89 CRX Wiring problems...HELP

July 21st I had a radio installed in my car...everything was running fine no problems except I have my fan hooked to a toggle switch and anytime the toggle switch is on I'm getting feedback through AM and FM bands. I can deal with that as long as the damn thing works right? Well about 2 or 3 weeks ago my car just wouldnt start. It's done it before and It's due to lack of connection with the battery cables. So I borrowed a car and let mine sit for a few weeks till I could get around to fixing it. Well yesterday I put the new battery cables on and boom fired right up. Only now my headlights are extremely dim along with the interior lights. Thats the first problem that needs fixing. I'm thinking the alternator but why would it go bad just sitting you know? Then theres the NEW problem with the radio. Every time I turn on the fan for my ac/heater the radio turns off for 2 or 3 seconds. I'm traced it to the problem and it is in fact the fan. All the other buttons dont cause a problem (changing the air flow from head to feet or turning the ac on/off). I'm figuring it's a short somewhere but it's odd that it would just happen to short out just sitting there and why does the radio not STAY off when the fan is on. Any type of help or 2 cents worth would be greatly appreciated. If I dont get this thing fixed soon I'm gonna push it off a cliff.

Have you checked the flux capacitor?

oh god not this again

check all the wiring, if possible using a multimeter. see if there are no broken, deisolated, etc cables.
try a different battery, see what happens to the lights if you rev the engine.
it could be a lot of things, but i'm guessing faulty wiring.

The car is a wiring nightmare. Theres no telling how many wires are frayed and what not. I know it's not the wiring on the cd player because it's all new. Right now I have it pretty much torn into a million pieces. I know it's getting juice or else it wouldnt be running at all. I'm just so damned frustrated with that thing. "I wish I would have never invented that infernal time machine".

I'm also leaning toward the cliff idea for my own project. Seriously though, it sounds like your wire to the fan switch is too close to the radio antenna cable and causing feedback. You can A) shield the wires, B) put a noise capacitor on the fan wires, or C) the best option, use a relay instead of running power directly throught the switch. A lot safer than running all that amperage around the cabin and through a switch, and it sounds like it is sending a voltage spike or drain that momentarily kicks off the radio. Relay should fix that. You can poke around on the12volt.com for some good tech info to get you started. Is it the cooling fan or HVAC fan? As far as the other stuff, did it start before or after the radio install? If after, take it back to the place that put it in. If before, your best bet is to take it to someone that knows those cars so they can put their hands on it. It is awfully hard to diagnose all those problems over the internet. How old is the alternator? A bad connection to the battery could put more strain on it. And being an 89, see if you have an internal or external voltage regulator. If external, it is a lot cheaper and easier to replace (to track down the problem) than an alternator. Good luck.

I appreciate that nr2 I'll take a look at that website and see what I cant find. It's the cooling fan hooked to the toggle switch thats causing the feedback in the AM/FM bands. It's the ac fan that causing the radio to cut off. I'll try that site and see what I can find. Since I'm getting so much help here why dont you guys check out my whos that girl thread and see what you can do heres the link http://www.whatboyswant.com/forum_read/3849601/1/10

Quote:

Originally posted by Honda_X

Have you checked the flux capacitor?

I assure everyone the flux capacitor is working the tilt up wheels now bend down and I got the top of old biffs cane out from when he went to talk to young biff