Need help with radio/fuses/dome light

[f00dang17]

Hello, I have a 1994 Ford Explorer, 4 door 2 wheel drive, v6 4.0

I recently removed my old aftermarket radio to install a new one, in the process some of the red/yellow/black wires touched (did not see which two touched) and sparked and my dome lights went out. None of my interior lights come on and I can not get power to my radio(neither the old or new) everyone told me the problem had to be a fuse, so I replaced the fuses under the dash, and I replaced the smaller of the fuses under the hood. None of that has prevailed. Someone told me to unhook the negative part of the battery and try to reset it, that didn't help.

Any advice would be so greatly appreciated, this is driving me crazy I just want my new stereo to work. Thank you very much for your time and any help.

[shorod]

It certainly sounds like you have a fuse blown somewhere that you haven't found yet, or you burned up a connector or wire. If that occurred, I think you would have smelled it.

You mention that you removed an aftermarket radio. Was the aftermarket radio wired up to a harness adapter, or were the original connectors cut off and the aftermarket radio wires spliced in? Most aftermarket wiring harnesses will have an inline fuse in the yellow and the red wires. Have you checked for those and verified they are not open?

You might need to just get out the test light or continuity tester and test all the fuses, even if they are not labeled as being for the radio. Also, does your Explorer have the Premium sound system with an external amplifier?

-Rod

[f00dang17]

Originally Posted by shorod

It certainly sounds like you have a fuse blown somewhere that you haven't found yet, or you burned up a connector or wire. If that occurred, I think you would have smelled it.

You mention that you removed an aftermarket radio. Was the aftermarket radio wired up to a harness adapter, or were the original connectors cut off and the aftermarket radio wires spliced in? Most aftermarket wiring harnesses will have an inline fuse in the yellow and the red wires. Have you checked for those and verified they are not open?

You might need to just get out the test light or continuity tester and test all the fuses, even if they are not labeled as being for the radio. Also, does your Explorer have the Premium sound system with an external amplifier?

-Rod

thank you very much for your reply, like I said I replaced all of the fuses that I could, the ones that I didn't I have checked thoroughly visually and with a continuity tester. I don't believe I have the 'premium sound option'. And I dont believe there was a harness adapter, and even if that was the case would that be messing with the interior lights? It must be a connector or wire, how would I tell if that was the case?

Thank you so much for your time.

[shorod]

Good point, a harness fuse would not explain the issue with the interior lights. You might check the AutoZone website, Repair Information section, for a wiring diagram for the radio. I don't have any of the factory service manuals for that generation of Ford Truck. You're going to need a wiring diagram for the radio and start testing for voltage at various locations. Maybe the Accessory Delay relay picked this opportunity to fail. I'm not sure they used Accessory Delay relays in 1994 Explorers though.

-Rod