Why won't my headunit work?

Question

I have a setup in my 1996 chevy cavalier that has: 2 polk audio 3.5" speakers, 2 boss audio 6X9 speakers, all together 200w running to a 200w 2 channel amp. I also have 2 MTX 7500's strapped by a kenwood 1800w amplifier that runs 450w rms to each. The question is, why won't my headunit turn on? The amps are on and lights are green, and all fuses are replaced and brand new with none being fried or damaged. The red stand-by light is on for my dvd player, and all wires are hooked up, but it won't turn on. What's the problem?

Answer 1

make sure you have at least 11.5 volts to the red and yellow power wire of the new stereo . If you do then its just a defective unit. Also see if there is a rest button on the face of the radio. Most radios have that feature.

Answer 2

I agree with J, the light would only indicate the constant wire has power. The 12v switched needs to have power when the key is on, this triggers the unit to turn on. You either don't have it connected, or the fuse is blown for that circuit.

Answer 3

(It might be helpful if you mentioned the brand and style headunit you have...it's the only part you left out)

Well, you might have a problem with the power button. It just might be worn or dirty underneath the part you press and it isn't making contact with the circuit board. Does that make sense to you? Also, since you didn't mention what type of headunit you have it makes it difficult to speculate but if you have a detachable faceplate model this definitely could be your problem.

The light that you said is still on most likely won't give you any indication about the status of the headunit other than your constant power wire is connected and good. Usually, lights like that one as well any wiring connected to the headunit that supplies memory power are the same wiring but not the wiring that supplies the actual power to the headunit. Did you check the inline fuse that leads directly to the headunit? It would probably be on the red wire or the wire that is controlled by the ignition switch. This would be the power wire that is only live when your car is switched on. The fuse for this is often overlooked as it is sometimes not as easily accessed like the wiring for your amps might be.

I guess the last thing might be the power supply for your headunit itself could be bad. The red light on your unit would possible still light up but if the power supply is bad the headunit will not power on. The probably isn't your potential problem but you can never be sure.

I hope my answer helps you out!