Hi everyone. I have a problem that is driving me crazy. On my 1989 honda accord I hooked up a cd player(it didn't have a radio when i got it) and I know I hooked it up right. The only thing different that I did was for some reason I wasn't getting any power from the "constant" wire in the harness so I used the wire from the cigarette lighter(don't smoke) for the constant wire. Now every time I turn the radio up just a little it will make a load whining sort of noise in the speakers and shut off. The radio stays on but there is no volume. I have No idea why so I thought my radio was shot and I tried a different one and I got the same noise. I have checked and rechecked all my wiring and it all seems just fine. Please if anyone has an idea why it is doing that I would really appreciate some advise. Thanks alot.

 

The DIY section has a thread with online manuals. Get the 86-89 accord manual from the spooner link.

I would test each wire on the harness at the radio to figure out what is up with the wiring.

 

I actually did that and every wire is correct that I have tested. Could it be that I'm using the wire from a cigarette lighter for the constant? Should I maybe run a wire from the fuse box instead? The wires coming from the harness are pretty small (18 or 20 guage) compared to the ones off my radio(16 guage)

 

That is one option. The other is to figure out why your 12V source is not working.