I have a 98 Neon and I'm getting a constant 12v at the radio fuse (number 16) instead of switched. My manual only shows the back side of the fuse circuit to the radio. I need to see what circuit feeds the power to that fuse.

The guy that had the car before us really cobbed in some accessories including bypassing the cooling fan circuit. I thought I had removed and fixed everything but I must have missed something.

 

Only have a '97 service manual but I think it's the same as a '98.

Fuses # 14, 15, and 16 are all on the same circuit and come right off the ignition switch. Fuse # 15 feeds the washer and wiper motor so if they work when the ignition switch is turned off, that wire is connected wrong. It's a 14 gauge black wire with a white stripe. The ignition switches do cause quite a bit of trouble due to overheated contacts. The terminals will also overheat and make about 4" of their wires get stiff and impossible to solder to new terminals. If the terminals in the electrical connector are black and overheated, it is acceptable to cut the burned part of the plastic away, splice in about 4" of new wire, and solder, (even if you use crimp-style terminals) on new terminals. Someone might have tied a burned wire to a hot wire at the switch thinking they could turn the radio and wipers off instead of relying on the ignition switch to do that. The radio / wiper / sunroof, (fuse # 14), circuit doesn't usually cause a problem. It's a different circuit, with the high-current heater fan that gives the most trouble.

If the wipers are not hot all the time then just the wire to the radio has been changed.

The two radio power wires could also be tied together. If that is the case, removing the fuse for the station preset / clock memory circuit will kill the constant 12 volts. Remove fuse # 13 in the Power Distribution Center under the hood. It's a 10 amp that also feeds the under hood lamp, interior lights, and power mirrors.

Holler back after you try these two things.

caradiodoc

 

Thank you caradiodoc that definitely helps. Interesting enough, When I started working on this I found the #13 fuse was blown and I had to replace it but I figured that was caused by the pink w/wht strp wire at the radio grounding out because of an exposed section of wire.

I think I will see if there is any continuity between the two power wires at the radio. with the battery disconnected there shouldn't be. Then I'll look at the ignition switch and wiring there. Looking under the dash it looks like they only messed with the wiring near the radio it doesn't look like anything near the fuse block was messed with.

 

Ok I feel stupid I got it figured out. This is my son's car and I figured out that his key turns all the way back for ACC and the key will come out of the cylinder. So he turns it all the way back and pulls it out when he shuts off his car so this whole time it's been on ACC. I guess I will have to replace the cylinder.