Lost my switched 12v at the radio!
 

Hi everybody... I was registered here a long time ago but I forgot my user ID. Here's my problem:

(2003 Protege LX)

I was replacing the factory head unit with a Pioneer one. Plugged everything in and it all worked and sounded great. Then my ghetto line-in adapter worked loose and I had to pull the CD player out.

Somewhere in the process of putting the CD player back in I popped the 15A "radio" fuse in the car. The fuse on the back of the Pioneer deck was fine. I changed the fuse and checked all of the other fuses in the car, and they were all fine.

When I plugged the Pioneer back in, it wouldn't turn on. I got out the old trusty multimeter and started poking things. Turns out that the constant 12V yellow wire is fine, but I get nothing (0V) on the switched 12V wire (that I THINK is pink and black on the factory harness) when the car is on.

I plugged the factory head unit back in and the CD changer motor started making noises (like it usually does when I plug it in) but it would not turn on.

Does anyone know of another reason why the switched 12 Volt line would not be working? If not, is there another place I could get switched 12V from? I thought about the cigarette lighter (which still works fine), but I'm having a hard time getting to the wires.

Thanks in advance for the help.

You didn't say if you checked the 12V radio fuse again after re-installing the radio.
Put a meter across the fuse and check for continuity (good fuse?)
Check for 12V at the fuse panel. Work upstream from there.

Always solder/tape wire connections real good. I have had similar problems- usually because a wire disconected or the tape rolled back...

After I replaced the fuse, I hooked up the radio again and still got nothing. I checked the fuse after that, and the fuse was still fine. (I used the continuity checker on my meter to be sure.) I thought about trying to work up the line from the fuse box, but I was having a really hard time to figure out what was wired to what without removing the fuse box (and I didn't have a full set of tools at the time.)

I might try doing that, but now that I figured out how to remove the HVAC controls and the center trim, I might just grab the switched 12v from the cigarette lighter. If I'm not mistaken, the radio gets all of its 'real' power from the 12v 'battery' (constant) line, which is why it is a slightly thicker wire. The switched 12v is just used as a signal to turn the radio on or off, and therefore it shouldn't draw much current at all... nevertheless, I have a wire with an inline 10A fuse that I'll probably use.

Well, I seem to have gotten it working (at least for now), so I'll post my solution for posterity's sake.

I pulled the radio and the extra DIN pocket I was using. I ended up pulling the HVAC panel as well, which as it turns out wasn't entirely necessary, but it sure made it easier to work. I reached around to the back of the cigarette lighter and just pulled the connector off. It's one of those spade-connector type fits, so it can easily be reconnected without worrying about pulling the cigarette lighter. I spliced a wire (with a fuse, just to be safe) to the black-with-white-stripe wire (but use your multimeter to be sure... you're not screwing with your car's electronics without a multimeter, are you? ;) ) When I hooked it all back up, it worked!