Problem with new Kenwood headunit, CD spins but no power.
 

Hey everyone, I'm new around here. Have a problem I could really use some help with.

Installed a Kenwood KDC-355U headunit today & was surprised to find it did not power up after ignition, but I can hear the CD drive spin for a second when I turn on my car (or reset the unit). It will take in and eject CDs but it does not display anything on the front of the unit & has no sound output whatsoever. I triple checked my wiring & it all seems to be in order.

The fuse on the back of the unit is not blown & I haven't checked the car fuses - but plugging in the factory stereo works just fine so I doubt that's it (unless you guys know something I don't!)

Do I just have a dead unit? This is driving me nuts...

My car: 2002 Saturn SL1, factory everything.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Big thanks!:worshippy

same problem with my kenwood. mines a x794 and theres no power, fuse is good and wiring is fine. it ejected my cd but i cant put one back in and the eject button flashes red wen the faceplates off. reset button does nothing. i think you might have to contact kenwood for a warranty issue because i cant find any similar problems online. and the mississauga kenwood tech support dude is a useless door knob.

Most 2000+ GM vehicles (including your Saturn) do not have an ignition lead in the factory harness. The basic disc load and eject on the Kenwood is powered by the constant power lead. You should use a proper GM harness that will generate an ignition source, as well as retain your key chimes, etc.

The option you have, at your own risk, is to source your own ignition power from the car.

Wherever you bought that radio should have warned you about this. :ohwell:

This is an amazing answer. Thank you!

After googling, I can't seem to find how to source my own ignition power from the car. Would that involve cutting the yellow accessory wire from the car harness and splicing it directly to my stereo wire? Or am I way off track? I read somewhere else that someone who had a similar problem twisted the red & yellow wires on the stereo side together and it worked, but that didn't do anything for me.

I'm willing to do something risky if I understand clearly what I'm doing. I checked Amazon for the proper wire harness for my Saturn but I can't tell the difference between any of them - to my noob brain they all look like the one I have. How can I tell which one is the right fit?

Big, huge thanks once again.

Double check that there is a corresponding wire in the stock harness to the red one in the adaptor harness you bought. Looking into it more, you may not need the GM module and perhaps it's just the fuse that is burnt out. There should be a radio fuse in the fusebox. 10amp usually.