2005 EX-L Unable to turn on radio. Tried the usual stuff, no luck. [SOLVED]
 

Hey All,
I've done quite a bit of research on this already and I'm still coming up dry, so I figured I'd ask here. I have a new-to-me 05 Accord and today I installed my dashcam in it. For power I opted to use a fuse tap since it's a bit cleaner and doesn't steal a 12v outlet.

I initially chose to use the radio ruse (since that's what I had used in my previous vehicle), but I didn't realize that in this vehicle the radio receives power all the time (maybe to eject while the car is off? IDK) so I ended up switching over to one of the 7.5a accessory fuses instead, which works great.
Problem is, now the radio doesn't come on. I'm used to car radios asking for a code when they get power after the battery goes flat or after they're disconnected, but this one isn't even prompting me for a code (which I do have, thankfully.)

I know it's getting power because when I connect the radio fuse I can hear the CD drive making some noises, and I have verified (visually and with a DMM) that its fuse is not blown, but no matter what I do the screen does not come on and it never prompts for a code. I've disconnected the battery and let it sit for about 30 minutes but that made no difference.

I recently disconnected the XM unit and replaced it with a bluetooth interface from crutchfield, but that has been working fine for a few days and I can't imagine it would interfere with this.

Any ideas? Not even the clock is coming on, the screen is completely blank.

Thanks!

EDIT - Issue resolved, see below!

Check under-dash Fuse No. 32 (7.5A).

Bingo, that's exactly right!! If you're in Charlotte any time soon, let me know and I'll buy you some beers.

Here's a specific breakdown of what happened, really not that complicated: this is the first time I have used this type of fuse tap. The kind I used before had two male blades (for going into the car), a receptacle for the fuse to fit in it, and then the wire pulling power out. This particular tap, however, had -two- female fuse receptacles. I was (foolishly) thinking it only needed one fuse, but after your suggestion I tested the tap with my DMM and determined that, in fact, the tap wire itself also requires a fuse. When I had tested it earlier, the fuse was in the "tap" spot, so my dashcam worked. Moving the fuse to the other spot enabled the radio to work, and the dashcam stopped. I don't like the idea of daisy-chaining fuses, but the dashcam should pull <100ma, so I put a 1a fuse on it for the time being. I'm probably better off finding a currently-unused fuse spot and putting the tap there instead.

Thanks again redbull-1!!

:D