hey, i have a 1988 civic hatch dx. ive installed cd players before and did the usual this time but a couple this threw me for a loop..

first the cd player did not fit in the alloted space.. there is a metal bracket that stops it from going all the way back ( about 2 inches hangs out). its strange because the previous owner said he had a cd player in there.. it just was stolen. are some cd players different sizes? should I just cut the bracket or try and bent it out the way so it fits?

the second issue: i hooked it up and left it jutting out a couple inches anyway just to make sure it worked... all worked well until i turned the car off and took the key out and the damn cd player is still playing. is this normal? is it a 1988 honda dx thing? or is there some strange alteration i need to do when connecting the wire harness ( i.e not connect something?)

thanks for all your help.

 

I've never messed with that particular car so can't comment on the first issue.

Are you sure you don't have the switched power connected to a constant power source? That would allow the CD player to keep playing.

 

im pretty sure I color matched everything, but if that is the ONLY way this problem could be occurring ill gladly check again.

 

It could be a bad H/U or something else I guess but I'd double check that for sure. Especially if it's easy to get out like it sounds like it might be since you don't have it all the way in.

 

yea right now its just sitting in my back seat. only crappy thing is its all tapped up but its worth checking.

 

There should be 2 power wire for the head unit and two power sources from the car.
A constant 12v source and a 12v ACC wire. It sounds like you have the constant 12v source wired to both the power inputs for the HU causing it to stay on all the time.

 

okay ill recheck the wiring, any word on the fact that it doesn't fit? should i just cut that metal bracket ?

 

okay i checked my wiring and all i can see is yes I have the constant ( yellow thicker wire) on the adapter harness hooked to the same thick yellow 12v wire coming from the H/U BUT there isn't any other power wires... just the one thick yellow on both the adapter harness and the H/U

 

there is a red wire on the adapter and h/h harness that reads 12 volt ignition switch. that is connected to the other red wire on the h/u harness.. should i not have it connected to the red? or should i just not have the yellow connected at all ?

 

does anyone know if i need both the yellow/constant battery wire and the red 12v battery wire hooked up ? or just one?

 

You need both of them hooked up, the yellow wire is the constant(gets 12v even with the radio turned off at all times) and the red is accessory(gets 12v when the key is turned to acc)

 

That red wire is the one that should make it cut off when you cut your ignition off. I was thinking maybe you had the red and yellow connected to the same wire but it doesn't sound like you do.

 

no they are connected to their corrosponding wires of the same color.

 

ive been told to test the wires and see what happens. im not so sure how to use the diode tester that came in the kit i bought. its like a pointy thing that plugs into the cigarette lighter. i know im supposed to pierce the insulation of the wire and see what happens. Some wires light up blue and others red.... what does that mean? i don't have the key in the ignition when im doing this. i was told that id be able to see which wires are getting charge and which aren't. I just don't know what the blue and red is supposed to correlate too, and what to do once i find out what wires aren't working.

 

Thats true go get a multi meter and test and make sure the red wire is only having power when you turn the ignition on not all the time. Also same for yellow only it should constantly have power even when the ignition is off. I've never messed much with the just the testers that have a light that lights up when it has power. They look simple as in you just hook it to a ground and touch the wire. I have always used a multi meter. Just turn it on to the right mode and stick the black one to a bolt or something thats grounded and stick the red one on the power wire and see what the meter tells you.

 

i have tested the red and yellow wires and it turns on that by pulling the key out a millimeter before where i normally would, when turning off the car, i can make the red wire go off, and by turning the key all the down like i normally would when turning off the car the red wire stays on. so it must be something with my ignition. any idea what part in the ignition switch could be causing this problem?