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Need help after installing radio

LedXJ99

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Burnsville
Hi everyone, first off I apologize if this is t the right spot for this; first time XJ owner and first time posting. I recently bought a 99 XJ that was in fairly good condition. Very minimal rust, mechanically sound, outside the normal oil drip and completely stock. So I am excited to have a project to make my own. Now this isn’t a daily driver and I wasn’t looking to drop a grand in stereo, just upgrade the factory. So I installed an advanced auto $50 single din that has blue tooth and replaced the front door speakers. My issue is this, after replacing the stock radio and passenger speaker I hooked the battery back up to test it. When I did the horn started blaring and I heard the door locks cycle. Immediately disconnected the power and scratched my head. I used a wire harness for my XJ and didn’t splice or cut any other wires. Went ahead and finished the driver speaker and still same thing. I put the power back on and I hear the locks cycle and the horn just honks. Any suggestions?
 
Aftermarket remote start or security system ?

Failure of drivers door and tailgate wire harness is very common, and often leads to 12 volts positive short circuiting to other wires in the wire harness or to ground. Assuming the install was done correctly, I would begin with a visual inspection of both the door wire harnesses and some basic voltage and continuity testing of the door wire harness.


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No aftermarket remote start or security system that I can tell. Didn’t come with fobs just two factory keys. Also from what I was able to tell I’m only the 3rd owner, second being the mom and pop car shop I bought it off of. I wired everything right, followed the wiring diagram as stated, plus matching red to red, orange to orange etc is kinda hard to mess up I’d think. I did put an interior panel back on the lift gate, it didn’t have one and the wires and such were just zip tied to it. Problem started prior to removing driver door panel and worked fine before installation of radio. I’ll have to dive into the tailgate wiring and see if I did something there. Thanks for giving me some direction to start in.
 
Not sure if this will work, but you can try it.

I know my example is not an XJ, but it's worth a try.

I have a 93 F250, and every time I disconnect and reconnect the battery, the alarm goes off. All I do is insert the key into the ignition and turn it on. Don't start the vehicle, just turn the key to on. It immediately turns the alarm off and everything works as normal after that.

I don't have the fobs for this truck either and never use the alarm, but it does it every time regardless. Yours sounds like an alarm issue to me.
 
Thanks I’ll give that a try as well when I get home tomorrow. When I do start the Jeep she does kind of sputter and stagger which she didn’t do before. So maybe anti theft is an issue. 🤷🏼*♂️ I’ll try that check harnesses and advise you fine folks what happens.I don’t mind pulling the fuse for the horn and rolling without it but it’s the fear of parasitic load and killing my battery that worries me. Thanks again.
 
Well the key in run position didn’t help. Checked the driver side door harness and it appears to be in good shape. The tailgate was pretty bad with exposed wires so I reworked that harness. Alas still hear locks cycle and horn blows when battery is reconnected. I figured since this all started post radio install why not unhook it. So I I did my wire harness from factory wire harnesses and still same issue. I’m at a complete loss as to what to do.
 
I’m at a complete loss as to what to do./QUOTE]

Don't buy a stereo from Advanced when you could get a good for the same price and buy the wiring harness adapter (it's plug-n-play).
 
The wiring harness adapter I bought is plug and play. The “hooking it up” portion was from the aftermarket radio wires to the said harness. No cutting of factory wires happened. And again, after disconnecting the radio the problem persists.
 
Often poor installation workmanship is your first clue, loose wires running everywhere behind the dash, along with lots of black electrical tape, Walmart grade wire taps, and crimp-on butt connectors. The control unit will be very close to the steering column.


The wires in the door wire harness are good ?
 
Yes the wires in the driver harness appear in good shape. I pulled the boot back and examined it. I’ll pull the kick plates and go up under the dash in the driver side next day I’m at home and see if I can see any random wires that don’t look as though they should be there. I appreciate all the help everyone. Hopefully I can find something.
 
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