98 A4 - won't start with new radio
 

My son wasn't happy with his factory Bose system so he has begun to
build a new system.

The local 'Boomer Mcloud's' sold him a VW wiring harness and told him
that the 20 pin connector on his system was just for the CD changer-
and that this harness would work. So he dilligently soldered all the
wires to his new deck, plugged things in and had a deck that lit up,
appeared to work, but put out no sound.

The car would start at this point.

There were a bunch of speaker ground wires from the new deck that were
not connected to anything- and he grounded them to the chassis to see
if that would give him sound. It didn't -- but the car quit starting.
It turns over fine, but doesn't fire. It's in the driveway & it's
been raining for days so I haven't even popped to hood to see if it
has fire or gas.

Shortly after we saw the pinout diagrams on the old deck that showed
the speakers on the 20 pin plug-- went to Circuit City- got hooked up
& now he has a stereo-- but he can only listen to it in the driveway.

Any thoughts on what we might have screwed up during the install of
the stereo? It seems like an unlikely co-incidence that something
else failed as we were working on it. [Though it was started and
turned off several times in succession as he tried different things to
try to get sound from his speakers.]

Thanks,
Jim
Son's Car;
98 A4 Quattro

Re: 98 A4 - won't start with new radio
 

"Jim Elbrecht" <elbrecht@email.com> wrote in message
news:g37qk15enjs710gp5as0oem9acu4ecqn6d@4ax.com...
> My son wasn't happy with his factory Bose system so he has begun to
> build a new system.
>
> The local 'Boomer Mcloud's' sold him a VW wiring harness and told him
> that the 20 pin connector on his system was just for the CD changer-
> and that this harness would work. So he dilligently soldered all the
> wires to his new deck, plugged things in and had a deck that lit up,
> appeared to work, but put out no sound.
>
> The car would start at this point.
>
> There were a bunch of speaker ground wires from the new deck that were
> not connected to anything- and he grounded them to the chassis to see
> if that would give him sound. It didn't -- but the car quit starting.
> It turns over fine, but doesn't fire. It's in the driveway & it's
> been raining for days so I haven't even popped to hood to see if it
> has fire or gas.
>
> Shortly after we saw the pinout diagrams on the old deck that showed
> the speakers on the 20 pin plug-- went to Circuit City- got hooked up
> & now he has a stereo-- but he can only listen to it in the driveway.
>
> Any thoughts on what we might have screwed up during the install of
> the stereo? It seems like an unlikely co-incidence that something
> else failed as we were working on it. [Though it was started and
> turned off several times in succession as he tried different things to
> try to get sound from his speakers.]
>
> Thanks,
> Jim
> Son's Car;
> 98 A4 Quattro

Hmmm

Firstly he should have just got a normal ISO wiring harness for the Audi,
that way no soldering etc needed to take place, as for the starting problem
I would suggest it's not related but you never know, did he cut any other
wires that were behind the dash?

The stereo would not normally have anything to do with starting the car, I
know it is connected to the alarm so it's feasible that it is now
immobilised, does the car turn over ok and just not fire? is the key symbol
flashing or constantly on the dash display?

Re: 98 A4 - won't start with new radio
 

"Jim Elbrecht" <elbrecht@email.com> wrote in message
news:g37qk15enjs710gp5as0oem9acu4ecqn6d@4ax.com...
> My son wasn't happy with his factory Bose system so he has begun to
> build a new system.
>
> The local 'Boomer Mcloud's' sold him a VW wiring harness and told him
> that the 20 pin connector on his system was just for the CD changer-
> and that this harness would work. So he dilligently soldered all the
> wires to his new deck, plugged things in and had a deck that lit up,
> appeared to work, but put out no sound.
>
> The car would start at this point.
>
> There were a bunch of speaker ground wires from the new deck that were
> not connected to anything- and he grounded them to the chassis to see
> if that would give him sound. It didn't -- but the car quit starting.
> It turns over fine, but doesn't fire. It's in the driveway & it's
> been raining for days so I haven't even popped to hood to see if it
> has fire or gas.
>
> Shortly after we saw the pinout diagrams on the old deck that showed
> the speakers on the 20 pin plug-- went to Circuit City- got hooked up
> & now he has a stereo-- but he can only listen to it in the driveway.
>
> Any thoughts on what we might have screwed up during the install of
> the stereo? It seems like an unlikely co-incidence that something
> else failed as we were working on it. [Though it was started and
> turned off several times in succession as he tried different things to
> try to get sound from his speakers.]
>
> Thanks,
> Jim
> Son's Car;
> 98 A4 Quattro

Hmmm

Firstly he should have just got a normal ISO wiring harness for the Audi,
that way no soldering etc needed to take place, as for the starting problem
I would suggest it's not related but you never know, did he cut any other
wires that were behind the dash?

The stereo would not normally have anything to do with starting the car, I
know it is connected to the alarm so it's feasible that it is now
immobilised, does the car turn over ok and just not fire? is the key symbol
flashing or constantly on the dash display?

