Do It Right the First Time

I upgraded the sorely inadequate deck in my pickup the other day and was proud it only took about an hour. It would have taken less time, but I used the old wiring harness from my car and had to figure out guess which wire went where. Surprisingly, when I hooked it up, without disconnecting the battery, everything worked flawlessly.

Overconfidence is a bad thing. I was so sure in my wiring abilities that the following night I thought I’d tempt fate again, and wire the amplifier with a hot battery as well.

I was performing the seemingly simple task of running the positive wire through the firewall to the battery. I decided I’d force my wire through an existing grommet, but it was a tight fit and required some coaxing. I took out a screwdriver and started to pry a little bit against the bundle of about 4 jillion wires – just enough to nic a wire and blow the fuse for the dome light.

No big deal, I’ll just replace the fuse – besides it’s only the dome light. Hmmm, all the fuses are good. Maybe I tripped something in the security? I thought. That’s about the time I noticed the large 2″ by 2″ security light that normally flashes in my dash, as steady menacing yellow “hey you’re trying to steal this car” warning. Test the keyless entry, nothing. Shit. Test the drivers door lock. Dammit. Try and start it, oh f’ing mother of … what did I do.

Now what.

Check the manual – in the event that the security feature is tripped you must take it to a Chevrolet Dealer.

Yeah, a tow, a computer reset, and two relays later – I’m back on the road.

Once I got the truck home from the shop I disconnected the battery and wired it in about 15 minutes. Do it right the first time or don’t do it at all.