Orange radio wire
 

I've isolated the reason why my radio/amp doesn't have power. I'll cut to the chase.
I checked all fuses (intact) and multiple wiring diagrams.
The white wire (power) for the amp doesn't have power, but I'm 90% sure its powered from the problem orange wire.
The orange doesn't have power at the amp or radio, but does at the diagnostic port (I think they share the same orange wire).
I occasionally get a good shock when opening my doors, leading me to think of a decent size short.
The problem: everything is behind the dang dash and I have big hands.:eek:
Does the diagnostic port share the same orange as the radio ? wiring diagrams are kinda vague when they say "orn". I can post up the diagrams, if they'd help.

thanks for any help
-Scott

the wiring was checked with key in acc. All checking was done with a known ground and verified w/ the accessory orange as a known good power source, so its not the test light.

I looked at the connectors in the shop book to check out some circuit info for you.
Orange power wire on the diagnostics port is circuit 2140.
According to the connector for the radio, it has two orange wires:
Pin A1 - Circuit 1044 - Radio Class 2 Serial Data
Pin B1 - Circuit 2640 - Battery Positive Voltage

But, you have a problem in your info. You state that a white wire for power to your amp is dead. Power for the amp is on 2 different orange wires, both part of circuit 2640.
The amp has one white wire for Antenna Enable Signal on pin B5 and then pin D (on the other connector) a white wire for Left Rear Speaker Output (-).

This information is per the connector pin outs in the GM shop manual for an '05 Monte.

Thanks for your help thus far. I found both oranges behind the stereo.

I misread my wiring diagrams. I later checked all of the amp pins for giggles, none of them had power with ignition in off and acc.

Here's what I tried today:
For the radio:
Here is a picture of the wire I think is shorted somewhere.

It's the one isolated by the orange zip tie.

<img src="https://rabsrq.dm2303.livefilestore.com/y3mhHHGNC5asIdvEmkEtw2jdBEyYfMMOJnMmlsdL8ZJfmTnNwz 3nRTh9lp-U8Fx9PlC0LSwxCIYU3wFMyTPFhRDfCp56PBdL_ay0VVDhgbf_x EblZSfH-XC-_pdyRM2C5hCxBcDPUpXk5gPw63oubAnFt2OvEegnS6diIbkD6A ldfs?width=768&height=1024&cropmode=none" width="768" height="1024" />

it's the pin in the right corner

<img src="https://radtuq.dm2303.livefilestore.com/y3mJYJZWaFmi_IG6zsWUL23xffWlMOmmKA915dXcUv08OaGZ2p U1GvSuFRTd6jQYVVc0aGupPnygZ_MpJqUejmeARtCh_Q2YtcXw 2h6TZrS1Qp4W5Hprk7UhbPAPUr1STRkwolaQov6ADo2U2L2wX9 snX2BOaiYjqS-o4Flu5gNhkE?width=768&height=1024&cropmode=none" width="768" height="1024" />

I connected a voltmeter to ground and checked voltage across the wires. I got 0.5V on the wire in question (both in acc and off ignition), and nothing in the other orange wire. I checked the accessory power and got roughly 12.74. Feeling something was fishy, I checked continuity and resistance. The radio orange in the picture has a very high resistance with ground continuity with ignition off. Does this mean there is a short ? Or was I being a goof and looking at the serial data wire ?

-scott

I was doing some thinking, is it possible the used ignition switch I put in is causing the issue ? I may try my old (drilled) one to see if the condition improves. I know a bad switch can cause all sorts of funky stuff.

It would require following the circuit back, so at this point, anything is possible. People have had weird issues with the ignition switch failing.

I'll try the old switch next week, it's back home. Is the BCM involved with the radio at all? I wanna rule everything out before ripping at the dash. For now playing music on my phone suffices, but I wanna upgrade the radio shortly. Hard to change songs mid drive :eek:

Is the orange simply a power? Would splicing in a power to orange be kosher ?
I don't care about the amp long term, I'm going to install a real amp for my new speakers. I just don't want a possible live short hiding in the dash, that actually scares me a little.

By chance, do you know if there are any fusible links involved with the radio or amp circuits ?

The Radio and the BCM do communicate with each other (part of that has to do with the anti-theft system).

To my knowledge, the orange is simply battery power. Personally, I am not a fan of splicing factory wiring to fix a problem when you don't know the root cause of the problem.

As for a fusable link somewhere, I am not sure if there are any beyond the fuse panel.

Have you checked under passenger seat? There is a bundle of wires running under carpet. The orange wire is spliced together there. That what problem was in my 05 when I first bought it and the radio didn't work.

I checked the wiring beside the passenger seat, not directly under it. I fixed the splices that were located in front of the rear sear. Both the black and orange ones were beginning to corrode pretty badly. I temporarily wire nutted them for quick diagnostic purposes. Once I get this problem rectified, they'll get soldered and heat shrink.

Today, while connecting a bluetooth obd2 reader, I discovered that my ECU doesn't have power. The elm327 was confirmed to work in the equinox.

Does the ECU receive power from the same orange wire as the radio ? I may have time to play with the ignition switch tomorrow. I hope it's the issue, I really don't want dig deep into the dash.

would alldata show a more detailed location of these wires ? I free access to wiring diagrams from bbb industries website, which are fine, but don't have a specific location listed.

I'm going to need more help finding the issue. I just got done changing the ignition switch with a spare just to rule it out, no dice... Everything works just the same as the other one... and the radio still doesn't.

Does any one have any suggestions before I go elbows deep in my dash ? Cause I really, really don't want to!

One more thing I'm willing to admit...
I accidentally jumped two wires I shouldn't have while trying to bypass the amp, and... they arced. I had power to radio at the time, but no sound except static coming from speakers... now no power coming to radio (but atleast no static noise, it bothered me more than silence) It's not a radio issue because it's not getting power. I really think there's a hidden breaker or fusible link or fuse somewhere that I blew, but I don't wanna play where's waldo without knowing what waldo looks like.


If I don't get this rectified in a couple of weeks, I'm going to try to find the beginning of the wire and perform a bypass to see if it corrects the problem. I know it's not ideal but, it'd remove my short...


Does the Obd port receive power from the same source as the radio, because neither seem to be getting any...

Anyone have any ideas ?

Many thanks!!