have you checked to be sure your battery connections are good? It sounds like you fried your battery, you could remove it and have it checked at an autoparts store, for free.

oh yeah, your brakes will be that tight until you start the engine and get help from the vacuum assist.

i tried a new battery and it did tah same dam thing, if u hav aim my aim is spoochmlb52 it would be easier to talk on there

no aim, sorry

Well, there are few things that would stop your starter from turning your engine over, the first would be a bad starter. Since you did nothing with the starter, you can probably rule that out. Secondly would be something associate with your key switch(ignition switch, not lock cylinder) the ignition switch connects to your lock cylinder to know when to apply voltage to different places. One of these places would be the starter.

You can check that the starter is good by bypassing your ignition switch. Down on the starter there are 2 wires. One is large, and come from the battery directly. The other is small, and comes from the ignition switch. If you were to use a screwdrive or wire to jump accross those two connections, at the starter, the engine would crank over. However, it probably won't start.

this would at least let you know your starter is good. Once that is established, then you need to check you ignition switch to be sure it is functioning properly. this is by far not easy to get to, but I guess it could be done.

Since you get weird dash lights, I would look for something that is still touching that shouldn't be. Also look at all the fuses, and test each one.


Oh yeah, make sure you didn't bump the little anti-theft key that goes in under the steering wheel. I have done that a couple times and it will kill all power to your starter.

trying to figure out what this anti theft key is, theres an anti theft light lit on the dash wehn i try to start, so maybe its it
waht does it look lyk

wuts the anti theft key look lyk, i hav anti theft on my dash mayb its tha prollem

On my 95, there is a black key kinda thing tha plugs in just under the dash, on the drivers side. It's about where your right knee would hit if you scooted all the way up. Basically, it disables the starter. check to be sure it is there, and plugged in all the way.

no luck, everything in the car is defiantely acting normal exceptfor it not startring, no weird dash problems or nethin at this time.. thnx

Then I would test the starting circuit. Do as I said to test the starter.

I thought you said the lights were acting weird? Wouldn't dim the dash lights and such.

they wouldnt but i found the fuse was blown for that, but i replaced it andall other fuses are fine

You may be getting lucky then. Find a wiring diagram from your car, and see if there is a fuse located somewhere else for the starter.

You may be getting lucky then. Find a wiring diagram from your car, and see if there is a fuse located somewhere else for the starter.

I jus tried starting again this morning for hahas and stil same thing, but there is a clicking nooise to the left of the engine clicking even when the key is in accesory or forwards about to s tart. Doest aht mean anything?? Where can i see a wiring diagram?

and i dont know what a starter looks like either, sorry im so dum

I would attach a wiring diagram, but I can't. Give me an email addy and I will send it

have you tried starting it in nuetral?

I would attach a wiring diagram, but I can't. Give me an email addy and I will send it
[email protected]

[email protected]

thanks for all teh help by the way

have you tried starting it in nuetral?
ya same problem in neutral 2

all the fuses are fine that are in that diagram including the ignitiion switch

im going to follow the red wire and see where it goes bbl

if you don't have one, I would invest in a Multi-meter(DVOM), or at least a test light. Multi-meter is better by far.

You can use either of these to follow the power flow from the ignition switch to the starter, and see where you lose power. My guess is you have no power coming out of the ignition switch(yellow wire)

guess ill go buy a multimeter

cant figure out where that yellow wire is

front tire always sounds flat but isn't need help

Sounds like a bad battery connection, check and make sure the connection is clean and tight also check the other end of the cable.