I had a 93 dakota that got wrecked so I was able to upgrade to a 98 Dakota with the money i got from the accident.
Today i was trying to swap out the factory radio with the one i had in my old dakota, which already had the wiring harness adapter. I plugged it in and initially heard the radio come on but then when i got it in i couldnt get anything to come up. some of the wires on the harness did come uncovered and i think i might have shorted the power to ground, but the fuse in the panel next to the door is fine. i popped the old radio in to be sure but its also getting no power. all the fuses in the door panel and PDC under the hood are fine, so there must be another fuse somewhere (stupid IMO). Does anyone know where that fuse might be located?

 

You can get a test light or a volt meter and check for power at the accessory and constant power wires at the radio location. That will tell you where you need to look for the open circuit or blown fuse. If your deck from the 93 had the matching wire harness that just plugged in to the factory radio plug in the dash of the 98, then check the red and yellow wires for power. The red wire is switched power, it will have voltage only when the ignition is in accessory and run. The yellow wire is constant power, it will have voltage all the time, whether the key is on or not.

You probably did pop a fuse somewhere and there are several that are part of the radio circuit. I am not familiar with a 98 but there should be a fuse in the interior fuse panel labeled "radio". That is the switched power circuit, probably 15 amps. There should also be another fuse labeled "dome light". That is one of the fuses for the constant power circuit, should be 10 amps. Check both of those and see if one is blown. There may also be a fuse under the hood at the PDC labeled "IOD" for ignition off draw. That one also is for the constant power circuit. I think it is a 10 amp fuse.

If none of these fuses are blown, you still have a blown fuse somewhere in one of the fuse panels. You can go old school on it and disconnect the negative battery cable, then remove each fuse one at a time, check the fuse the put it back where it came from. Sooner or later you will find the blown fuse. You can also turn the ignition key to run but don't start the truck, use your volt meter to check the metal tabs on the outside of each fuse for voltage. When you have power on one side of the fuse but not the other it may be blown. Don't do that test with a test light.

Also check the back of the radio itself. It may have its own fuse on the chassis or under the wire connector.

Jimmy

 

I checked most of the fuses and couldnt seem to find anything wrong. as far as i can tell the dome light is working but ill check it again today. Im assuming then that the stock radio wouldn't power on without power from the constant power circuit? I would gander then that my attempt at rerouting power failed when i was trying to use my aftermarket radio because it wasnt getting any power on the accy (switched power) circuit. I was able to get the stock radio working after rerouting a wire from the radio fuse directly to it, but obviously that is only temporary. ill have to check back through the rest. thanks.
-Nemesis

 

OK so i found out, the dome lights werent working without the ignition on, however in 98 the Fuse in question is not labeled as IOD. it is labeled as INT. Lamps.
I remember the 93 had a similar issue (the fuse for the radio/cab lights was in the PDC instead) so i had overlooked this as a possibility as i figured they would have actually been smart and put them on a separate fuse.... thanks for the help
-Nemesis

 

Glad to know it was an easy fix.

Jimmy

 

now i have to get the rest of the quirks worked out. Leaking steering fluid, coolant, and some wiring on the right front and the headlights/turn signals.