Re: 98 A4 - won't start with new radio
 

"Jim Elbrecht" <elbrecht@email.com> wrote in message
news:g37qk15enjs710gp5as0oem9acu4ecqn6d@4ax.com...
> My son wasn't happy with his factory Bose system so he has begun to
> build a new system.
>
> The local 'Boomer Mcloud's' sold him a VW wiring harness and told him
> that the 20 pin connector on his system was just for the CD changer-
> and that this harness would work. So he dilligently soldered all the
> wires to his new deck, plugged things in and had a deck that lit up,
> appeared to work, but put out no sound.
>
> The car would start at this point.
>
> There were a bunch of speaker ground wires from the new deck that were
> not connected to anything- and he grounded them to the chassis to see
> if that would give him sound. It didn't -- but the car quit starting.
> It turns over fine, but doesn't fire. It's in the driveway & it's
> been raining for days so I haven't even popped to hood to see if it
> has fire or gas.
>
> Shortly after we saw the pinout diagrams on the old deck that showed
> the speakers on the 20 pin plug-- went to Circuit City- got hooked up
> & now he has a stereo-- but he can only listen to it in the driveway.
>
> Any thoughts on what we might have screwed up during the install of
> the stereo? It seems like an unlikely co-incidence that something
> else failed as we were working on it. [Though it was started and
> turned off several times in succession as he tried different things to
> try to get sound from his speakers.]
>
> Thanks,
> Jim
> Son's Car;
> 98 A4 Quattro

Hmmm

Firstly he should have just got a normal ISO wiring harness for the Audi,
that way no soldering etc needed to take place, as for the starting problem
I would suggest it's not related but you never know, did he cut any other
wires that were behind the dash?

The stereo would not normally have anything to do with starting the car, I
know it is connected to the alarm so it's feasible that it is now
immobilised, does the car turn over ok and just not fire? is the key symbol
flashing or constantly on the dash display?

Re: 98 A4 - won't start with new radio
 

"Ronny" <admin@1337hosts.com> wrote:

-snip-

>Firstly he should have just got a normal ISO wiring harness for the Audi,
>that way no soldering etc needed to take place,

The soldering was all from the new deck to the harness-- I warned him
not to touch the stock wiring as the 98 has some OBD stuff in it & we
might need to plug the old radio back in to pass an emissions
inspection.

> as for the starting problem
>I would suggest it's not related but you never know, did he cut any other
>wires that were behind the dash?

Not on purpose, but things have been known to get jiggled loose.
>
>The stereo would not normally have anything to do with starting the car, I
>know it is connected to the alarm so it's feasible that it is now
>immobilised, does the car turn over ok and just not fire? is the key symbol
>flashing or constantly on the dash display?

Turns over fine. [new battery] But doesn't fire at all. I don't see
any key symbol on the dash.

Thanks- When the rain stops [Sunday?] I'll start troubleshooting
it. I was hoping it would be a simple & common problem.

Jim

Re: 98 A4 - won't start with new radio
 

"Ronny" <admin@1337hosts.com> wrote:

-snip-

>Firstly he should have just got a normal ISO wiring harness for the Audi,
>that way no soldering etc needed to take place,

The soldering was all from the new deck to the harness-- I warned him
not to touch the stock wiring as the 98 has some OBD stuff in it & we
might need to plug the old radio back in to pass an emissions
inspection.

> as for the starting problem
>I would suggest it's not related but you never know, did he cut any other
>wires that were behind the dash?

Not on purpose, but things have been known to get jiggled loose.
>
>The stereo would not normally have anything to do with starting the car, I
>know it is connected to the alarm so it's feasible that it is now
>immobilised, does the car turn over ok and just not fire? is the key symbol
>flashing or constantly on the dash display?

Turns over fine. [new battery] But doesn't fire at all. I don't see
any key symbol on the dash.

Thanks- When the rain stops [Sunday?] I'll start troubleshooting
it. I was hoping it would be a simple & common problem.

Jim

Re: 98 A4 - won't start with new radio
 

"Ronny" <admin@1337hosts.com> wrote:

-snip-

>Firstly he should have just got a normal ISO wiring harness for the Audi,
>that way no soldering etc needed to take place,

The soldering was all from the new deck to the harness-- I warned him
not to touch the stock wiring as the 98 has some OBD stuff in it & we
might need to plug the old radio back in to pass an emissions
inspection.

> as for the starting problem
>I would suggest it's not related but you never know, did he cut any other
>wires that were behind the dash?

Not on purpose, but things have been known to get jiggled loose.
>
>The stereo would not normally have anything to do with starting the car, I
>know it is connected to the alarm so it's feasible that it is now
>immobilised, does the car turn over ok and just not fire? is the key symbol
>flashing or constantly on the dash display?

Turns over fine. [new battery] But doesn't fire at all. I don't see
any key symbol on the dash.

Thanks- When the rain stops [Sunday?] I'll start troubleshooting
it. I was hoping it would be a simple & common problem.

