No constant power to radio

[Andr_burban]

The radio in our ‘97 K1500 suburban hasn’t worked since we got it. As in no power at all. Won’t turn on or display time. I’m trying to figure out why so I can fix it and get a working radio.

Ive pulled the radio out of the dash and found a pin out for the wiring.
What Ive determined:
-The fuse in the drivers side dash panel is good. (Number 17 if I remember correctly off the top of my head.)
-I get switched power (11.74v) to the radio. Yellow and black wires when the key is in any position other than off.
-The problem seems to be with constant power. I get nothing. No voltage to the Orange wire in any position including off and key out.

Has anyone else had and solved this problem?
Does anyone know what the cause could be and how to fix t?

Thank you in advance.

 

[east302]

So you have no voltage from cavity 10 (circuit 1140 power) to any ground?

If you have voltage to any chassis ground, then see if you have 12V or so across #10 and #5 (ground) to verify the radio's ground. If you have voltage across #10 and #5, then it's an issue with the radio itself.

If no voltage across #10 and any chassis ground, then it's an open in the wire between the radio and the fuse.

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[Eveready]

The factory radio craps out at an alarming rate so the big suspect would be capacitors in the power supply section of the radio. If you have no voltage on the constant power line it should not prevent the radio from working but it might keep it from lighting up and it might not retain station presets. A test would be to simply run a lead from the battery to the constant power connection or jump from switched power to constant power and turn on the key. Also verify the radio ground as East302 suggests above...again can be done with a jumper. My bet is that the radio itself is crapped out.

If the radio is shot a yard replacement is a crap shoot. In my opinion an aftermarket radio wired into the factory harness with an adapter is a better bet, better sound, will play CD's, will play Mp3's and will connect to your cel phone via bluetooth. I have those in my truck and my van and they really work great.

Also it is a good idea to test the speakers as those speakers fail and might be shot even if the radio works. When I started on my '93 I found that the voice coil was wide open on all four speakers. Not a peep could be heard from them. Test for that is a 9 volt battery applied across the speaker terminals. If the speaker works you will hear a click.

Personally I would go with an aftermarket and never look back. Here is what it looks like: The old radio hole is covered by a cubby that comes with the adapter kit. Some people install a GPS in the spot or a screen for a backup camera.

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[Andr_burban]

Thank you both. East302, where did you get those schematics?!? Ive been looking for the Factory Service manuals in digital format everywhere and can’t find them.

I will try your suggested procedure either tonight or tomorrow morning and post back my results. Thank you again

 

[east302]

It's from alldatadiy.com, a subscription is about $30/year. I'm not sure if it is the exact same as the factory manual, but it's close.




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[Andr_burban]

Ps. I forgot to be clear in my original post. But this is a ‘97 K1500 Suburban.

 

[HawkDsl]

This is late, but may help others;

I have a 89 K2500, and I too have no power for the orange (always hot for memory and clock). The truck has been in restoration for the past 12 years (when funds were available), and everything worked fine when I took it apart for a frame off. I didn't take anything apart under the dash. Just noticed this installing a new after market radio (like picture above from Eveready). My factory electronic diagram manual ( i was lucky to have bought all the Chevy factory manuals when I bought my GMT 400 new) has the orange wire (always hot) going to the 20a CTSY spot in the fuse box. In turn that power comes from "TR9" slots (two of them- one over top the other) from the convenience center (power block behind the emergency/parking brake pedal). The CTSY fuse powers the dome light, interior lights, and the cig lighter.

If the lights work, then there is a break in the orange wire to the radio. I'm about to hunt for mine soon.

 

[Eveready]

This is late, but may help others;

I have a 89 K2500, and I too have no power for the orange (always hot for memory and clock). The truck has been in restoration for the past 12 years (when funds were available), and everything worked fine when I took it apart for a frame off. I didn't take anything apart under the dash. Just noticed this installing a new after market radio (like picture above from Eveready). My factory electronic diagram manual ( i was lucky to have bought all the Chevy factory manuals when I bought my GMT 400 new) has the orange wire (always hot) going to the 20a CTSY spot in the fuse box. In turn that power comes from "TR9" slots (two of them- one over top the other) from the convenience center (power block behind the emergency/parking brake pedal). The CTSY fuse powers the dome light, interior lights, and the cig lighter.

If the lights work, then there is a break in the orange wire to the radio. I'm about to hunt for mine soon.

One thought about that. My '93 has a brake controller for towing. I don't use it but no telling where it gets power. My bet is that some have power issues caused by that wire being tapped or cut for a brake controller. In some cases the controller could be long gone but the wire still compromised. Worth looking at.

 

[HawkDsl]

O... In some cases the controller could be long gone but the wire still compromised. Worth looking at.

Sorry for the delayed reply; I'm the original buyer/owner of my truck.. never installed a trailer brake.. In fact the radio is the first electric upgrade ever for my ride.

What I found out was rather hilarious... The CTSY fuse was missing. I must have pulled it out some years ago, and just forgot all about it. I had half the wire guts hanging out looking for breaks when I traced it back to the fuse block. One of my finest "I'm and IDIOT!" moments of my life LOL. Anyway.. at least I got to replace 31 year old factory electric tape with advanced technology 2020 electric tape.. And a hell of allot neater then what Bob at station 16 did in Flint all those years ago.

 

[Eveready]

Sorry for the delayed reply; I'm the original buyer/owner of my truck.. never installed a trailer brake.. In fact the radio is the first electric upgrade ever for my ride.

What I found out was rather hilarious... The CTSY fuse was missing. I must have pulled it out some years ago, and just forgot all about it. I had half the wire guts hanging out looking for breaks when I traced it back to the fuse block. One of my finest "I'm and IDIOT!" moments of my life LOL. Anyway.. at least I got to replace 31 year old factory electric tape with advanced technology 2020 electric tape.. And a hell of allot neater then what Bob at station 16 did in Flint all those years ago.

Don't feel too bad. We have all been there. When I first got my truck and was sorting it out. I thought the socket where the spare handle goes was an ugly previous owner mod, because the tire winch was zip tied to the frame and the spare was wedged under the toolbox. It turned out that what I thought was an ugly prevous owner mod was good old GM building the truck as cheaply as possible. The tire winch works perfectly. All I had to do was cut off the zip tie. It was one of those "go figure" moments compounded by a lack of new owner (me) information. @evilunclegrimace pointed me right on that one and I appreciate it to this day.