weird electical issues

[puck]

I installed a new antenna power assembly today after my last one was broken by a mechanic trying to remove the mast (this all started when my girlfriend drove my car through a car wash with the antenna up). I've, unfortunately, run into many odd problems with other electrical systems since installing the new unit.

There is a three wire connector that connects to the OEM assemby made of a black, a green/orange and a yellow/red wire. The black is ground. The yellow/red is 12 volts from radio and is powered when the radio is on. The green/orange looks like it comes directly from the battery based on the wiring diagrams.

The antenna assembly I installed is the common one sold on ebay that others have mentioned on this forum. I matched up the wires on it with the ones from the car and spiced them together as is instructed with the manual that it came with.

Now I have multiple electrical problems, even after I disconnect all the wiring done above.

1. the bose unit is always off when the car is put in acc or on. (it should return to its previous state)

2. every time the car is turned off, the stations programed into the radios memory are gone.

3. the temperature control module is off every time the car is restarted (it should return to the state it was in prior to the car being turned off)

4. my wireless remote to open and lock the car doors no longer works

5. I can not open the trunk with the wireless remote.

In addition, the new assembly did not work when it was all hooked up.

I'm at a total loss as to why this happened and what to do next. There could be other things too, this is all I have noticed so far. Any input would be greatly appreciated. I've check all the fuses for the antenna and radio - all seem to be fine. What am I missing here?

[Infinitiguy19]

Did you replace the antenna or the entire assembly?

If you replaced the antenna assembly with a non OEM one then your bound to have problems. But make sure that you plugged the grounds in.

[puck]

Yes, I did replace the entire assembly. It is not OEM but others have used it successfully so I'm not sure that is the problem especially since I've completely disconnected it and returned everything to its previous state and I still have all these problems. I made sure it was grounded exactly as was instructed in the manual and tested to make sure it was grounded as well.

[puck]

Does anyone have a wiring diagram for the bose head unit? I've reviewed all the wiring diagrams for the car and the problems I'm having don't make sense unless there is a fuse or relay of some sort for the green/orange line in the head unit (or if there is a fuse or relay for this wire that is just omitted from the diagrams). The fuse for this line under the dash is intact and receiving voltage. However, at the assembly in the trunk it is not giving a voltage. Something went amiss in between.

[Infinitiguy19]

I would put in the OEM antenna assembly and just get a new antenna. What was wrong with the original antenna assembly?

J30 service manual: http://Nicoclub.com/FSM

[puck]

Perhaps you are not understanding. I would do that at this point if that is all that was wrong. The radio and power control units now lose their memory whenever the car is off. My wireless entry and trunk opener no longer work despite disconnecting everything. That is, installing an OEM assembly at this point would not correct any of these things and personally these are much larger issues than the antenna ever was.

I already have the FSM you linked to. I need something more specific for the BOSE radio, I think. As best I can tell, somewhere after fuse 13, there is a disconnection in the green/orange line which is an always on 12v line for the radio and antenna assembly (and possibly a few other things - the manual is inconsistent about what it powers). Fuse #13 in my car works fine and is receiving voltage. Somewhere after this point, on this same line, a fuse or something is damaged but there are no documented fuses or relays after fuse #13 which is under the drivers side dash board. I'm wondering if there is a fuse in the actual radio. I'm not sure. The FSM documentation leaves out some details as to where this wire goes and how it gets there.

I just had my step-father who is both a mechanic and electrician go though all the diagrams with me and he eventually came to the same conclusion. I guess I'll be pulling out radio and dash and figuring this out on my own.

[Infinitiguy19]

Does the clock keep time? If not then look at the backup battery circuit or something...I don't remember what its called but its in the service manual.

[puck]

Yes! That is the same circuit I am looking at. The problem is the fuse under the dash is fine and the circuit is getting voltage up to that point. It is losing voltage at some point after the fuse but before the radio/clock/temperature control and power antenna. The horn is on the same circuit and working fine.

The diagrams do not show any other fuses or relays after the fuse in the dash. I'd like to know if there are any likely points of failure in this part of the circuit (fuse, ect) that I should be looking at (that I'm missing on the diagram are just aren't documented) first before i just start on a fishing expedition.

[Infinitiguy19]

I have no idea to be honest but I assume this all worked fine before you replaced the assembly right?

But I would retrace my steps or follow the service manual really good. I would help you more but I have my own electrical problem to deal with and I don't want to get distracted, Sorry.

[puck]

Everything worked fine before this. I practically have the diagrams memorized at this point. There is nothing there. That is why I had an electrician/mechanic look it over and he came to the same conclusion I did. I'll be taking the dash apart once I get a day off.

[Infinitiguy19]

Try putting in the old unit as it seems like the logical conclusion. But I really think you may have missed a ground or something.

[puck]

I'm sorry but your not understanding the problem. besides i did try that before I sat down and looked at all the diagrams to make sense of it all. it didn't work. the green/org line should always haev 12volts. it doesn't. reconnecting the old unit will not fix that problem.

[Infinitiguy19]

I am out of ideas and I would have to study the FSM a little more to see what it might be.

But if you want you can talk to me at 978-903-0201.

[puck]

In case anyone is interested, I did fix the problem without tearing the dash out. The good news it was a relatively easy fix. The bad news is I can't really explain what actually went wrong because I did not take the dash apart. My best guess though is that when I cut the wires the the connector that goes to the power assembly, I did all of them at the same time. I believe I shorted the circuit and a fuse or another protective device tripped (that is not documented in the FSM) or, perhaps, a portion of the wire melted. I'm fairly sure this is what happened because the green/orange wire never gave 12 volts after I cut it so something was wrong long before I actually hooked up the new assembly. Lesson learned, only cut one wire at the time and disconnect the battery before hand (both of which I knew but in my hurry to finish decided not to).

In any case, to get around the break in the circuit I spliced a new wire into circuit 13 (backup circuit) after the fuse under the dash. Thus the circuit remains entirely behind the intended fuse. I ran the new wire to the trunk and connected it to the green/orange wire which is also part of #13 (backup circuit). Essentially, I just bypassed the break in the circuit without tearing out the dash. Everything seems to work fine now, including the non-OEM power antenna assembly, wireless remote, clock, ect, ect. If anything goes wrong as a result of this configuration, I'll post about it but things are looking good.
Modified by puck at 12:16 PM 11/19/2009