Jim

Re: 98 A4 - won't start with new radio
 

"Jim Elbrecht" <elbrecht@email.com> wrote in message
news:bhmqk1h3ahq0rb9h8efd1ciqo4q5f9j4v8@4ax.com...
> "Ronny" <admin@1337hosts.com> wrote:
>
> -snip-
>
>>Firstly he should have just got a normal ISO wiring harness for the Audi,
>>that way no soldering etc needed to take place,
>
> The soldering was all from the new deck to the harness-- I warned him
> not to touch the stock wiring as the 98 has some OBD stuff in it & we
> might need to plug the old radio back in to pass an emissions
> inspection.

There should be no soldering required, the new deck (kenwood/Alpine/Sony
etc) all have their own ISO harness you can buy for around 25 quid ($50) you
just plug that into the new deck and the 2 x plugs you pulled from the old
stereo. The only problem with B5 A4's is the harness tends to be wired
different so you have to reverse the yellow and red wire.


>> as for the starting problem
>>I would suggest it's not related but you never know, did he cut any other
>>wires that were behind the dash?
>
> Not on purpose, but things have been known to get jiggled loose.
>>
>>The stereo would not normally have anything to do with starting the car, I
>>know it is connected to the alarm so it's feasible that it is now
>>immobilised, does the car turn over ok and just not fire? is the key
>>symbol
>>flashing or constantly on the dash display?
>
> Turns over fine. [new battery] But doesn't fire at all. I don't see
> any key symbol on the dash.
>
> Thanks- When the rain stops [Sunday?] I'll start troubleshooting
> it. I was hoping it would be a simple & common problem.
>
> Jim
>

I would put the old stereo back in and start from scratch, or ask an Auto
Electrician to sort it out, sounds like your son has been fiddling a bit too
much :)

Re: 98 A4 - won't start with new radio
 

"Jim Elbrecht" <elbrecht@email.com> wrote in message
news:bhmqk1h3ahq0rb9h8efd1ciqo4q5f9j4v8@4ax.com...
> "Ronny" <admin@1337hosts.com> wrote:
>
> -snip-
>
>>Firstly he should have just got a normal ISO wiring harness for the Audi,
>>that way no soldering etc needed to take place,
>
> The soldering was all from the new deck to the harness-- I warned him
> not to touch the stock wiring as the 98 has some OBD stuff in it & we
> might need to plug the old radio back in to pass an emissions
> inspection.

There should be no soldering required, the new deck (kenwood/Alpine/Sony
etc) all have their own ISO harness you can buy for around 25 quid ($50) you
just plug that into the new deck and the 2 x plugs you pulled from the old
stereo. The only problem with B5 A4's is the harness tends to be wired
different so you have to reverse the yellow and red wire.


>> as for the starting problem
>>I would suggest it's not related but you never know, did he cut any other
>>wires that were behind the dash?
>
> Not on purpose, but things have been known to get jiggled loose.
>>
>>The stereo would not normally have anything to do with starting the car, I
>>know it is connected to the alarm so it's feasible that it is now
>>immobilised, does the car turn over ok and just not fire? is the key
>>symbol
>>flashing or constantly on the dash display?
>
> Turns over fine. [new battery] But doesn't fire at all. I don't see
> any key symbol on the dash.
>
> Thanks- When the rain stops [Sunday?] I'll start troubleshooting
> it. I was hoping it would be a simple & common problem.
>
> Jim
>

I would put the old stereo back in and start from scratch, or ask an Auto
Electrician to sort it out, sounds like your son has been fiddling a bit too
much :)

Re: 98 A4 - won't start with new radio
 

"Jim Elbrecht" <elbrecht@email.com> wrote in message
news:bhmqk1h3ahq0rb9h8efd1ciqo4q5f9j4v8@4ax.com...
> "Ronny" <admin@1337hosts.com> wrote:
>
> -snip-
>
>>Firstly he should have just got a normal ISO wiring harness for the Audi,
>>that way no soldering etc needed to take place,
>
> The soldering was all from the new deck to the harness-- I warned him
> not to touch the stock wiring as the 98 has some OBD stuff in it & we
> might need to plug the old radio back in to pass an emissions
> inspection.

There should be no soldering required, the new deck (kenwood/Alpine/Sony
etc) all have their own ISO harness you can buy for around 25 quid ($50) you
just plug that into the new deck and the 2 x plugs you pulled from the old
stereo. The only problem with B5 A4's is the harness tends to be wired
different so you have to reverse the yellow and red wire.


>> as for the starting problem
>>I would suggest it's not related but you never know, did he cut any other
>>wires that were behind the dash?
>
> Not on purpose, but things have been known to get jiggled loose.
>>
>>The stereo would not normally have anything to do with starting the car, I
>>know it is connected to the alarm so it's feasible that it is now
>>immobilised, does the car turn over ok and just not fire? is the key
>>symbol
>>flashing or constantly on the dash display?
>
> Turns over fine. [new battery] But doesn't fire at all. I don't see
> any key symbol on the dash.
>
> Thanks- When the rain stops [Sunday?] I'll start troubleshooting
> it. I was hoping it would be a simple & common problem.
>
> Jim
>

I would put the old stereo back in and start from scratch, or ask an Auto
Electrician to sort it out, sounds like your son has been fiddling a bit too
much :)