So I took my Pioneer deck out since it is giving me an error which I looked into and now have to send it in to get fixed and in order to do that I had to take the center console out so the cig lighter had to be unplugged...after I got the deck out I put the console back together and I KNOW I plugged the Power and Ground wires to their respective locations on the cig lighter but now it won't work??? Also, I have an alarm siren hidden in the center console and it was grounded to the main frame that the deck screws into and now the siren doesn't work either - is it likely that the siren was not grounded to the car but rather to the chassis holding the deck which itself was grounded to the frame of the car so the alarm ground had to go through the deck itself to find a workable ground?

I'm just really nervous cause now I don't have a radar detector in use... Oh ya and also on another note have any of you ever replaced the door handles (outside) with OEM replacements? If so, how the heck do you get them off!! I'm going to guess I just have to go to the Chilton's manual for this so don't be afraid to tell me that if you know it's in there cause you've looked it up yourself but I would really love to know how these come off...the reason I wanna replace them is cause someone tried to break into my car last summer when the battery died on the side of the road and now the passenger side handle is all chipped away and you can see inside the car when the panel is removed on a sunny day...also when you push on the passenger's side handle it goes in a little bit whereas the driver's side is firm. thanks!

Ground doesn't go through the head unit, you likely damaged a wire during disassembly. Use a voltmeter or test-light to check the lighter's +12V and ground leads, and work your way back until you find the problem.

To replace your door handle:
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-exterior-interior/101589-broken-exterior-door-handle-replacement.html
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-miscellaneous/55158-how-fix-your-broken-door-handle-2g.html

I tested the + wire today and it read +12v DC but I didn't know how to test the GRND wire so I didn't do that one - how is that procedure performed? lol that was weird - 2 words beginning with the letter P in a row...

I did, however only test the wire itself and not the plastic plug the wire goes into (because I couldn't find a spot to poke into on the connector where I'd actually hit wire/metal...)

What should i try now?

Originally posted by kevox
I tested the + wire today and it read +12v DC but I didn't know how to test the GRND wire so I didn't do that one - how is that procedure performed?

Check continuity from the end of the wire to a ground point somewhere nearby.

The door handle come off with two 10mm bolts, one on the outside on the door, one inside that's a motherfucker to get to and nigh impossible to get back in. if you pull off the interior doorskin and peel the plastic back, you can see it.

x2. Also if you're that worried about not running a radar detector, slow the hell down.

lol I don't drive that fast without it actually; it's just when I'm doing 10-12 over that I really get paranoid even if no other cars are around...I like the advanced warning a radar detector can sometimes give - such as when going around a blind corner...but ya, for the most part I am a much slower driver without the detector....

hard wire it for a cleaner look and a bit of stealth.
a friend of mine has one hard wired and mounted right below her rear view mirror in her WRX.
it even maintains the quick release slider incase she needs to take it down

If you have pos and ground at the lighter socket, then check the back of it. There uis a fuseable link on the back of the cig lighter socket. If you look quickly you will miss it, just looks liek a piece of wire.

Alright I'll check that...thanks man. I had no idea there was a tiny fuse on the lighter itself...


And I like that idea of hardwiring the radar detector, I'm sure it's pretty simple (2 wires, + and - ?) but is there a tutorial on how to do it?

its just a 2 wire plus and a minus, remember this just pluged into the cig lighter where ther was only + & - right :P

make sure that you hardwire it to a SWITCHED 12V or it will stay on all the time (she used the switched wire from her stereo)

I looked but didn't see the fuse. Exactly how small are we talking here?